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The three masters of 20th-century American theater are Eugene O'Neill, Tennessee Williams, and Arthur Miller.
Eugene O'Neill'Neill (1888-1953) was an American playwright. Born in New York to a family of actors. In 1906 he entered Princeton University. He worked as a miner, seafarer and journalist. In 1913, he began to write plays. Representative plays include "Beyond the Horizon", "King Jones", "Desire Under the Elm", "Mourning", "The Ice Messenger is Coming" and "The Long Journey into the Night". His tragic works have a wide range of themes, dare to break through the tradition in terms of technique, and often use expressionist techniques to portray the complex inner world of the characters in order to show people's pursuit and confusion. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1920, 1922, 1928 and 1957, and the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1936. He is known as the "Father of American Theatre".
Tennessee Williams (1911-1983) was an American playwright and writer. He graduated from the University of Iowa in 1938. He used to be a screenwriter at MGM Pictures. At the end of the 30s, he began to create plays. He wrote more than 50 multi-act plays and short plays in his lifetime. "The Glass Menagerie" is his famous work. In 1948 and 1955, his masterpieces "A Streetcar Named Desire" and "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The works mainly show the anguish of ordinary people in contemporary America, and most of the people in the bureau are psychologically deformed characters caused by a sick society. In terms of playwriting techniques, expressionist and symbolist elements are often incorporated into realistic techniques. In addition, "Mrs. Stone's Spring in Rome", "Moise and the World of Reason", poetry collections, memoirs, etc. Known as the "troubadour of Broadway in the United States".
Arthur Miller (1915-2005) was an American playwright. Born in New York to a Jewish family. He worked as a truck driver, waiter and worker. While attending the University of Michigan, he won the college's Hopwood Theatre Award for two consecutive years. In 1947, he became famous for winning the New York Drama Critics Award for "All My Sons". His masterpiece "Death of a Salesman" won the New York Drama Critics Award and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, earning it international fame. In 1956, he opposed McKinseyism and wrote "The Witches of Salem" on a related theme. Since 1965, he has been elected President of International PEN for two consecutive terms. He also wrote the scripts "Looking from the Bridge", "After the Fall", "The Price", "The Archbishop's Ceiling" and "The American Clock", the long **"Focus", the short ** collection "I Don't Need You Anymore", the essay collection "In the Country", "China Experience" and so on. It has been hailed as the "conscience of American theater".
a
Won the Pulitzer Prize in 1920"Beyond the Horizon".It was Eugene O'Neill's fame that established his position as the premier of American theater.
Beyond the Horizon depicts the tragedy of the dreams pursued by three young people in rural America in the early 20th century and their eventual collapse.
Younger brother Robert and older brother Anjou both have a crush on the neighbor girl, Ruth.
Fantastical and romantic, Robert wanted to sail with his uncle to chase his dreams and find beauty beyond the horizon. Before leaving, he confessed his love to Ruth, whom he had loved for a long time. Ruth is attracted by the romantic aura in him, accepts Robert's affection for him, and asks him to stay.
Robert immediately gave up the opportunity to go to sea with his uncle, married Ruth, and stayed in the countryside to farm.
And Anju, who has always loved Ruth, was deeply affected by love and was sad and disappointed, so he left the land he loved in anger and temporarily decided to sail away in place of his younger brother.
Anjoo embarks on a sea journey that should have belonged to his younger brother, broadening his horizons and forgetting the pain of falling out of love, but it destroys his true nature as a farmer and makes him a shrewd and worldly speculative businessman, causing him to lose himself.
Robert said to Anju:"I'm a loser and Ruth is a loser. But the two of us can put the blame for our mistakes on God. Anju, you're the most utterly defeated of the three of us. You've been out of your profession for eight years. Do you understand what I mean? When you loved the farm, you were a producer. You are in harmony with your life. But now—".
A few years later, Robert's farm was in shambles, and Robert died of tuberculosis. "Still holding out hope, Anju? No, you don't. I know. The sun comes out so slowly. The doctor told me to go to a distant place and my illness would be cured. He's right. That's always a good recipe for me. But – in this lifetime – it's too late. ”
Ruth and Anju were originally a natural pair, but the simple Ruth was attracted by Robert's poetic temperament and romantic words, and when Robert revealed his heart to her before leaving, she accepted Robert's love. The future she originally envisioned was romantic and poetic, but soon after she got married, she discovered the mistake of her choice, and Robert, who had been ill for a long time, could not bear the burden of the family at all, and the family's situation deteriorated, and she was eventually tortured by life into a woman with sloppy clothes and cold feelings.
Beyond the Horizon reveals the contradiction between life's dreams and objective reality by depicting the tragedy of pursuing dreams and their eventual collapse.
The performance of "Beyond the Horizon" on Broadway in 1920 marked the beginning of the beginning of the United States to have its own, independent and complete stage theater development career.
Eugene O'Neill said"You see the secret behind the veil, and you yourself are the secret. ”
b
"The Long Journey Into the Night".It is an autobiographical play script written by Eugene O'Neill in 1940.
"A Long Journey into the Night" depicts the story of the famous actor Tyrone's family of four who spend their days hiding in a dreary villa
Mother Mary was born "everyone is beautiful", and after marrying Tyrone, her life has been wandering for a long time, and her psychology has become lonely and depressed; After an accidental drug addiction, Mary is often in a state of self-blame and remorse.
"I never lied. Now, I'm not only lying to others, I'm lying to myself. ”
Unfortunately, Mary's old illness**, her psychology aggravated, and she had suicidal thoughts many times, which led to the family's life being shrouded in shadows.
The eldest son, Jamie, is cynical and life**; He was even jealous of his younger brother Edmund's talent and deliberately taught him to learn badly and play life.
After his youngest son, Edmund, was diagnosed with tuberculosis, an incurable disease, he also felt that "it was a big mistake to be born as a human being, and I will always be a stranger who doesn't need people and doesn't need anyone to live my life."
Father Tyrone yelled at his sons
"You two guys shut up! It's really half a catty. What about you, the one you learned from the Broadway hooligans, isn't it the same as what Edmund gnawed out of his books? It's all a mad outlook on life! Both of you have violated your upbringing and faith in your lifetime—the unique truth of Catholicism. There is nothing else to this betrayal of yours but to destroy yourself! ”
In despair, the father and son all fell into a strange circle of complaining and blaming each other, and they could only use wine to drown their sorrows
What to get drunk? With wine, poetry, benevolence, righteousness and morality, anything can be done, as long as you are drunk. ”
He began to cry, and the most terrible thing was that it did not look like he was drunk and sobbing, but it was crying loudly when he was sober. ”
"The fog is so thick that I can't see the road clearly. People from all over the world can walk by our door, and I won't know. I hope it will always be like this. ”
The Long Journey Into the Night" is not only O'Neill's summary of his own life, but also a tortuous reflection of the crisis of the zeitgeist.
O'Neill's dramatis is known for his artistic style in Strindberg and Ibsen"A native tragic pioneer who is comparable not only to Ibsen, Strindberg and George Bernard Shaw, but also to Aeschylus, Euripides and Shakespeare."
In 1936,"Because of the strength, enthusiasm and deep affection expressed in his plays – they fit perfectly into the original concept of tragedy".and won the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Eugene O'Neill said"Only tragedy is real, meaningful, and beautiful. Tragedy is the meaning of life, the hope of life. The noblest is always the saddest. ”
c
A Streetcar Named DesireIt is the masterpiece of American playwright Tennessee Williams.
The script tells the story of the protagonist Blanche, a typical southern lady who refuses to give up her old way of life after her family is ruined"Whoever you are - I always count on the mercy of strangers. ”
Blanche gradually degenerates and becomes corrupt, and later has to take refuge with her sister Stella.
"You're talking about savage desires—nothing more than desires! — the name of the battered tram that rumbled through the area, up this old narrow street. "That's what brought me here. - This place that is both unwelcoming and embarrassing ......
Blanche is at odds with her brother-in-law Stanley's rough lifestyle"He behaves and acts like a beast, and he has the habits of a beast! Eat, move, and talk like beasts! He has a habit of being lower than a human and has not yet evolved to the human stage! Yes, there is something like an ape, like a frame I saw at an exhibition of anthropological research! ”
"I have nowhere else to go. I'm exhausted. Do you know what exhaustion is? But my youth suddenly surged again—I met you. You say you need individuals. Yes, I need individuals too. I thank God for you, because you seem to be gentle—like a crack in this rocky world where I can hide! But I probably asked for it, I hoped for it—too much! Kifebber, Stanley, and Shaw have tied an old tin can to the tail of my kite. ”
"I was never strong enough to stand on my own. When you're not strong enough—the weak have to shine—you have to be weak, like the wings of a butterfly, remember—put a paper lantern on the bulb......Weakness alone is not enough. You have to be both weak and charming. And I- I'm not as good as I used to be! I don't know how long I can last, I don't know if I can get what I want. ”
Blanche was then sent to an insane asylum by her brother-in-law**.
"I, I, I'm suffering both physically and mentally! All those deaths! The long funeral procession leading to the cemetery! Father! Mother! Margaret, that horrible look! It's so swollen that it can't fit into a coffin! It can only be cremated like garbage! You came home just in time for the funeral, Stella. Funerals are much more beautiful than death. ”
The play was staged in New York in 1947 and was a huge success, winning the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1948.
Arthur Miller said".The premiere of "A Streetcar Named Desire" was tantamount to planting a banner of beauty in the land of commercial theater. ”
Tennessee Williams said"It's hard enough for me to just write what I want to write, let alone write what you say they want me to write and I don't want to write at all. ”
d
"Cat on a Hot Tin Roof".It was one of Tennessee Williams' masterpieces that won him the 1955 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
The script revolves around the inheritance crisis of a family in the southern United States.
In the Mississippi Delta, a strict family of big dads and big moms, the eldest son, Cooper and his wife, May, and their five children, and the youngest son, Breck, and his wife, Maggie.
The eldest father died soon after a serious illness, and he wanted to pass on his family fortune to his beloved youngest son, so he earnestly hoped that Breck would give him a grandson in the hope of having a successor.
But the youngest son, Brecke, had no intention of this, and drank heavily all day"I'm sorry, Big Daddy. My brain didn't work anymore, I had a hard time understanding how people cared about life and death or something, I only cared about whether there was wine in the bottle, so I spoke without thinking, and I said it counted. In a way, I'm not better than others, and in a way, I'm worse than others, because I'm not alive at all. Maybe it's because people live that they lie, and I'm not alive at all, so I occasionally tell the truth — I can't tell, but — anyway — we've always been friends......Since they are friends, they have to tell each other the truth......”
Blake also refuses to fulfill his responsibilities as a husband and is unwilling to live conjugal life with his wife, as he has always believed that his wife was responsible for the death of his good friend Skipp, and Maggie says that Skipp is Blake's homosexual.
Maggie is like"Cat on a Hot Tin Roof".Generally, you can't enter, and you can't bear to give up. "Living with someone you love can be more lonely than living alone – if the person you love doesn't love you." "What is the triumph of a cat on a hot tin roof? I wish I knew. I wondered if I could stay on the roof for as long as I could......
The eldest son, Cooper, came to celebrate his father's 65th birthday. When they learn that Big Daddy is suffering from cancer, they are eager to take ownership of the family because they believe that Blake is a drunk and that the couple have no children.
Maggie comes from a humble background, and she knows that money is the only way and means to secure her own status. So she tried every means to force her husband to comply, asking him to give her a heavy weight that would help fight for property - children"Brick, seriously, you have to trust me, Brick, I really know all about this! I—I think it's—sublime! I said I value this, can you say I'm not sincere? My only purpose, my only goal, is to let life go on, even if all the dreams of life ......Disillusionment is ......”
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is a tragedy sustained by lies.
Tennessee Williams said through Brick's mouth, ".Deception is our way of life. Drinking is one way out, death is another. ”
e
Published in 1949"Death of a Salesman".It is Arthur Miller's internationally acclaimed masterpiece.
Death of a Salesman tells the story of Willie Loman, a salesman who has been a salesman for 34 years, who is fired by his boss due to old age and infirmity, and commits suicide late at night in order to get a life insurance premium for his family.
Willy Loman, a salesman in his late sixtieth year, returns home with two heavy suitcases full of samples. Extremely tired, he seemed to be coming to the end of his life.
"I've always insisted that I never waste my life, and every time I come back, I understand that everything I do is wasted my life. ”
Willie blames his two sons for not doing their jobs properly and for achieving nothing. Eryu ridiculed him and ridiculed him for being just a lame runner.
Only his wife, Linda, understands him, is considerate of him, and does everything to maintain his dignity, hoping to give him some courage and confidence to live on. However, all this seems to be to no avail.
Under heavy pressure, Willy's mind was in a trance. In order to save Willy, Linda calls on the children to have mercy on their father, and even tells them that Willy is going to commit suicide.
At this time, the youngest son, Harpy, came up with a way to let his brother Biff borrow money from a friend, and the Loman brothers would run it independently, hoping to make a business. This exciting idea brought the whole family to sleep with new hopes......
In order to wish the realization of their dreams for the future, the father and son agreed to meet in a restaurant. And when they meet, both parties bring the sad news: Biff has not borrowed money, and Willy has been fired from the company.
"Now it's burning eyebrows, kids, understand? I'm desperate now. They fired me today. ”
"Howard fired you? ”
"It's that little bunny. Do you want to know? I gave him the name, Howard is the name I gave it. ”
"Willy, in what year and month did you realize that this kind of thing is not worth the money! You named him Howard, but you can't sell it. In this world, only what can be sold is yours. The strange thing is that you're a salesman, but you don't understand that. ”
This led to another fierce quarrel between father and son, however, none of them understood the social reasons why they could not live. The old salesman, who had dreamed all his life, is now all disillusioned and his self-esteem is badly bruised. He dreamed of arguing with his deceased, big brother who had made a fortune in Africa"Strange thing, you know what? A lifetime on the road, on the train to go on a date, so many years, the result is that death is worth more than living. ”
In the end, in order to get a life insurance premium for his family, he was killed in a crash while driving out in the middle of the night.
"Willie has been a salesman all his life, and his life has no solid foundation. He doesn't care about screwing, he can't tell you what the law is like, and he doesn't care about prescribing medicine. He had to go out alone, relying on the smile on his face and the polishing of his shoes. But as long as people don't smile at him - then disaster strikes. Wait until his hat is stained with oil sludge and it's over. I don't dare to blame this man. The salesman has to live by dreaming, kid. ”
Willy has always been shrouded in the illusory aura of American business culture, blindly estimating his own abilities, fantasizing about fame and unrealistic prospects through merchandising, so much so that he is often in a state of boasting, boasting, and lying until he dies, thinking that he will definitely succeed, but he is completely ignorant of the reasons for his own destruction.
"He was wrong with his dreams. All, all wrong. ”
Through the tragic life of a small person, "Death of a Salesman" not only profoundly reveals the contradiction between ideals and reality, but also reflects the tragic situation of ordinary American families under the economic depression. His work has won the New York Drama Critics Award and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
The New York Times said:"The play is so simple in style, so full of inevitability in its theme, it doesn't seem to be a work that has been created and performed at all. That's because Mr. Miller has compassionately insight into the inner world of ordinary Americans, and has quietly brought their hopes and pains to the theater stage. ”
Arthur Miller said"I laughed as I wrote it, mainly in response to Willy's utter paradox, and it was in the midst of this laughter that the name of the play suddenly popped up one afternoon. ”
f
A play in four acts premiered in 1953The Witches of SalemArthur Miller based on a 1692 "witch exorcism" in the town of Salem, Massachusetts, North America, in which hundreds of people were falsely accused.
"This Salem tragedy developed from a plausible fallacy. We are still living today under the grip of this paradoxical fallacy, and there is no hope that we will find a solution. The reason is simple: the inhabitants of Salem have developed a theocracy, a theocratic force, for good and even solemn intentions, whose role is to maintain social coherence and not allow any ** phenomenon to arise, lest material or ideological people might come and destroy it. ”
Betty, the daughter of Barris, a small-town pastor shrouded in puritanism, is frightened while dancing with her friends, causing her to become delirious and ill. Meanwhile, Rose, the daughter of the town's Putnams, also falls ill. Rumors began to circulate witchcraft in the township. So, Pastor Barris invited Pastor Hull, a master of exorcism from other parishes, to come to Salem to investigate.
"Old feuds are now openly expressed, and the desire for revenge for land in defiance of the merciful commands of the Bible, which was once expressed only in the general quarrels concerning boundaries and contracts, now rises to the realm of morality; A person can accuse his neighbor of being a wizard. ”
The girls involved in the dance are worried about being mistaken for witches, and led by Barris's niece, Abig, the group of girls pretend to be ghosts, saying that they see many people with the devil. Those who had been falsely accused were put in prison, and the dancing girls were turned into saints.
"The witch exorcism is not only an act of repression, but it clearly gives everyone a long-awaited opportunity to confess their wrongs and sins by accusing innocent people for the sake of truth. ”
Abiger worked as a maid in Plockto's house and was kicked out of the house by the mistress for seducing the man. Abiger held a grudge because of this, and even took the opportunity to frame Prolockto's sister-in-law.
Eventually, the town turned into purgatory: more than 400 people were imprisoned and 72 were hanged!
In order to save his wife Elizabeth, the male protagonist Plockto risked his life to expose Abig's conspiracy and confessed that he had had adultery with Abig.
However, this did not stop the Inquisition from carrying out this killing in the name of God. In the end, Plockeau was unable to violate his conscience and was unwilling to sell his friends and soul in exchange for a humiliating existence, and finally resolutely went to the gallows.
"Because it's my reputation! Because I can't have another name in my life! Because I lied and signed the book of lies! Because I am not even as good as dung in the presence of those who go to the gallows and see death as home! How can I live with a disgrace? I've given my soul to you, don't touch my reputation again! ”
Miller uses history as a metaphor for the present to perfectly present an allegory about the conflict between good and evil in human nature, revealing the cruelty and ruthlessness of the powerful forces, the evil of blind obedience of the rabble and the collapse of moral beliefs, and the choices of people when the catastrophe comes, the deepest abyss of human nature, but also the most dazzling brilliance of human nature.
Arthur Miller said"The playwright must show once again that he has the right to infect the audience with his mind and heart. It is also necessary for the public to recognise that the stage is a place where ideas and philosophies are disseminated, and where the fate of man is most seriously shut. ”