Eugene O'Neills dramatische werken staan bekend om hun diepe emotionele kracht, eerlijkheid en een origineel concept van tragedie. Als baanbrekende Amerikaanse toneelschrijver bracht hij dramatisch realisme naar het Amerikaanse theater, waarbij hij zijn personages voorziet van authentiek Amerikaans volkse taalgebruik. O'Neill verkende vaak individuen aan de randen van de samenleving en beeldde hun strijd met hoop, desillusie en wanhoop uit. Zijn toneelstukken gaan voornamelijk over tragedie en persoonlijk pessimisme, met één enkele uitzondering.
This final volume of Eugene O'Neill's complete dramatic works includes eight plays from 1932 to 1943, showcasing his career's pinnacle. Highlights include "Ah, Wilderness!" depicting boyhood innocence, "Long Day's Journey into Night" exploring family turmoil, and "A Moon for the Misbegotten," reflecting on elusive peace.
Although one of his lesser known one-act plays, "The Hairy Ape," written in 1922, followed the success of his first two Pulitzer Prize-winning plays. This drama follows the disturbing dehumanization of Yank, a ship's fireman and a representation of the lower class. He feels superiority from his brute strength until he meets Mildred, the well-intentioned daughter of an extremely wealthy steel magnate. She initiates Yank's uncertainty and disillusionment concerning his place in society and humanity, leading to his bitter anger and ultimate demise. While the character of Long introduces hints of socialist ideas in the play and Paddy wistfully recalls the days before machinery, these commentaries serve to enhance the powerful conviction of the terrible human toll of industrialization. "The Hairy Ape" was received largely as thought-provoking entertainment in O'Neill's day, and it continues to provide readers today with an insightful view of a pivotal time in American society, ultimately exploring human nature and a society that would endanger and disassociate many of the hard-working people within it.
Englische Literatur in Reclams Roter Reihe: das ist der englische Originaltext – ungekürzt und unbearbeitet mit Worterklärungen am Fuß jeder Seite, Nachwort und Literaturhinweisen. Die Familiengschichte spielt an einem Augusttag 1912. Anfangs scheint es, dass Mary und James Tyrone und ihre beiden Söhne in einer Idylle leben. Schon bald blickt der Leser hinter die Kulissen: Morphiumsucht, berufliches Versagen, Geiz und Neid... Alle Protagonisten sind am American Dream gescheitert, sind Opfer und Täter zugleich. Das Familienidyll wird zur „Reise in die Nacht“ ... Englische Lektüre: Niveau C1 – C2 (GER)
Josie, a towering woman with a quick tongue and a ruined reputation lives in a dilapidated Connecticut farmhouse with her conniving father. Together, they're a formidable force as they scrape together a livelihood. But Josie's softer side is exposed through her love of Jim Tyrone, her father's drinking buddy - a third-rate actor whose dreams of stardom were washed away by alcohol. The companion pieces are "Long Day's Journey" and "The Iceman Cometh."
Into a waterfront bar, full of life's failures, subsisting solely on their dreams, comes Hickey with his urge to make them face the truth. This play, first staged in 1946, is written by the author of Anna Christie and Strange Interlude, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1936.
The action of the seven one-act plays takes place in the years preceding World War I
Set against the backdrop of early 20th-century America, this play explores themes of ambition, longing, and the complexities of human relationships. Eugene O'Neill's groundbreaking work, which underwent significant revisions before its 1920 premiere, delves into the lives of characters grappling with their dreams and the harsh realities of life. Celebrated for its emotional depth, it earned O'Neill the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, marking a significant milestone in his career as a playwright.
Two plays from one of the twentieth century's most significant writers, developed and conceived in tandem, drawing on the raw experience of the author's own family relationships.
The maturity and artistry of the American dramatist as shown in his 3 major works
