An Introduction
The Sea by Edward Bond is a remarkable play despite its absence from B R Mullick's book. The play first appeared in 1973 and its fame grew because of the black humour or black comedy in it. Black Comedy is a genre in which pleasant scenarios are depicted under the dark shadows of dismal happenings. Although the play bears the subtitle of a comedy. But The Sea is a tragi-comedy as it implies the elements of both a tragedy and comedy. Let us explore what is tragic and what is comic in the play.
The Tragic Beginning
The Sea opens in The Tempest but this time, the tempest is not programmed by Prospero and his Ariel. The opening is tragic because the storm in the sea claims the life of Collins, a well-loved person in the un-named town. This tragic beginning affects the whole play. The unfortunate death of Collins is used to symbolically project the foreshadowing of something terrible to happen in future. Considering the timeline of the play (1907), it becomes clear that his death is signalling at the arrival of World War First.
The Play of Orpheus and its Tragic Significance
There is a play within a play. The Sea accompanies the mythological and tragic tale of Orpheus and Eurydice. This play is a love-based tragedy. Orpheus is an enchanting musician who falls in love with the most beautiful nymph, Eurydice. Upon their marriage, Eurydice is bit by a snake in the forest. She dies. But their bond of love is so strong that Orpheus decides to use his lyre to enter into the underworld and reclaim his beloved. He is successful in scoring her again but as he looks back when he gets into the living world, Eurydice is lost for good because she is still in the underworld when Orpheus looks at her. The tale is sad and tragic, and affects many characters in the actual play. But it must be noted that the core theme of the Grecian tragedy is woven into the actual play. The helplessness of Orpheus is paralleled with the helplessness of Willy during the storm; of Mr. Hatch on account of the cancellation of the order placed by Mrs. Rafi and of the helplessness of Mrs. Rafi in her ageing.
The Tragedy of Hatch
Mr. Hatch, a draper of forty years old, is responsible for the tragic demise of Collins. Because, as a coastguard, it was his duty to save the drowning person. But he himself has seeds of tragedy in his character. The major tragic flaw in Hatch is his assumed 'truth' in the existence of the aliens who will eventually attack and occupy humans. He does not help Collins because he considers both Willy and Collins are under the influence of aliens. Such a negligence paves his way for his tragic overture as Mrs. Rafi cancels the order of the expensive curtains for Hatch put his whole income of his shop at stake. In order to "defend his stance", Hatch attacks Mrs. Rafi, thus using violence to defend his right. Despite his attempt, the damage is done.
A Comic Ending
For the most part, the atmosphere of the play remains tragic. But there are little comic reliefs here and there. For instance, Mrs. Tilehouse sleeps during the lecture of Mrs. Rafi. But the ending of the play is that of a comedy. [Just a quick sidenote: a comedy is a story that ends on a happy note]. The Sea ends with the optimistic unification of Willy and Rose. Apart from their unification, it is their conversation that is a remarkable essence of the play. Both of them believe that the truth is waiting to be discovered. What matters is a personal determination. Keeping in view the symbolic ignorance of Hatch, it is obvious that the author wants to convey that war is a hateful show of ignorance. It is the quest for truth that can make people realize their tragic ignorance.
Conclusion
Thus, The Sea is a dark tragi-comedy because it begins and expands its scope of action tragically, but it ends on a comically optimistic note.
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