Article analyzed the soliloquies in Hamlet and showed that Shakespeare used the device of the soliloquy not for clarification (as he did elsewhere) but for complication instead, so that the audience is made to see Hamlet's character as consisting of diverse ingredients, a personality fragmented rather than whole. (Editor/RK)

The contents of this book represent one critic's views on some qualities and questions in the theater between 1964 and 1975 and include relevant biographical (e.g., the career of Joseph Papp) and historical articles. The five parts of the book deal with theaters--American and foreign; productions--revivals and new plays; notes on music; stages of…

A discussion of the pros and cons of considering the theatre as literature despite the "performance" qualities of dramatics. (CH)

An interpersonal perception mode of analysis can provide insight into a playscript, eliminating the protagonist-oriented view of drama and creating a dramatic production with richer texture. Since drama represents its characters' inabilities to process information satisfactorily or to maintain successful interpersonal relationships, all the…

Discusses the depiction of women characters in the plays of Alice Childress. Analyzes "Wine in the Wilderness" to demonstrate Childress' skill at characterization and calls for further scholarship on this neglected playwright. (KH)

A discussion of the dramas of the Norwegian novelist-playwright Knut Hamsun YKnutPedersenI (1859-1952). (RD)

Organized along broadly historical lines, this comprehensive collection of outstanding plays includes 41 works from the classical Greek period to the contemporary. As an introduction to the theater, the collection is unmatched for its theatrical variety and cultural diversity. It provides: (1) a general introduction on reading and witnessing a…

In a celebration of the expansiveness and inclusiveness of farce, this book describes the art form rather than defines it. Part 1 illustrates the nature of farce and its relationship to tragedy, comedy, and melodrama. Part 2 is a cumulative biography of farce, beginning with Greek and Roman writers and continuing through Shakespeare, Moliere, and…

Four books are discussed as being helpful in the teaching of playwriting at the college level: Kenneth Macgowan's "A Primer of Playwriting" (1951); Walter Kerr's "How Not to Write a Play" (1955); Bernard Grebanier's "Playwriting" (1961); and Sam Smiley's "Playwriting: The Structure of Action" (1971). The books are discussed individually and are…

This paper discusses generally Neil Simon's plays; specifically examines "God's Favorite,""Plaza Suite,""Barefoot in The Park,""Star Spangled Girl,""Come Blow Your Horn," and "Last of the Red Hot Lovers"; and quotes reviews of the plays. An examination of the composition of the plays…

Horton Foote was among the television writers who helped make NBC's "Television Playhouse" the most popular live dramatic program on the air during the "Golden Age" of television drama, the period between 1952 and 1957. Foote felt a strong affinity for the land and people of his youth, and modeled the imaginary towns of…