Read Desire Under the Elms and Strange Interlude in English 52: 20th Century Drama with Professor Donald Pease.

Desire Under the Elms is a powerful and complex play that delves into the themes of desire, family, and inheritance. It explores the passionate and often tumultuous relationships within a family, highlighting the conflicts and tensions that arise. Strange Interlude, on the other hand, is a thought-provoking work that examines the inner lives and hidden desires of its characters. Through the use of soliloquies and asides, the play reveals the complex web of emotions and motivations that drive the characters' actions.

Studying these plays with Professor Donald Pease in the context of 20th Century Drama provides a unique opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the works and the era in which they were written. Professor Pease's expertise and insights will enhance the reading experience, allowing students to explore the themes, motifs, and literary devices used by the playwrights. By engaging with these plays, students will not only develop a greater appreciation for 20th Century Drama but also gain valuable insights into the human condition.

Strange Interlude is perhaps the worst play I've ever read. It seems as if O'Neill was trying to break all playwriting conventions, but unfortunately, the result is a rather broken play.

The play flays the concept of subtext for a whopping nine interminable acts. It feels overly long and drawn-out, making it a bit of a chore to get through.

On the other hand, Mourning Becomes Electra is perfect. It showcases O'Neill's talent at its best. The story is engaging, the characters are well-developed, and the overall structure of the play is masterfully crafted.

While Strange Interlude fails to live up to expectations, Mourning Becomes Electra stands as a shining example of great playwriting. It's a play that truly captivates the audience and leaves a lasting impression.

It's interesting to see the contrast between these two plays by the same author. It just goes to show that even the most talented playwrights can have their off moments.

**"A Book with Just Text on the Cover"**

In response to the 2023 PopSugar Reading Challenge prompt of "a book with just text on the cover", I embarked on a literary journey.

Such a book holds a certain allure, as it strips away the distractions of elaborate illustrations and bold designs. The focus is solely on the words, which have the power to transport us to different worlds and evoke a myriad of emotions.

I found myself delving into the pages, eager to discover the story that lay within. Without the visual cues, my imagination was given free rein, painting vivid pictures in my mind.

The simplicity of the cover belied the complexity and depth of the narrative within. It was a reminder that sometimes, the most profound and engaging stories can be told with just the written word.

As I turned the pages, I became completely immersed in the author's world, experiencing every twist and turn, every joy and sorrow. It was a truly unique and rewarding reading experience.

This book with just text on the cover taught me the importance of looking beyond the surface and appreciating the beauty and power of words.

Desire Under the Elms and Strange Influence are simply too overwrought for my taste. The descriptions in these works are truly excessive. O'Neill seems to have gone overboard with his detailed characterizations. More than one character had a description that exceeded twenty lines. For example, "She was willowy in a depressed, quiet sort of way. Her eyes spoke of bygone hardship and happiness, more of the former than the latter. Etc. and so on." (This is not an actual quote from O'Neill but my attempt to recreate the endless descriptors.) I can't help but feel sorry for any casting director who has to find actors to fit these overly specific dictates.

In comparison, Mourning Becomes Electra is a much better focused work. Perhaps it is because of the vast amount of ground that O'Neill covers in this play. The conflict here is not as mired down by obsessive descriptors. Instead, his take on Oresteia manages to both honor the source material and break new ground.

Given the length of Mourning Becomes Electra and the significant amount of time that has passed since it was last adapted to the screen, I believe it would make an excellent limited series for a streaming service in search of a prestige project. I highly recommend it.

Eugene O'Neill is my favorite playwright (besides Shakespeare)!

His works are truly remarkable and have had a profound impact on the world of theater.

O'Neill's plays often explore complex themes such as human nature, family relationships, and the search for meaning in life.

His characters are vividly drawn and full of depth, making them relatable and engaging.

One of the things I love most about O'Neill's plays is his use of language.

His dialogue is rich and poetic, adding a layer of beauty and elegance to his stories.

Whether it's the powerful speeches of his tragic heroes or the more mundane conversations of his everyday characters, O'Neill's words always manage to capture the essence of the moment.

Another aspect of O'Neill's work that I find fascinating is his experimentation with different theatrical forms and techniques.

He was not afraid to push the boundaries and try new things, resulting in some truly innovative and groundbreaking plays.

Overall, Eugene O'Neill is a master of the dramatic arts, and his plays will continue to be studied and performed for generations to come.

I vividly remember reading O’Neill during my high school days.

From the very first page, I found myself completely captivated by his work.

His plays were not just words on a page; they were living, breathing entities that transported me to different worlds and made me experience a gamut of emotions.

What truly amazed me was that even his stage directions were works of art.

They added an extra layer of depth and nuance to the plays, painting a vivid picture in my mind’s eye of the settings, the characters’ movements, and the overall atmosphere.

O’Neill’s ability to create such rich and detailed stage directions was a testament to his genius as a playwright.

It made me realize that every element of a play, no matter how seemingly small, could contribute to its overall impact and beauty.

To this day, my love for O’Neill’s work remains as strong as ever, and I continue to be inspired by his unique vision and storytelling abilities.

At least one of these plays is good, as it salvages this lengthy (over 400-page) collection of drama by a regrettably overrated playwright.

As someone who has read a significant amount of the author's plays, the formula for failure on the part of the author is clearly present in the first two plays.

Does he regard most of his female characters as sluts? Absolutely—that is the main thrust of the first two plays in this collection, neither of which functions particularly well.

Does he use terrible dialogue patterns to mock others? Yes, that is surely the case in the first play included here, which seems to be intended as a comedy, but only if you enjoy laughing at rural Americans, and that is not something I am particularly inclined to do.

If you like laughing at beautiful women who lead a string of guys on and who suffer greatly as a result of the stress of doing so, then at least one of these plays will be of interest.

Fortunately, there is one outstanding play here, and it is a play where the author is inspired to write from his own New England Yankee tradition and also reach towards the greatness of the Greek Orestia trilogy to create a classic tragedy of his own that works extremely well.

At least there is that to prevent this from being a terrible collection of forgettable plays.

The first play in this collection is "Desire Under The Elms," and it tells the story of a sort of love triangle between an old man who gets a mail order bride who ends up getting pregnant with a child by the old man's son, who is initially hostile to her in defense of his mother.

Eventually, the son and the father's wife fall in love, until a truth is revealed by the father that leads the mother to smother her young baby and face the penalty of the law along with her lover.

Here, the author seems to be aiming for laughs when the appropriate response would be one of horror.

In "Strange Interlude," we have nine scenes of drama involving a small set of characters, centered on an attractive but cold woman who marries for convenience, has a friendship with a confirmed bachelor who loves her but is repelled by her promiscuity, and has a long affair and bears the child of a lover who gives up a career as a doctor because of his dalliances with her and becomes a biologist in Antigua.

The play consists of interior monologues that are very fragmentary and that seek to convey the psychological state of the characters, which only makes the play more loathsome than it would have been as a mere domestic melodrama.

Fortunately, the three plays that make up the Mourning Become Electra trilogy are a compelling tale of revenge in post-Civil War New England, and plays that deserve to be remembered as examples of O'Neill rising to the challenge of creating a compelling American tragedy to approach the heights of Greek drama.

If these plays, at least the first two, show some of the more problematic aspects of O'Neill's portrayal of characters he lacked understanding and empathy towards, there are at least a few demonstrations that at times he could be ambitious in his dramatic approach.

"Strange Interlude" is ambitious in seeking to convey the fragmentary feelings and thoughts of characters that are often in conflict with what they are saying, but this was an experiment that did not work very well and the result is nowhere near as dramatically convincing as Shakespeare's use of interior monologues, for example, which are much more elevated and dignified than the panicky thoughts and fragmentary statements included in this strange play.

In the three plays, "Homecoming," "The Hunted," and "The Haunted" that make up "Mourning Becomes Electra," though, O'Neill's ambition pays off because he portrays the characters in all their pride and misery and ancestral troubles, and because the author is writing about something he knows very well—a cursed New England family that broods over the past but cannot escape it.

These plays demonstrate the way that one's own experience and the appreciation of great literature can combine into a work of great accomplishment and soaring ambition, rarely to be repeated in the author's or anyone else's writing.

I simply can never get enough of O'Neill. His works are like a treasure trove that I keep coming back to. The depth of his characters, the complexity of the storylines, and the profound themes he explores always manage to captivate me. Every time I read his plays, I discover something new and gain a deeper understanding of the human condition.

I have this habit of re-reading my favorite works after a certain period of time. And with O'Neill, it's no different. I know that in another year or two, I will pick up one of his plays again and embark on this wonderful literary journey all over again. I'm excited to see how my perspective might have changed, and what new insights I will gain.

O'Neill's writing is truly timeless, and I believe it will continue to be relevant and engaging for generations to come. I can't wait to see what else he has in store for me in the future.

Inspired by Goodman's amazing O'Neill festival this winter,

I have been thinking a lot about the power and beauty of theater. The plays presented during the festival were not only masterpieces of American drama but also a testament to the enduring appeal of O'Neill's work.

Each production was a unique and unforgettable experience, transporting the audience to different times and places, and making them feel a wide range of emotions.

The actors' performances were outstanding, bringing the characters to life with such authenticity and passion.

The set designs and lighting were also top-notch, creating a vivid and immersive atmosphere.

Goodman's O'Neill festival has truly inspired me to explore the world of theater more deeply and to appreciate the art form in all its glory.

I look forward to seeing more great plays and being inspired by the magic of the stage in the future.

Out of largesse, 3-stars.

Life is often considered a "pipe dream," isn't it? And then there's "dere's dat ol debbil sea." Oh, shut the fuk up, Gene.

Eugene O'Neill yanked American drama away from mawkish mellerdramer. He introduced sex and neurosis (on an adult level), supported by his knowledge of Freud, Jung, and himself. However, today his works are unreadable and almost unplayable.

I'm glad bio-writers keep his name flickering, I guess. But the only work that holds up is "Long Day's Journey into Night" and such. Despite an interesting life, his "theatre" of the psychic and subconscious is dated.

"I kin talk t'the cows. They know. They'll give me peace." From "Desire Under the Elms." Moo. He did come up with wonderful titles.

Looking back over 100 years of American drama, frankly, there's not much. Tennessee Williams is the one to remember, and he also gets into purple prose at times.

So far, I have only delved into one of the three plays - Mourning becomes Electra. I read it as part of a university course centered around "American Drama".

With numerous references and striking similarities to Greek Mythology, O'Neill crafted a captivating family-drama that unfolds at the conclusion of the Civil War in New England.

Right from the very beginning, we witness the heroic husband being poisoned by his wife, who no longer holds the same love for him. His daughter, who has always harbored a deep hatred for her mother and idolized her father, persuades her brother to seek revenge and slay the lover of their mother. Once this deed is accomplished, the mother, overcome with grief over her loss, takes her own life.

However, the brother is unable to come to terms with what he has done and the fact that he drove his own beloved mother to her death. As a result, he too ends his life at the conclusion of the story. Now, the only surviving member of the family is the daughter, who represents Elektra from Greek Mythology, left unhappy and lonely.

I am not a fan at all.

As I was reading, it truly felt as if I was going through the scripts of soap operas.

The content seemed to lack depth and originality, just like the predictable storylines and over-the-top emotions often found in those cheesy shows.

There was nothing that really grabbed my attention or made me want to keep reading.

It was just a series of events that seemed to be happening for the sake of filling up the pages rather than creating a meaningful and engaging narrative.

I found myself getting bored quickly and wishing for something more substantial and interesting.

Perhaps this type of writing is not to my taste, but I just couldn't find any redeeming qualities in what I was reading.

It was a disappointment and not something that I would recommend to others.