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Treasury of the Theatre, Vol 2: Modern European Drama from Ibsen to Sartre
Treasury of the Theatre Vol 2 Modern European Drama from Ibsen to Sartre Author:John Gassner (Editor) A Treasury of the Theatre is widely recognized as the most comprehensive anthology of world dramatic literature ever assembled. Here, in the second of three volumes, is a collection of plays that presents for the student and general reader alike the scope and variety of the modern European drama from its earliest forms, challengin... more »g the old order in both society and theatre and exemplified in the masterworks of Ibsen and Strindberg, to the post-Second World War Existensial movement, epitomized in the writing of its most forceful exponent, Jean Paul Sartre.
Eighteen plays representing Scandinavian, German, French, Italian and Russian drama demonstrate the evolution of the modern drama from its early shape as an expression of realism in the works of Strindberg, Becque, Hauptmann, Wedekind, and naturalism in the plays of Tolstoy, Chekhov and Gorki, to the movement away from dramatic realism -- first, toward romanticism with the drama of Maeterlinck and Rostand; then toward expressionism and symbolism as exemplified by the masterpieces of Molnar, Pirandello, Capek, Lorca, Brecht; and finally, to the towering achievements of Sartre.
The volume is divided into two sections -- Realism and Departures from Realism -- each accompanied by introductions that comment on the distinctive features, characteristic styles and sociological background of the period. In addition, each play is preceded by an analysis of its artistic significance and a biography of the playwright. The eighteen plays, together with the extensive expository material, amount in effect to an unrivaled, authoritative history of dramatic literature of the modern era.« less