Twelve Major Plays

August Strindberg is one of the founders of the modern theater. George Bernard Shaw considered him "the only genuinely Shakespearian modern dramatist," Sean O'Casey called him "the greatest of them all." And to Eugene O'Neill he was "the greatest interpreter in the theater of the characteristic spiritual conflicts of our lives today." Twelve Major Plays includes the most famous and most characteristic Strindberg plays.This selection is particularly interesting in its depiction of the great range of Strindberg's moods and styles, from naturalism to expressionism, from ironic comedy to bitter tragedy. It displays his great gift for symbolic, mystical verse as well as his command of dramatic prose. In issues of sex and gender, Strindberg anticipated the modern temperament in society and drama alike.These translations gave American readers their first opportunity to know the true genius of Strindberg. Most previous versions in English had been based on existing German translations. Elizabeth Sprigge's unique achievement was to render the original Swedish texts into English that is at once fluent and accurate and that captures the full vigor and impact of the original plays.

August Strindberg is one of the founders of the modern theater. George Bernard Shaw considered him "the only genuinely Shakespearian modern dramatist," Sean O'Casey called him "the greatest of them all." And to Eugene O'Neill he was "the greatest interpreter in the theater of the characteristic spiritual conflicts of our lives today." Twelve Major Plays includes the most famous and most characteristic Strindberg plays. This selection is particularly interesting in its depiction of the great range of Strindberg's moods and styles, from naturalism to expressionism, from ironic comedy to bitter tragedy. It displays his great gift for symbolic, mystical verse as well as his command of dramatic prose. In issues of sex and gender, Strindberg anticipated the modern temperament in society and drama alike. These translations gave American readers their first opportunity to know the true genius of Strindberg. Most previous versions in English had been based on existing German translations. Elizabeth Sprigge's unique achievement was to render the original Swedish texts into English that is at once fluent and accurate and that captures the full vigor and impact of the original plays. August Strindberg (1849-1912) was a Swedish writer and playwright and is credited and being one of the founders of modern theatre. His writings combined elements of psychology and naturalism. Some of his minor writings, not included in this book, include The Outlaw, Master Olaf, Pariah, The Comrades, and Among French Peasants. Elizabeth Sprigge was educated in London and Ontario and was the author of a number of novels, biographies and children's books. She was co-founder of the famous avant-garde Watergate Theatre in London and lectured on literature and theatre in many parts of the world.

 Henrik Ibsen, Anton Chekhov and August Strindberg—innovators of modern drama—created characters whose reckless pursuits of irrational objectives blind them to better options. Ibsen’s protagonists in A Doll’s House, Hedda Gabler and The Master Builder try to bend the world to conform to their personal visions—with disastrous results. Chekhov’s characters refuse to do anything, instead dramatizing their lives as if they were actors in a play (which they are). Rehearsing the intractable squabbles between men and women in The Dance of Death and The Ghost Sonata, Strindberg suggests that only in life beyond death can humanity transcend the brutality of existence. Together, the lives of these characters offer a study of the individual’s struggle with modernity.

"Major Plays of Chikamatsu gives Western readers a fascinating look at seventeenth century Japanese culture. Like other playwrights before him, Chikamatsu created characters who are members of a society driven by its mores. However, unlike those of other playwrights of the period, Chikamatsu's characters have multidimensional personalities and unconventional voices, making his art more realistc and complex."--Publisher's description.

Chikamatsu's domestic dramas are accurate reflections of Japanese society at the time: his characters are samurai, farmers, merchants, and prostitutes who speak colloquially, and who people the shops, streets, teahouses, and brothels that constituted their daily environment.

Representing the largest expansion between editions, this updated volume of Ottemiller's Index to Plays in Collections is the standard location tool for full-length plays published in collections and anthologies in England and the United States throughout the 20th century and beyond. This new volume lists more than 3,500 new plays and 2,000 new authors, as well as birth and/or death information for hundreds of authors.