Four Plays By Eugene O'Neill

Introduction by A.R. Gurney
Winner of four Pulitzer Prizes and the first American dramatist to receive a Nobel Prize, Eugene O'Neill filled his plays with rich characterization and innovative language, taking the outcasts and renegades of society and depicting their Olympian struggles with themselves-and with destiny.
Eugene O’Neill (1888–1953) is one of the most significant forces in the history of American theater. With no uniquely American tradition to guide him, O’Neill introduced various dramatic techniques, which subsequently became staples of the US theater. By 1914 he had written 12 one-act and two long plays. Of this early work, only Thirst and Other One Act Plays (1914) was originally published. From this point on, O’Neill’s work falls roughly into three phases: the early plays, written from 1914 to 1921 (The Long Voyage HomeThe Moon of the CaribbeesBeyond the HorizonAnna Christie); a variety of full-length plays for Broadway (Desire Under the ElmsGreat God BrownAh, Wilderness!); and the last, great plays, written between 1938 and his death (The Iceman ComethA Moon for the Misbegotten). O'Neill is a four-time Pulitzer Prize winner, and he was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature in 1936. View titles by Eugene O'Neill

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Winner of four Pulitzer Prizes and the first American dramatist to receive a Nobel Prize, Eugene O'Neill filled his plays with rich characterization and innovative language, taking the outcasts and renegades of society and depicting their Olympian struggles with themselves-and with destiny.

Author

Eugene O’Neill (1888–1953) is one of the most significant forces in the history of American theater. With no uniquely American tradition to guide him, O’Neill introduced various dramatic techniques, which subsequently became staples of the US theater. By 1914 he had written 12 one-act and two long plays. Of this early work, only Thirst and Other One Act Plays (1914) was originally published. From this point on, O’Neill’s work falls roughly into three phases: the early plays, written from 1914 to 1921 (The Long Voyage HomeThe Moon of the CaribbeesBeyond the HorizonAnna Christie); a variety of full-length plays for Broadway (Desire Under the ElmsGreat God BrownAh, Wilderness!); and the last, great plays, written between 1938 and his death (The Iceman ComethA Moon for the Misbegotten). O'Neill is a four-time Pulitzer Prize winner, and he was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature in 1936. View titles by Eugene O'Neill