A Brief Analysis of the Main Characters in The Rising of the Moon

YU Hongbing

【Abstract】The Rising of the Moon is a patriotic play written by Lady Augusta Gregory in 1907. It accounts for a time in Irish history prior to independence from Britain. The main characters monologues have changed this play into a decisive result. This paper will analyze the features of the main characters in this play， the Sergeant and the Ragged Man. By analyzing the features of characters， this paper will provide a profound understanding for readers to study about the play.

【Key words】characters； sergeant； ragged man； Lady Gregory； The Rising of the Moon

【摘要】《月出》是由格雷戈里夫人于1907年寫的一部愛國題材戲劇。它以愛爾蘭獨立于英國前的一段歷史時期為背景。主要人物軍士和衣衫襤褸的人之間的對話決定性地改變了戲劇的結局。本文通過分析主要人物軍士和衣衫襤褸人的性格特點，意為讀者研究《月出》時提供一個深層次的視角。

【關鍵詞】人物 軍士 衣衫襤褸的人 格雷戈里夫人 《月出》

1. Introduction

The patriotic play accounts for a time in Irish history prior to independence from Britain. The main characters the sergeant and the ragged mans monologues have changed this play into a decisive result. This paper will analyze the features of the characters in this play， including the Sergeant and the Ragged Man. The two main characters run through the whole play， which fulfills the plot structure of the play. To analyze the characteristics will offer a good understanding of this play.

2. Characterization

2.1 Sergeant

As one of the main characters， Sergeant has plenty of characteristics. Firstly， he is a man full of bossy attitude. This could be found from the whole play， for example， when the two policemen ask him for advice where to put the notice up. He always says in a mandatory voice： “It might； you can put it there” （Gregory）. Sergeant also orders the two policemen what to do next， “Well， hurry on， you have plenty of other places to placard yet， and come back here then to me” （Gregory）. From these words， we can see Sergeant has commanding attitude towards his two subordinates. Secondly， he shows great responsibility for his family and helplessness for his duty. He thinks it is hard for a man to be in the force， because he has to go out to work day and night. Nobody would like to give many thanks for them. They are the ones who are easily to be neglected. They have no choice but a family to support. Just like he thinks， a hundred pounds and promotion sure are such great profits for his family. And he says “there must be a great deal of spending in a hundred pounds”. Thirdly， the Sergeant is a very patriotic person. We can see this kind of characteristic throughout the whole play. When talking with the two policemen， he replies “we have to do our duty in the force. Havent we the whole country depending on us to keep law and order？” His rhetorical question to the two policemen reveals that he takes up great responsibility for his country. He thinks it is his duty to arrest this man. He almost pictures this “wonder” in his own mind， even though he is pity for not seeing him in personal before he breaks out of the jail. The last characteristic of the Sergeant is his contradictory psychology towards the ragged man. He holds an important position in the force to arrest the runaway. He is so patriotic that he neglects his Irish blood. When the ragged man sings Irish ballad， sergeant orders him to stop singing. Because he thinks it is not proper to sing Irish songs at that time. So he says “Stop that； thats no song to be singing in these times.” On the other hand， when the ragged man sings Irish songs， he corrects his false lyrics， reminding of his past time. At the end of the play， he claims that he will not let the ragged man pass， but actually hides the ragged man behind the barrel and helps him flee away.

2.2 The Ragged man

The ragged man in The Rising of the Moon is the other main character. He is the person who escapes from the jail and flees away under the help of the Sergeant. As a criminal who can run away from the jail， he has his own outstanding character features.

Firstly， he is clever enough to disguise himself to be a Walsh ballad-singer. He sings the Sergeant several ballads which make the Sergeant get involved in what he sings. Furthermore， the Sergeant even corrects his false lyrics. All these can reveal the ragged man is clever to make him simulate in front of the others. Besides， when he looks at the notice， he pretends to know the man on the notice whom the Sergeant is looking for. In this way， he would let the Sergeant become interested in the personalities from his description and ignores his appearance. Secondly， he is an eloquent speaker. From his description of the man on the notice to the Sergeant， we would infer he must be a bad man lived in a terrible country. He may have a weapon and full of strength. “His muscles are as hard as that board”. The ragged man described a terrible man who lives in a terrible county. This may let the sergeant be afraid of the runaway. Besides， the ragged man always reminds the sergeant of his past and makes him believe things would be different if he werent in the force. But what the most thing we need to recognize that what he says has made the Sergeant confused. “…and it might be myself would be creeping up trying to make my escape from himself， and it might be himself would be keeping the law， and myself would be breaking it， and myself would be trying to put a bullet in his head，…”（Lady Gregory）.

At last， the ragged man succeeds in fleeing away with the help of the Sergeant. He has such typical characteristics that we could spare no effort to demonstrate him to be not only a clever but an eloquent man， who runs throughout the main line of this play.

3. Conclusion

In The Rising of the Moon， both Sergeant and the ragged man occupy important place respectively. Lady Gregory captures the way people speak， and she manages to draw the characters of the sergeant and the ballad singer so as to gain our sympathies for them. Sergeants responsibilities for family and his country leave us remarkable impressions. At the same time， the ragged mans intelligence and eloquent power also enable us to plunge in deep thought what reasons have caused this ambiguity and deadlock. By analyzing the characteristics of the main characters， we can gain a deeper understanding of this remarkable play.

References：

[1]E.A.Kopper，JR.“Gregorys The Rising of the Moon”[J].The Explicator，（1989）；29-31.

[2]Coxhead，Elizabeth.Lady Gregory：A Literary Portrait[M].London：Macmillan&Co; Ltd，1961.

[3]劉光玥.《三江好》對奧古斯塔格雷戈里夫人之《月亮上升的時候》的“創造性叛逆”[D].上海師范大學，2012.3.