Masterpieces of 20th-Century American Drama (Greenwood Introduces Literary Masterpieces)

American playwrights have made enormous contributions to world drama during the last century, and their works are widely read and performed. This reference conveniently introduces 10 of the most important modern American plays read by students. An introductory essay concisely overviews modern American drama, and each of the chapters that follow examines a particular play. Among the plays discussed are Thornton Wilder's Our Town , Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman , Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun , and August Wilson's The Piano Lesson . Each chapter includes a biography, a plot summary, an analysis of the play's themes, characters, and dramatic art, and a review of its historical background and reception. Chapters list works for further reading, and the volume closes with a selected, general bibliography. Contents......Page 8 Introduction......Page 10 1 Thornton Wilder, Our Town (1938)......Page 28 2 Tennessee Williams, A Streetcar Named Desire (1947)......Page 46 3 Arthur Miller, Death of a Salesman (1949)......Page 66 4 Arthur Miller, The Crucible (1953)......Page 86 5 Eugene O’Neill, Long Day's Journey into Night (1956)......Page 106 6 Lorraine Hansberry, A Raisin in the Sun (1959)......Page 124 7 Edward Albee, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1962)......Page 142 8 Sam Shepard, Buried Child (1978)......Page 162 9 David Mamet, Glengarry Glen Ross (1984)......Page 182 10 August Wilson, The Piano Lesson (1987)......Page 200 Bibliography......Page 220 A......Page 224 B......Page 225 D......Page 226 F......Page 227 H......Page 228 L......Page 229 M......Page 230 O......Page 231 R......Page 232 S......Page 233 T......Page 234 W......Page 235 Z......Page 236 Chapters list works for further reading, and the volume closes with a selected, general bibliography.Each chapter provides a biography, a plot summary, a discussion of themes, major characters, and dramatic art, and a survey of the play's historical background and critical reception. Profiles ten influential modern American plays, with an introductory overview of modern American drama and a biography of each play's author with discussion of themes, major characters, historical background, and critical reception