The 17th century dramatist Jean Racine was considered, along with Moliere and Corneille, as one of the three great playwrights of his era. The quality of Racine's poetry has been described as possibly his most important contribution to French literature and his use of the alexandrine poetic line is one of the best examples of such use noted for its harmony, simplicity and elegance. While critics over the centuries have debated the worth of ...
"Dr. Faustus" is Christopher Marlowe's version of the famous legend of a doctor who sells his soul to the devil in exchange for knowledge and power. Originally published in 1600 this drama is based on an earlier anonymous German work (c. 1587) which has influenced many subsequent works including Goethe's more comprehensive «Faust» (c. 1808) and the contemporary «Doktor Faustus» (c. 1947) by Thomas Mann. The legend of Faust, report ...
Henrik Ibsen's 1884 drama, «The Wild Duck», is the story of Gregers Werle, an idealist who returns to his hometown after some absence. While there he begins to meddle in the affairs of the Ekdals, an odd family that have constructed a strange way of living by ignoring the skeletons in their respective closets. The Ekdals escape the reality of their existence by the construction of various delusional fantasies. Gregers, who believes that the ...
Euripides, the youngest of the trio of great Greek tragedians was born at Salamis in 480 B.C., on the day when the Greeks won their momentous naval victory there over the fleet of the Persians. The precise social status of his parents is not clear but he received a good education, was early distinguished as an athlete, and showed talent in painting and oratory. He was a fellow student of Pericles, and his dramas show the influence of the philoso ...
Though his catalogue is relatively small, given his impact on modern literature, James Joyce is considered one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century. He was born in Dublin, Ireland, but lived his life in a sort of self-imposed exile, only returning on seldom occasions for short visits. He is noted for his incredibly unique style, his work «Finnegan's Wake» defying the boundaries of all conventional literary genres. His innovation ...
The first of O'Neill's three Pulitzer Prize-winning plays, «Beyond the Horizon» was written in 1918. The drama revolves around two brothers, Robert and Andy, who live on their family's farm and both love the same woman, Ruth. While Robert longs to escape the farm and experience a long sea voyage, Andy wishes to remain on the Mayo farm and remain close to the land. Neither of these men realize their wishes, however, for Ruth's ...
Sir James Matthew Barrie (1860-1937), best remembered as the creator of Peter Pan, was a Scottish author and dramatist whose works have enjoyed frequent revivals in film and on stage. One of his most popular plays, «What Every Woman Knows», enjoyed immediate success on both the London and New York stages. The Wylies, an uneducated but well-to-do Scottish family, acknowledges the fact that their charmless daughter, Maggie, may never be married. A ...
Benjamin Jonson (1572-1637) was a Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor, known best for his satirical plays and lyric poems. His career began in 1597 when he held a fixed engagement in the «Admiral's Men», and although he was unsuccessful as an actor, his literary talent was apparent and he began writing original plays for the troupe. Jonson had a knack for absurdity and hypocrisy, a trait that made him immensely popular in the 17th century ...
George Bernard Shaw is one of the most influential playwrights of the twentieth century. The collection «Pygmalion and Three Other Plays» contains his best works, which are known for their rapier wit, ideas of decency, and portrayal of human relationships. Shaw wanted his audiences to realize that people, regardless of race, gender, or class, were all human beings with the same needs as everyone else. «Pygmalion» is a modern retelling of the cla ...
