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1、American Literature,Chapter 19 American,Drama,Revision,Who are the three women writers,we talked about in the last lecture?,Name some of their famous works.,Questions to,Answer!,What Is Drama?,Drama is the specific mode of,fiction represented in,performance.It is derived,from a Greek word meaning,ac
2、tion derived from o do.,Play,Overview,The theater of the Depression(1930s)was,not depressing.Like other branches of,literature,the drama,was preoccupied with,social concerns.,All through,the 1940s and the post war,period,new playwrights and new plays,kept appearing.,Overview,The early fifties,touche
3、d American,audiences to the quick.,The late fifties,saw a temporary decline in dramatic,productions.,In sixties,American drama picked up a,good deal of fresh energy.From,the end,of the sixties,American theater entered a,new phase in its development when,diversity,became one of its salient,features.,
4、Overview,Representatives,Eugene ONeill,(1888-1953),Tennessee Williams,(1911-1983),Edward Albee,(1928-),Arthur Miller,(1915-2005),Eugene ONeill(,1888-1953),尤金,奥尼尔,Eugene ONeill(1888-1953),In,1936,he,won,Nobel,Prize,for Literature.,“for the power,honesty and deep,-felt,emotions of his dramatic works,w
5、hich,embody an original concept of tragedy.,”,Eugene ONeill(,1888-1953),尤金,奥尼尔,American Shakespeare,EUGENE ONEILL,ONeill,(1888-1953),is,Americas,greatest playwright.With his father,James,ONeill,being,a,famous,actor,love of drama ran in the blood of the,man.,He,is,the,first,universally,recognized,wor
6、ld,dramatic,American,produced.,He,virtually,established,the modern American theatre,.,Eugene ONeill(,1888-1953),尤金,奥尼尔,ONeills Literary Career,Three periods:,The early period(1916-1920):,Bound East for Cardiff(1916),东航卡迪夫,Beyond the Horizon(1920),天边外,The Emperor Jones,1920,琼斯王,ONeills Literary Caree
7、r,The second period:,Anna Christie(1921),The Hairy Ape,1922;,毛猿,All Gods Chillun Got Wings,1924;,Desire Under the Elms,1924;,The Great God Brown,1926;,Lazarus Laughed,1928;,Strange Interlude,1928;,Mourning Becomes Electra,1931;,Days Without End,1934;,ONeills Literary Career,The Third Period:,The Ice
8、man Cometh,1946;,送冰的人来了,Long Days Journey into Night,1956;,进入黑夜的漫漫旅程,A Moon for the Misbegotten,1957.,月照不幸人,Major themes in his play,Mens struggles with his own,fate,Loss of self,Alienation,The Hairy Ape,ONeill explained,The Hairy Ape,by,saying that it was a symbol of man,who,has,lost,his,old,harmon
9、y,with,nature,the harmony which he used,to,have,as,an,animal,and,has,not,yet,acquired,in,a,spiritual,way.,Thus,not,being,able,to,find,it,on,earth,nor,in,heaven,hes,in,the,middle,trying to make peace.,Throughout the play,Yank is,struggling to find the place to which,he,belongs.,The struggle of this k
10、ind is the,struggle for ones,identity.,In this,play we can say that in Yank we see,modern man desperately in search of,his identity within industrial society.,Quotations,“Yuhre de champ of de world.But me,I,aint got no past to tink in,nor nothin,dats comin,ony whats noq,and dat,dont belong”,“Even hi
11、m didnt tink I belonged.”,(and,perhaps,the hairy ape at last,belongs.),Long Days Journey into Night,进入黑夜的漫漫旅程,Long Days Journey into Night,is,an autobiographical play,.,The story took place at the home,of,the Tyrones,in 24 four hours.,Character Introduction,Edmund,Tyrone:,Son,of,Mary,and,James,Tyron
12、e.,Brother,of,Jamie,Tyrone.,Edmund,is,Eugene ONeills double,a sensitive,sickly and,morbid young man.Edmund,as a part,has no,more,stage,time,or,lines,than,any,of,the,other,Tyrones.But he is nonetheless the center of the,play:,his,forgiveness,of,his,brother,and,father,are,the,plays,climax.,He,has,aspi
13、rations,of,becoming a writer.,Mary,Tyrone:,Wife,of,James,Tyrone.,Mother,of,Edmund,and,Jamie,Tyrone.,Mary,is,a,morphine,addict,and,throughout,the,course,of,the,day,we,watch,as,she,sinks,farther,and,farther,into,a,morphine-induced,fog.,Her,hands,are,nervous,and,they,reveal,her,constantly,agitated,stat
14、e.,She,is,in,deep,denial,about,Edmunds,illness.,As the play progresses,she retreats,farther and farther into the past,.,James Tyrone:,Husband of Mary Tyrone.,Father,of,Edmund,and,Jamie,Tyrone.,James,Tyrone,is,a,Broadway,actor,and,alcoholic.,He,is,a,religious,Catholic,although,he,no,longer,attends,Ch
15、urch.,He,is,appallingly,stingy,and,his,miserliness has led to many problems for,the Tyrone family over the years.,Jamie,Tyrone:,Son,of,Mary,and,James,Tyrone.,Brother,of,Edmund,Tyrone.Jamie is a cynical alcoholic.,He is ten years older than Edmund,but,he,has,never,amounted,to,anything.He spends his d
16、ays in New,York chasing whores and drinking.,Main Themes,The Past,as refuge and burden,Forgiveness,Breakdown of communication,Religion,Drug and alcohol abuse,Isolation,Tennessee Williams,(1911-1983),Tennessee Williams(1911-83),田纳西,威廉姆斯,Playwright,poet,and fiction writer,Tennessee,Williams,left,a,pow
17、erful,mark,on,American,theatre.,At,their,best,his,twenty-five,full-,length,plays,combined,lyrical,intensity,haunting loneliness,and hypnotic violence.He,is,widely,considered,the,greatest,Southern,playwright and one of the greatest playwrights,in the history of American drama.,Important Plays Written
18、 by,Williams,The Glass Menagerie(1945),玻璃动物园,A Streetcar Named Desire(1947),欲望号街车,Cat on a Hot Tin Roof(1955),热铁皮屋顶上的猫,The Glass Menagerie(1945),玻璃动物园,Amanda Wingfield:,Once a Southern belle,who,was,the,darling,of,her,small,towns,social scene,Amanda is now an abandoned,wife,and,single,mother,living,
19、in,a,small,apartment,in,St.,Louis.,She,dreams,of,her,past and of her daughters future,but seems,unwilling to recognize certain harsh realities,of,the,present.,She,is,a,loving,mother,but,her,demands,can,make,life,difficult,for,Laura and unbearable for Tom.,Laura Wingfield:,Crippled from childhood,Lau
20、ra,walks,with,the,aid,of,a,leg,brace.,Laura,is,painfully,shy,unable,to,face,the,world,outside,of,the,tiny,Wingfield,apartment.,She,spends,her,time,polishing,her,collection,of,tiny,glass,animals,her,glass,menagerie.,Her,presence,is,almost,ghostly,and,her,inability,to,connect,with,others,outside,of,he
21、r,family,makes,her,dependent,on,Tom,and,Amanda.,Jims,nickname,for,her,Blue,Roses,suggests,both,her,odd,beauty,and,her,isolation,as,blue roses exist nowhere in the real world.,Tom,Wingfield:,Tom,is,an,aspiring,poet,who,works,in,the,Continental,Shoemakers,warehouse.,He,is,the,narrator,of,the,play:,the
22、,action,of,the,play,is,framed,by,Toms,memory.,Tom,loves,his,mother,and,sister,but,he,feels,trapped,at,home.,They,are,dependent,on,his wages,and,as,long,as,he,stays with them he feels he can never have a,life,of,his,own.,Nightly,he,disappears,to,go to the movies.,Jim,OConnor:,The,long-awaited,gentlem
23、an,caller.,He,is,outgoing,enthusiastic,and,believes,in,self-,improvement.,He,kisses,Laura,and,raises,her hopes before revealing to her that he is,engaged.,Tom,describes,him,as,a,person,more,connected,to,the,real,world,than,any,of the other characters are,but Jim is also a,symbol for the expected som
24、ething that we,楬敶映牯尮,Themes,The Difficulty of Accepting Reality,The Impossibility of True Escape,The Unrelenting Power of Memory,Symbols,Lauras,Glass Menagerie,The Glass Unicorn,“Blue,Roses”,Symbolic Meaning of Glass Menagerie,As,the,title,of,the,play,informs,us,the,glass menagerie,or collection of
25、animals,is,the,plays,central,symbol.,Lauras,collection,of,glass,animal,figurines,represents,a,number,of,facets,of,her,personality.,Like,the,figurines,Laura,is,delicate,fanciful,and,somehow,old-,fashioned.Glass is transparent,but,when,light is shined upon it correctly,it refracts,an entire rainbow of
26、 colors.,Similarly,Laura,though,quiet,and,bland,around,strangers,is,a,source,of,strange,multifaceted delight to those who choose to,look at her in the right light.The menagerie,also,represents,the,imaginative,world,to,which,Laura,devotes,herself,a,world,that,is colorful and enticing but based on fra
27、gile,illusions.,unicorns,As Jim points out,unicorns are,“extinct”,in,modern,times,and,are,lonesome,as,a,result,of,being,different,from,other,horses.Laura too is unusual,lonely,and,ill-adapted,to,existence,in,the,world,in,which she lives.The fate of the unicorn is,also,a,smaller-scale,version,of,Laur
28、as,fate.,Blue Roses,Like,the,glass,unicorn,“Blue,Roses,”,Jims,high,school,nickname,for,Laura,symbolizes,Lauras,unusualness,yet,allure.,The,name,is,also,associated,with,Lauras,attraction to Jim and the joy that,his kind treatment brings her.,Arthur Miller(1915-),亚瑟,米勒,Arthur,Miller,is,the,most,import
29、ant,postwar realistic playwright in the United,States.He puts the idea of social duty and,responsibilities,into,the,center,of,his,plays,and,has,brought,back,in,the,theatre,in an important way,the drama,of social questions.,Arthur Miller(1915-2005),life,:,born on October 17th in New York City,1934 En
30、ters University of Michigan in,the Fall to study journalism.,1949,Death of a Salesman,premiers and receives the Pulitzer Prize,the New York Drama Critics Circle,Award,the Antoinette Perry Award,the,Donaldson Award,and the Theater,Club Award,among others.,Arthur Miller(1915-2005),2005 Miller dies of,
31、heart failure in his,Connecticut home on,10th February.,Character List:,Willy Loman:,A sixty year old salesman,living in Brooklyn,Willy Loman is a,gregarious,mercurial man with powerful,strivings and aspirations for success.,However,after thirty-five years as a,traveling salesman throughout New,Engl
32、and,Willy Loman is tired and defeated,by his lack of success and difficult family,life.,Although he has a dutiful wife,his,relationship with his oldest son,Biff,is,strained because of Biffs continual failures.,As a salesman,Willy Loman focuses on,personal details over actual measures of,success,beli
33、eving that it is personality and,not results that garner success in the,business world.,The Tragedy of Willy,Willy is the victim of the,American dream,.His,tragedy is caused by his faith in accomplishing,it,which means success through working hard,and,obtaining,others,acceptance,by,popular,personali
34、ty.,He,believes,“,a,man,can,end,up,with diamonds here on the basis of being liked.,”,Though,he,has,carried,out,this,doctrine,for,nearly forty years,he has to commit suicide to,declare the complete bankruptcy of his life-long,dream.,Willy,is,the,victim,of,society,particularly,a,victim,of,a,harsh,econ
35、omic,system that first uses and then discards him.,Biff Loman:,The,thirty-four,year,old,son,of,Willy,Loman,Biff,was,a,star,high,school,athlete,with,a,scholarship,to,UVA,but,he,did,not,attend,college,after,failing,his,high,school,math course and not attending summer school.,He did this primarily out
36、of spite after finding,his,father,having,an,affair,with,a,woman,in,Boston.,Since,then,Biff,has,been,a,continual,failure,stealing from every job he has had and,even,spending,time,in,jail.,Despite,his,failures,and,anger,towards,his,father,Biff,still,has,great concern for what his father thinks of him,
37、and,the,conflict,between,the,two,characters,drives the narrative of the play.,Happy,Loman:,The,younger,of,the,two,Loman,sons,Happy,Loman,is,seemingly,content,and,successful,with,a,steady,career and none of the obvious marks of,failure,that,his,older,brother,displays.,Happy,however,is,not,content,wit
38、h,his,more,stable,life,because,he,has,never,risked,failure,or,striven,for,any,real,measure,of,success.,Happy,is,a,compulsive womanizer who treats women,purely as sex objects and has little respect,for the many women he seduces.,Themes,The American Dream,Abandonment,Betrayal,Quotation,Because,Biff,th
39、inks,Im,nothing,see,and,so,he,spites,me.,But,the,funeral,straightening,up:,Ben,that,funeral,will,be,massive!,Theyll,come,from,Maine,Massachusetts,Vermont,New,Hampshire!,All,the,old-timers,with,the,strange,license,plates,that,boy,will,be,thunder-struck,Ben,because,he,never,realized,I am known!,Other
40、Dramatists and Dramas,Elmer Rice(1892-1967)_,The Adding,Machine(1923),Susan Glaspell(1881-1948):regarded by,some people as,“mother of American,drama”,-,founded the first influential,noncommercial theater troupe in America.,Clifford Odets(1906-1963):,Waiting for,Lefty,Edward Albee(1928-):,Theater of
41、the,absurd,荒诞派戏剧,Whos Afraid of Virginia?,exercises,1.“American Shakespeare”refers to,.,2.The founder of the American drama is_.,A.Arthur Miller B.Clifford Odets,C.Tennessee Williams D.Eugene ONeil,3.“He got me,aw right.Im trou.Even him,didnt think I belonged.”In these sentences,taken from,The Hairy
42、 Ape,the words“he”and,“him”both refer to_,A.Yank B.God,C.The ape in the zoo D.A person unnamed,4._ won the Pulitzer Prize four,times and was the only dramatist ever to,win a Nobel Prize.He is widely acclaimed,“founder of the American drama,”and,recognized even more as a major figure in,world literature.,A.Miller B.William,C.Heller,D.ONeill,5.Which of the following are dramatists?,A.Tennessee Williams B.Eugene O Neill,C.John Steinbeck D.Arthur Miller,1.American Puritanism(4 points),
