Eugene Gladstone O’Neill

(1888-1953)

 

ü the greatest playwright;

ü wrote nearly 40 long plays, a dozen short plays;

ü was awarded 4 Pulitzer Prizes;

ü was awarded the Nobel Prize, 1936;

ü the creator of American off-Broadway drama.

 

His works:

ü deal with many problems that influence human’s nature and reveal man;

ü are deeply effected by his wide reading especially in Greek tragedies.

 

Style:

ü broke the conventional traditions of the commercial theatre by experimenting in new manners of production;

ü used masks, music, dance, pantomime, new sound effects, multiple settings;

ü was interested in Freud’s psychoanalysis (explained human actions, thoughts and emotions by biological instincts).

Works:

“Bound East for Cardiff”

“The Hairy Ape”

“Desire under the Elms”

“Long Day’s Journey into Night”