The effect of dramatic concept in the non-realistic plays of Eugene O'Neill and Thornton Wilder

摘要

Both Eugene O'Neill and Thornton Wilder reacted against theudnaturalism of turn-of-the-century drama, believing that non-realisticudmethods could be more effectively used to presentudthe truth. Influenced by recent experiments in Europe, andudderiving inspiration from Greek, Elizabethan and Orientaludmodels, the playwrights searched for novel techniques to wakeudup the audience and shake it into awareness of man's universaludand contemporary situation. This study of twenty-six playsudconsiders the success of these devices.udA discussion of the structure of the plays in Chapter Twoudexplores O'Neill's use of compression, parallels, and repetitionudto give the plays rhythm and force and his selection ofudepisodes which give heightened significance to the actionudwhich is often played out against a large background. SimilarlyudWilder's concentration on symbolic moments, the deliberatelyudjerky movement of many plays and the telescoping of time giveudhis characters and action a cosmological and metaphysicaludframework.udIn Chapter Three a study is made of the effect of charactersudwho are seen by the authors as only part of the whole play,udand are often used to illustrate only one or two human traits.udRepresentational and cliche characters, personalities fromudhistory and myth, the personification of animals and places,udand characters who address the audience strengthen Wilder'sudreminder to us that a play is a piece of fiction. O'Neill'suddevelopment of the mask is traced with its various purposesudof showing inner personality, conflict within the characters,udlack of individuality, and for its sheer dramatic power.udChapters Four and Five analyse the dramatists' use of soundudand visual effects. Although aware that great language wasudnot possible in the early twentieth century, O'Neilludrelies heavily on rhythm, silence and pauses, the use of speechudsounds, laughter, music and sound effects to give emotionaludimpact to the action. The asides of Strange Interlude wereuda unique experiment which allowed layers of conflicting emotionsudto be shown. Wilder's monologues and casual speech, lightenedudby humour and platitudes, make his philosophical concerns moreudpalatable to the audience. Both authors were aware that stage-positioning,udmovement, sets, mime, dance, frozen posture,udcolour, lighting and costume could disencumber the dialogue,udfocus our attention and create atmosphere.udThe last Chapter attempts to assess what the playwrights achievedudwith their experiments, both in terms of their success inudperformance and reading, and in terms of the influence exertedudon a later generation of writers. American drama owes a significantuddebt to both authors for liberating it from a staleudrealistic tradition.