A history of modern drama / Vol. 1

415 Pages·3.035 MB·English

by  David Krasner

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A History of Modern Drama
Volume I
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Books by David Krasner
An Actor’s Craft: The Art and Technique of Acting (2011)
Theatre in Theory: An Anthology (editor, 2008)
American Drama, 1945–2000: An Introduction (2006)
Staging Philosophy: New Approaches to Theater, Performance, and Philosophy
(coeditor with David Saltz, 2006)
A Companion to Twentieth-Century American Drama (editor, 2005)
A Beautiful Pageant: African American Theatre, Drama, and Performance,
1910–1927 (2002), 2002 Finalist for the Theatre Library Association’s George
Freedley Memorial Award
African American Performance and Theater History: A Critical Reader
(coeditor with Harry Elam, 2001), Recipient of the 2002 Errol Hill Award
from the American Society for Theatre Research (ASTR)
Method Acting Reconsidered: Theory, Practice, Future (editor, 2000)
Resistance, Parody, and Double Consciousness in African American Theatre,
1895–1910 (1997), Recipient of the 1998 Errol Hill Award from ASTR
See more descriptions at www.davidkrasner.com
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A History of Modern Drama
Volume I
David Krasner
A John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., Publication
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This edition first published 2012
© 2012 David Krasner
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Krasner, David, 1952–
History of modern drama, Volume I / David Krasner. – 1st ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4051-5757-5 (hardback)
1. Drama–History and criticism. I. Title.
PN1601.K73 2011
809.2–dc23
2011022725
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
This book is published in the following electronic formats: ePDF 9781444343731;
Wiley Online Library 9781444343762; ePub 9781444343748; Mobi 9781444343755
Set in 10.5/13pt Galliard by SPi Publisher Services, Pondicherry, India
1 2012
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For LeAnn Fields
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Contents
Preface and Acknowledgements ix
Chapter 1 Introduction 1
Part I: Trauma Drama 33
Chapter 2 The Price of Freedom 39
Chapter 3 Unhinged Subjectivity 80
Chapter 4 Aboulia 109
Part II: Modernist Beginnings 137
Chapter 5 Rising Symbolism 145
Chapter 6 Rising Expressionism 158
Part III: Realism 167
Chapter 7 Rural Realism 171
Chapter 8 Urban Realism 178
Chapter 9 Optimistic Passion 182
Chapter 10 The Campaign Against Earnestness 189
Part IV: Dissociated Sensibility 193
Chapter 11 Distorted Modernism 195
Chapter 12 Lyrical Modernism 203
Chapter 13 Sentimental Modernism 210
Part V: Avant Garde 215
Chapter 14 Eros and Thanatos 217
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viii Contents
Chapter 15 Robots and Automatons 226
Chapter 16 Farce and Parody 229
Part VI: Epic Modernism 235
Chapter 17 Gaming the System 237
Part VII: The Divided Self of American Drama 259
Chapter 18 Illusions 265
Chapter 19 Delusions 275
Chapter 20 Dreams 281
Chapter 21 Gender 289
Chapter 22 Race 293
Part VIII: Hell Is Other People 301
Chapter 23 The Farce of Intimacy 307
Chapter 24 The Tragedy of Intimacy 315
Part IX: Modernist Improvising 325
Chapter 25 Beckett Impromptu 327
Part X: Conclusion 349
Notes 351
Index 389
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