Bedford Introduction to Drama Book

Preface for Instructors

Introduction: Thinking about Drama

What Is Drama?

Drama and Ritual

Drama: The Illusion of Reality

Seeing a Play Onstage

        Theaters and Their Effect

Reading a Play

The Great Ages of Drama

        Greek Drama

        Roman Drama

        Medieval Drama 

        Renaissance Drama

        Late Seventeenth-and Eighteenth-Century Drama

        Nineteenth-Century Drama through the Turn of the Twentieth Century

        Drama in the Early and Mid-Twentieth Century

        Contemporary Drama

Genres of Drama

        Tragedy

        Comedy

        Tragicomedy

Elements of Drama

        Plot

        Characterization

        Setting

        Dialogue

        Music

        Movement

        Theme

Lady Gregory, The Rising of the Moon

Greek Drama

Origins of Greek Drama

        The Greeks and Their Gods

        The Greek Stage

        *The Greek Actor

Genres of Greek Drama

        Tragedy

        Satyr Plays

        Comedy

The Great Age of Greek Drama

Greek Drama Timeline

 

Aeschylus, Agamemnon (Translated by David Greene and Wendy Doniger O’Flaherty)

       Agamemnon in Performance

Commentaries on Aeschylus

Lois Spatz, Oresteia: Trilogy Preserved

 

Sophocles, Oedipus Rex (Translated by Dudley Fitts and Robert Fitzgerald)

        Oedipus Rex in Performance

Commentaries on Oedipus Rex

Aristotle, Poetics: Comedy and Epic and Tragedy

Sigmund Freud, The Oedipus Complex

Claude Lévi-Strauss, From The Structural Study of Myth

 

Sophocles, Antigone (Translated by Dudley Fitts and Robert Fitzgerald)

        Antigone in Performance

Commentaries on Antigone

Oliver Taplin, Emotion and Meaning in Greek Tragedy

Jean Anouilh, From Antigone

Euripides, Medea (Translated by Paul Roche)

        Medea in Performance

Commentaries on Euripides

Ben Brantley, Review of Medea

Aristophanes, Lysistrata (Translated by Dudley Fitts)

        Lysistrata in Performance

 

Roman Drama

Indigenous Sources

The Greek Influence

The Roman Stage

*The Roman Actor

Roman Drama Timeline

Roman Dramatists

        Plautus, Excerpt from The Twin Menaechmi (Act III)

        Terence, Excerpt from The Brothers (Act V)

        Seneca, Excerpt from Thyestes (Act V, Scene ii)

Medieval Drama

The Role of the Church

Miracle Plays

Mystery Plays

Morality Plays

The Medieval Stage

*The Medieval Actor

Medieval Drama Timeline

Hrosvitha, Dulcitius (Translated by K.M. Wilson)

        Dulcitius in Performance

Commentary on Hrosvitha

Sue-Ellen Case, Re-viewing Hrotsvitha

 

Anonymous, The Second Shepherd’s Pageant (Edited by A.C. Cawley)

        The Second Shepherd’s Pageant in Performance

Anonymous, Everyman (Edited by A.C. Cawley)

        Everyman in Performance

 

Renaissance Drama

Italian Drama

        The Italian Theater

        Commedia dell’Arte

Elizabethan Drama

       The Elizabethan Theater

       * The Elizabethan Actor

        The Elizabethan Audience

        Female Characters on the English Stage

        The Masque

Spanish Drama

Renaissance Drama Timeline

 

Christopher Marlowe, Doctor Faustus (Edited by Irving Ribner)

        Doctor Faustus in Performance

 

William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream

        A Midsummer Night’s Dream in Performance

Commentaries on A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Linda Bamber, On A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Peter Brook, The Play is a Message…

Clive Barnes, Review of A Midsummer Night’s Dream

 

William Shakespeare, Hamlet

        Hamlet in Performance

Commentaries on Hamlet

* E.K. Chambers, On Hamlet’s Madness

Sigmund Freud, Hamlet’s Scruples

T.S. Eliot, Hamlet and His Problems

 

William Shakespeare, Othello

        Othello in Performance

Commentaries on Othello

Virginia Mason Vaughan, Macready’s Othello

Margaret Webster, Shakespeare without Tears

 

Ben Jonson, The Masque of Blackness

        The Masque of Blackness in Performance

Commentary on Jonson

Eldred Jones, Africa in English Masque and Pageantry

 

Pedro Calderon de la Barca, Life Is a Dream (Translated by Michael Kidd)

        Life Is a Dream in Performance

Commentaries on Calderon

Ed Morales, Review of Jose Rivera’s Production of Sueno

Matt Wolf, The Hamlet of Spain, in a Fevered Staging

 

Late Seventeenth-and-Eighteenth Century Drama

The Restoration: Rebirth of Drama

Theater on the Continent: Neoclassicism

        French Comedy: Moliere

*Theater in England: The Restoration

        Restoration Comedy in England

        Eighteenth-Century Drama

* The Seventeenth- and Eighteenth-Century Actor

Drama in Japan

Late Seventeenth-and Eighteenth-Century Drama Timeline

* Moliere, Tartuffe (Translated by Richard Wilbur)

        Tartuffe in Performance

Commentary on Moliere

* Mel Gussow, Review of ‘Tartuffe’

 

* Aphra Behn, The Rover; Or, The Banished Cavaliers

         The Rover; or, The Banished Cavaliers in Performance

Commentaries on Behn

* Elaine Hobby, Courtship and Marriage in The Rover

 

Chikamatsu Monzaemon, The Love Suicides at Sonezaki

        The Love Suicides at Sonezaki in Performance

Commentary on Chikamatsu Monzaemon

Donald H. Shiveley, The Development of Theater Buildings

 

* William Congreve, The Way of the World

        The Way of the World in Performance

Commentary on Congreve

* Harriet Taubman, Review of The Way of the World

* Arnold Aronson, Comedy, Manners, and Brickbats

 

Nineteenth-Century Drama through the Turn of the Twentieth Century

The Nineteenth Century Theater

* The Nineteenth-Century Actor

Romantic Drama

Melodrama

The Well-Made Play

The Rise of Realism

Nineteenth-Century Drama Timeline

 

Henrik Ibsen, A Doll House (Translated by Rolf Fjelde)

        A Doll House in Performance

Commentaries on A Doll House

Henrik Ibsen, Notes for the Modern Tragedy

Muriel C. Bradbrook, A Doll’s House: Ibsen the Moralist

 

August Strindberg, Miss Julie (Translated by Harry G. Carlson)

        Miss Julie in Performance

Commentary on Strindberg

August Strindberg, From the Preface to Miss Julie

* A STYLISTIC CASEBOOK

American Melodrama

        Anna Cora Mowatt, Fashion (Act V)

        George L. Aiken, Uncle Tom’s Cabin (Act VI)

        Bronson Howard, Shenandoah (Act III)

        Dion Boucicault, Notes on Acting

        Gary A. Richardson, Melodrama as National History

        Michael R. Booth, A Defense of Nineteenth-Century Drama

 

Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest: A Trivial Comedy for Serious People

        The Importance of Being Earnest in Performance

Commentary on Wilde

* Joseph Donohue, Interview with Sir Peter Hall, director of The Importance of Being Earnest

 

Anton Chekhov, The Cherry Orchard

        The Cherry Orchard in Performance

Commentaries on Chekhov

Anton Chekhov, From Letters of Anton Chekhov

Peter Brook, On Chekhov

 

Bernard Shaw, Mrs. Warren’s Profession

        Mrs. Warren’s Profession in Performance

Commentaries on Shaw

Bernard Shaw, Plays Unpleasant: Mrs. Warren’s Profession

Bernard Shaw, From the Preface to Mrs. Warren’s Profession

 

A CULTURAL CASEBOOK

The "Woman Question" in the Late Nineteenth Century

        John Stuart Mill, On the Subjection of Women

        August Strindberg, The Woman Question: Women’s Rights

        Johan Thorsten Sellin, Marriage and Divorce in Sweden

        Richard Panofsky, A Nineteenth-Century Husband’s Letter to His Wife

        Helen Watterson Moody, What It Means to Be a Wife

        Flora Tristan, London Journal: Prostitutes in London…All the Streets Are Full of Them

        A letter to the Times (London) from a Prostitute

        Barbara Meil Hobson, Successful Madams

Drama in the Early and Mid-Twentieth Century

The Heritage of Realism

Realism and Myth

Myth and Culture

Poetic Realism

Social Realism

Realism and Expressionism

Antirealism

Epic Theater

Absurdist Drama

* The Early and Mid-Twentieth Century Stage

* The Early and Mid-Twentieth Century Actor

Early and Mid-Twentieth Century Drama Timeline

 

John Millington Synge, Riders to the Sea

        Riders to the Sea in Performance

Commentary on Synge

John Millington Synge, From The Aran Islands

Susan Glaspell, Trifles

        Trifles in Performance

Commentary on Glaspell

Christine Dymkowski, On the Edge: The Plays of Susan Glaspell

 

Luigi Pirandello, Six Characters in Search of an Author (Translated by Edward Storer)

         Six Characters in Search of an Author in Performance

 

Federico Garcia Lorca, The House of Bernada Alba: A Drama About Women in the Villages of Spain (Translated by James Graham-Lujan and Richard L. O’Connell)

        The House of Bernarda Alba in Performance

 

Eugene O’Neill, Desire Under the Elms

        Desire Under the Elms in Performance

Commentary on O’Neill

* Louise Kennedy, "‘He knows that it's OK not to know’: Director János Szász approaches ‘Desire’ with an open mind"

 

Bertolt Brecht, Mother Courage and Her Children: A Chronicle of the Thirty Years’ War (Translated by John Willett)

        Mother Courage in Performance

Commentaries on Brecht

Bertolt Brecht, The Alienation Effect

Bertolt Brecht, Notes for Mother Courage, Scene 12

 

Tennessee Williams, The Glass Menagerie

        The Glass Menagerie in Performance

Commentaries on The Glass Menagerie

Lewis Nichols, Review of The Glass Menagerie

Donald Spoto, Laurette Taylor in The Glass Menagerie

Benjamin Nelson, Problems in The Glass Menagerie

 

Arthur Miller, Death of a Salesman: Certain Private Conversations in Two Acts and a Requiem

        Death of a Salesman in Performance

Commentaries on Miller

Arthur Miller, In Memoriam

Arthur Miller, Tragedy and the Common Man

 

*A PRODUCTION CASEBOOK

Death of a Salesman

        Jo Mielziner, Designing a Play: Death of a Salesman

        Brenda Murphy, Death of a Salesman: The Design Process

        Brenda Murphy, Racial Consciousness in Casting Death of a Salesman

        Elia Kazan, Directing Death of a Salesman

        Arthur Miller, Casting Death of a Salesman

        June Schlueter and James K. Flanagan, Memorable Willy

        Catherine Diamond, Death of a Salesman in Taipei

 

* Eugène Ionesco, The Bald Soprano (Translated by Donald M. Allen)

        The Bald Soprano in Performance

Commentary on Ionesco

* Eugène Ionesco, The Tragedy of Language: How and English Primer Became My First Play

* Samuel Beckett, Krapp’s Last Tape

        Krapp’s Last Tape in Performance

Commentaries on Beckett

* Martin Esslin, The Theater of the Absurd

* Ruby Cohn, Beckett Directing

 

Lorraine Hansberry, A Raisin in the Sun

        A Raisin in the Sun in Performance

 

Wole Soyinka, The Strong Breed

        The Strong Breed in Production

Commentary on Soyinka

Lewis Nkosi, Interview with Wole Soyinka

 

Contemporary Drama

Experimentation

        Theater of Cruelty

        Environmental Theater

        "Poor Theater"

        Theater of Images

        Gay and Lesbian Theater and Other
• Ensembles

        Experiments with Theater Space

Experimentation within the Tradition

* The Contemporary Theater

* The Contemporary Actor

Contemporary Drama Timeline

 

Luis Valdez, Zoot Suit

        Zoot Suit in Performance 

 

* Harold Pinter, The Homecoming

        The Homecoming in Performance

Commentary on Pinter

* Ronald Knowles, The Homecoming

Edward Albee, The Zoo Story

        The Zoo Story in Performance

Commentary on Albee

* Robert B. Bennet, Tragic Vision in The Zoo Story

* Sam Shephard, Buried Child

        Buried Child in Performance

* Brian Friel, Faith Healer

        Faith Healer in Performance

 

Athol Fugard, "Master Harold" … and the boys

        Master Harold …and the boys in Performance

Commentaries on Fugard

Heinrich von Staden, Interview with Athol Fugard

Athol Fugard, From Notebooks 1960-1977

 

David Mamet, Glengary Glen Ross

        Glengary Glen Ross in Performance

Commentaries on Mamet

Anne Dean, Glengarry Glen Ross

 

* August Wilson, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

        Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom in Performance

Commentary on Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

* Joan Herrington, The Development of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

 

August Wilson, Fences

        Fences in Performance

Commentary on Fences

* Joan Herrington, The Development of Fences

 

* A CASEBOOK ON AUGUST WILSON

        Mark William Rocha, August Wilson and the Four B’s: Influences

        Harry J. Elam, Jr., August Wilson

        Romare Bearden, Mill Hand’s Lunch Bucket (1978) and Piano Lesson (1983)

        Amiri Baraka, Ka’Ba

        Ma Rainey and Lovie Austin, Bad Luck Blues

        Ma Rainey, Don’t Fish in My Sea

        Elisabeth J. Heard, An Interview with August Wilson on Playwriting

        Peter Wolfe, August Wilson: Conclusion

 

* Tony Kushner, Angels in America: Millennium Approaches

        Angels in America: Millennium Approaches in Performance

Commentary on Kushner

*Andrea Bernstein, Interview with Tony Kushner

 

Paula Vogel, How I Learned to Drive

        How I Learned to Drive in Performance

Commentaries on Vogel

Christopher Bigsby, Paula Vogel

David Savran, Paula Vogel

 

*Caryl Churchill, Far Away

        Far Away in Performance

 

* Moisés Kaufman and the Tectonic Theater Project, The Laramie Project

        The Laramie Project in Performance

 

* Lynn Nottage, Intimate Apparel

        Intimate Apparel in Performance

* Doug Wright, I Am My Own Wife

        I Am My Own Wife in Performance

Commentary on Wright

* Doug Wright, Portrait of an Enigma

* Conor McPherson, Shining City

        Shining City in Performance

* Sarah Ruhl, The Clean House

        The Clean House in Performance

 

* Suzan-Lori Parks, selections from 365 Days/365 Plays

        365 Days in Performance

 

Appendices

Writing about Drama

Why Write about Drama?

Conventions in Writing Criticism about Drama

Approaches to Criticism

        Reader Response

        Close Reading

From Prewriting to Final Draft: A Sample Essay on The Rising of the Moon

How to Write a Review

        What Is the Purpose of a Review?

        What You Need to Write a Good Review

        Preparing to Review a Classic Play

        Preparing to Review a New Play

        Guidelines for Writing Reviews

        Sample Review

Glossary of Dramatic Terms

* new to this edition