The introduction gives the background of Modern American Drama which is a kind of slow evolution and has taken place in the form of an amalgamation of various schools. It presents the gradual growth of the American dramatic literature right from Eugene O’ Neill up to Edward Albee. This chapter includes the dramatists like Eugene O’ Neill, Maxwell Anderson, Robert Sherwood, Lillian Hellman, Clifford Odets, Philip Barry, Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller and Edward Albee in order to have an understanding of the overall development of the American dramatic literature. In February 1915, an enthusiastic group of young amateurs calling themselves the Washington Square Players waved a solemn manifesto in the face of New York Drama critics. They opened the Band Box Theatre near the corner of 57th street and Third Avenue. Just a year and a half later, another group equally young and enthusiastic, took possession of a stable in MacDougal Street to be known thereafter as the Province-town Theatre. The dramatists of the Washington Square Players were more influenced by Ibsen, Shaw and Maeterlinck whereas that of the Province-town group happened to accept Eugene O' Neill as their torch-bearer.

Widely recognized as the finest definition of existentialist philosophy ever written, this book introduced existentialism to America in 1958. Barrett speaks eloquently and directly to concerns of the 1990s: a period when the irrational and the absurd are no better integrated than before and when humankind is in even greater danger of destroying its existence without ever understanding the meaning of its existence. Irrational Man begins by discussing the roots of existentialism in the art and thinking of Augustine, Aquinas, Pascal, Baudelaire, Blake, Dostoevski, Tolstoy, Hemingway, Picasso, Joyce, and Beckett. The heart of the book explains the views of the foremost existentialists—Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Heidegger, and Sartre. The result is a marvelously lucid definition of existentialism and a brilliant interpretation of its impact.

The first fifty volumes of this yearbook of Shakespeare studies are being reissued in paperback.

The author considers seven poets: Newbolt, Masefield, Hardy Thomas, Housman, Davidson, and Brooke, and argues that their work deserves more serious critical attention than it has received. He analyzes a number of individual poems and isolates certain common concerns.

The Irish, with George Bernard Show leading the charge, rescue British drama from the clutches of the Victorians. Includes interesting biographical material, photographs, and a chronology. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Counterculture, while commonly used to describe youth-oriented movements during the 1960s, refers to any attempt to challenge or change conventional values and practices or the dominant lifestyles of the day. This fascinating three-volume set explores these movements in America from colonial times to the present in colorful detail. "American Countercultures" is the first reference work to examine the impact of countercultural movements on American social history. It highlights the writings, recordings, and visual works produced by these movements to educate, inspire, and incite action in all eras of the nation's history. A-Z entries provide a wealth of information on personalities, places, events, concepts, beliefs, groups, and practices. The set includes numerous illustrations, a topic finder, primary source documents, a bibliography and a filmography, and an index.