Three Great Plays

Winner of the Nobel Prize for literature and four Pulitzer prizes, Eugene O'Neill is generally acknowledged as America's greatest playwright. This volume includes three of the writer’s early, influential works: The Emperor Jones presents a forceful powerful psychological portrayal of brute power, fear, and madness as it traces events in the life of the self-proclaimed ruler of a West Indian island, who attempts to flee both his angry countrymen and personal demons. The Hairy Ape combines elements of class struggle and surreal tragedy as it explores the dehumanization of a crew member on a transatlantic liner. Anna Christie displays O'Neill's skills of character development as he focuses on the relationship of a sailor and his long-lost daughter, who reveals an unsavory secret about her past. Essential reading for students of theater and literature, this collection will appeal to anyone interested in the seminal work of a writer who became one of the most vital forces in the American theater.