Masterpieces Of 20th Century American Drama

Author : Susan C. W. Abbotson
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Page : 238 pages
File Size : 44,6 Mb
Release : 2005-09-30
Category : Literary Criticism
ISBN : 9780313027239

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Masterpieces of 20th-Century American Drama by Susan C. W. Abbotson Pdf

American playwrights have made enormous contributions to world drama during the last century, and their works are widely read and performed. This reference conveniently introduces 10 of the most important modern American plays read by students. An introductory essay concisely overviews modern American drama, and each of the chapters that follow examines a particular play. Among the plays discussed are Thornton Wilder's Our Town, Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun, and August Wilson's The Piano Lesson. Each chapter includes a biography, a plot summary, an analysis of the play's themes, characters, and dramatic art, and a review of its historical background and reception. Chapters list works for further reading, and the volume closes with a selected, general bibliography.

Author : Gerald M. Berkowitz
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 312 pages
File Size : 46,8 Mb
Release : 2014-07-15
Category : Literary Criticism
ISBN : 9781317901730

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American Drama of the Twentieth Century by Gerald M. Berkowitz Pdf

In this book Professor Berkowitz studies the diversity of American drama from the stylistic, experimental plays of O'Neill, through verse, tragedy and community theatre, to the theatre of the 1990s. The discussions range through dramatists, plays, genres and themes, with full supporting appendix material. It also examines major dramatists such as Eugene O'Neill, Arthur Miller, Sam Shephard, Tennessee Williams and August Wilson and covers not only the Broadway scene but also off Broadway movements and fringe theatres and such subjects as women's and African-American drama.

Author : C. W. E. Bigsby,Christopher William Edgar Bigsby
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 368 pages
File Size : 48,5 Mb
Release : 1984-11-15
Category : Drama
ISBN : 0521277175

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A Critical Introduction to Twentieth-Century American Drama: Volume 2, Williams, Miller, Albee by C. W. E. Bigsby,Christopher William Edgar Bigsby Pdf

Dr Bigsby analyses the early unpublished plays and the major works of Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller and Edward Albee.

Author : Prentice Hall PTR
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 544 pages
File Size : 55,8 Mb
Release : 2000
Category : Drama
ISBN : 0130501972

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Twentieth-Century American Dramas by Prentice Hall PTR Pdf

Author : Anonim
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 403 pages
File Size : 49,5 Mb
Release : 2006
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 0415342716

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Twentieth Century American Drama by Anonim Pdf

Author : Nadja Klopsch
Publisher : GRIN Verlag
Page : 85 pages
File Size : 43,7 Mb
Release : 2009-11
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 9783640471102

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The American Dream in 20th Century American Drama by Nadja Klopsch Pdf

Bachelor Thesis from the year 2008 in the subject American Studies - Literature, grade: 1,7, Ernst Moritz Arndt University of Greifswald (Department of English and American Studies), language: English, abstract: Every year thousands of people from all over the world migrate to the United States of America. For most people escaping war, poverty, ecological destruction and other dangers, the United States constitute a safe harbor where their hopes of a better life come true. Ever since the settling of what is today the US, people came to live in the New World and to lead a better life than in their countries of origin. The hopes connected with this better and happier live are all joined in the concept of the "American Dream", which became one of most powerful creation myths of a country. People migrating to the United States have certain dreams or hopes of a better life but in reality these promises often turn out to be not as strong as people originally believed them to be. Only a very small amount of people achieve the famous idea of "rising from rags to riches" whereas many people fail to attain their goal of a better life. Hence it is not surprising that the American culture not only is shaped by the glorious American Dream but also by the grim truth of its failing or being flunked. Of course, such an important concept deeply influences American culture. Continuously the ideas of the American Dream can be found in television, movies, literature, and arts for instance in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby or Gabriele Muccino's film The Pursuit of Happiness. This paper aims to examine the presentment and importance of the American Dream for twentieth century American drama. Drama in general was selected because of its importance as one of the three main literary genres. Temporal narrowing in form of 20th century was chosen because drama as a literary genre is characterized by experimentation with form and content in this period. Furthermore, some of the be

Author : C. W. E. Bigsby
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 500 pages
File Size : 45,9 Mb
Release : 1985-05-02
Category : Drama
ISBN : 0521278961

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A Critical Introduction to Twentieth-Century American Drama: Volume 3, Beyond Broadway by C. W. E. Bigsby Pdf

The final volume of Christopher Bigsby's critical account of American drama in the twentieth century.

Author : Brenda Murphy
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 403 pages
File Size : 48,6 Mb
Release : 2006
Category : American drama
ISBN : 0415342708

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Twentieth Century American Drama by Brenda Murphy Pdf

Presenting an overview of criticism on the full range of 20th century American drama, this anthology reflects the changing critical perspectives. It covers a variety of themes, from the battles over realism and expressionism at the beginning of the century to the emergence of Freudian and myth criticism, and more.

Author : Don B. Wilmeth
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 13 pages
File Size : 53,5 Mb
Release : 2007-09-13
Category : Drama
ISBN : 9780521835381

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The Cambridge Guide to American Theatre by Don B. Wilmeth Pdf

New and updated encyclopedic guide to American theatre, from its earliest history to the present.

Author : Susan C. W. Abbotson
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
Page : 249 pages
File Size : 43,7 Mb
Release : 2019-11-14
Category : Literary Criticism
ISBN : 9781350014626

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Modern American Drama: Playwriting in the 1950s by Susan C. W. Abbotson Pdf

The Decades of Modern American Drama series provides a comprehensive survey and study of the theatre produced in each decade from the 1930s to 2009 in eight volumes. Each volume equips readers with a detailed understanding of the context from which work emerged: an introduction considers life in the decade with a focus on domestic life and conditions, social changes, culture, media, technology, industry and political events; while a chapter on the theatre of the decade offers a wide-ranging and thorough survey of theatres, companies, dramatists, new movements and developments in response to the economic and political conditions of the day. The work of the four most prominent playwrights from the decade receives in-depth analysis and re-evaluation by a team of experts, together with commentary on their subsequent work and legacy. A final section brings together original documents such as interviews with the playwrights and with directors, drafts of play scenes, and other previously unpublished material. The major writers and their works to receive in-depth coverage in this volume include: * William Inge: Picnic (1953), Bus Stop (1955) and The Dark at the Top of the Stairs (1957); * Stephen Sondheim, Arthur Laurents and Jerome Robbins: West Side Story (1957) and Gypsy (1959); * Alice Childress: Just a Little Simple (1950), Gold Through the Trees (1952) and Trouble in Mind (1955); * Jerome Lawrence and Robert Lee: Inherit the Wind (1955), Auntie Mame (1956) and The Gang's All Here (1959).

Author : Shamal Abu-Baker Hussein
Publisher : AuthorHouse
Page : 179 pages
File Size : 47,7 Mb
Release : 2012
Category : Art
ISBN : 9781477247020

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The Image of Man in Selected Plays of August Wilson by Shamal Abu-Baker Hussein Pdf

Wilson's approach can be seen as a communal romanticism, dealing with ordinary people, language, and problems, giving the priority to the feeling and human dignity over logic, power and money, putting freedom and equity as a pivotal concern, almost presenting women and children as victims, and highlighting the importance of heritage, identity, and culture. As his self-revision message, all those three plays demonstrate scenes of black self-review, showing the blacks' part of responsibility in the situation they live in. It is a project of self-rehabilitation for the blacks. Since American society is a multicultural spectrum, there is not any certain legibly ascribed American identity. That is why Wilson does not submit to the claims of the dominant cultural trend by some white critics like Brustein. Wilson confidently presents the blacks' identity typified with self-fulfilment and contribution to the American culture, as his alternative contributory image of man against the white dominant models, or the violent black ones.

Author : Stephen Marino
Publisher : Cambridge Scholars Publishing
Page : 255 pages
File Size : 54,6 Mb
Release : 2017-06-20
Category : Literary Criticism
ISBN : 9781443896153

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Arthur Miller’s Century by Stephen Marino Pdf

Arthur Miller was one of the major American dramatists of the twentieth century, clearly ranking with other truly great American playwrights, including Eugene O’Neill, Tennessee Williams, and Edward Albee. The centennial of Miller’s birth in New York City on October 17, 1915 was celebrated around the world with a panoply of staged productions, theatrical events, media documentaries, and academic conferences. Miller earned his reputation during a career of more than seventy years, in which he achieved critical success in the 1940s and 1950s with the dramas All My Sons, Death of a Salesman, The Crucible and A View from the Bridge. He was also notable for his refusal to “name names at his appearance before the House Un-American Activities Committee”, his marriage to the film actress Marilyn Monroe, and his spell as president of the literary organization, International P.E.N. Arthur Miller was not only a literary giant, but also one of the more significant political, cultural, and social figures of his time. He was a man of conviction and integrity who frequently took stands, popular and unpopular, on the ethical issues that engaged societies throughout the world. This collection includes eclectic essays from Miller scholars who provide detailed discussions of text and performance, of Miller as a political and cultural figure, and of his connection to other playwrights. The contributions explore the trajectory of Miller’s career, his most famous and frequently produced works, such as Death of a Salesman and The Crucible, the dramas of his later career, and his fiction. The collection appeals to a broad American and international audience and a cross-section of readers, including undergraduates, graduates, emerging scholars, drama and theatre specialists, as well as theatre-goers who flock to revivals of Miller’s plays.

Author : Alan Ackerman
Publisher : A&C Black
Page : 288 pages
File Size : 42,9 Mb
Release : 2013-12-16
Category : Literary Criticism
ISBN : 9781472514370

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A Student Handbook to the Plays of Arthur Miller by Alan Ackerman Pdf

A Student Handbook to the Plays of Arthur Miller provides the essential guide to Miller's most studied and revived dramas. Authored by a team of leading scholars, it offers students a clear analysis and detailed commentary on five of Miller's plays: All My Sons, Death of a Salesman, The Crucible, A View from the Bridge and Broken Glass. A consistent framework of analysis ensures that whether readers want a summary of the play, a commentary on the themes or characters, or a discussion of the work in performance, they can readily find what they need to develop their understanding and aid their appreciation of Miller's artistry. A chronology of Miller's life and work helps to situate his oeuvre in context and the introduction reinforces this by providing a clear overview of his writing, its recurrent themes and how these are intertwined with his life and times. For each play the author provides a summary of the plot, followed by commentary on the context, themes, characters, structure and language, and the play in production - both on stage and screen adaptations; there are questions for further study and detailed notes on words and phrases in the text. The wealth of authoritative and clear commentary on each play, together with further questions that encourage comparison across Miller's work and related plays by other leading writers, ensures that this is the clearest and fullest guide to Miller's greatest plays.

Author : David Palmer
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
Page : 272 pages
File Size : 55,9 Mb
Release : 2018-02-08
Category : Literary Criticism
ISBN : 9781474276948

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Visions of Tragedy in Modern American Drama by David Palmer Pdf

This volume responds to a renewed focus on tragedy in theatre and literary studies to explore conceptions of tragedy in the dramatic work of seventeen canonical American playwrights. For students of American literature and theatre studies, the assembled essays offer a clear framework for exploring the work of many of the most studied and performed playwrights of the modern era. Following a contextual introduction that offers a survey of conceptions of tragedy, scholars examine the dramatic work of major playwrights in chronological succession, beginning with Eugene O'Neill and ending with Suzan-Lori Parks. A final chapter provides a study of American drama since 1990 and its ongoing engagement with concepts of tragedy. The chapters explore whether there is a distinctively American vision of tragedy developed in the major works of canonical American dramatists and how this may be seen to evolve over the course of the twentieth century through to the present day. Among the playwrights whose work is examined are: Susan Glaspell, Langston Hughes, Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller, Edward Albee, Lorraine Hansberry, Amiri Baraka, August Wilson, Marsha Norman and Tony Kushner. With each chapter being short enough to be assigned for weekly classes in survey courses, the volume will help to facilitate critical engagement with the dramatic work and offer readers the tools to further their independent study of this enduring theme of dramatic literature.

Author : Will Kaufman
Publisher : Edinburgh University Press
Page : 264 pages
File Size : 42,9 Mb
Release : 2009-02-19
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9780748631537

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American Culture in the 1970s by Will Kaufman Pdf

The 1970s was one of the most culturally vibrant periods in American history. This book discusses the dominant cultural forms of the 1970s - fiction and poetry; television and drama; film and visual culture; popular music and style; public space and spectacle - and the decade's most influential practitioners and texts: from Toni Morrison to All in the Family, from Diane Arbus to Bruce Springsteen, from M.A.S.H. to Taxi Driver and from disco divas to Vietnam protesters. In response to those who consider the seventies the time of disco, polyester and narcissism, this book rewrites the critical engagement with one of America's most misunderstood decades.Key Features*Focused case studies featuring key texts and influential writers, artists, directors and musicians*Chronology of 1970s American Culture*Bibliographies for each chapter and a general bibliography on 1970s Culture*14 black-and-white illustrations