"Vast Encyclopedia": The Theatre of Thornton Wilder (Contributions in Drama and Theatre Studies) [Hardcover]

Paul Lifton (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0313293562 | ISBN-13: 978-0313293566 | Publication Date: October 30, 1995

This comprehensive, detailed study of Wilder's entire dramatic oeuvre is the only one to place the works in their broad aesthetic and philosophical context and to integrate literary analysis of the plays with interpretation of their theatrical techniques. Its sources include Gilbert Harrison's "authorized" 1983 biography of the dramatist and the published selections from Wilder's journals for the years 1939-1961, as well as unpublished material--letters, diaries, and notes--in the Yale Collection of American Literature Wilder papers. Lifton discusses the symbolist, naturalist, expressionist, Brechtian, futurist, Pirandellian, and existentialist elements in Wilder's plays, as well as parallels between Wilder's theatre and that of such diverse cultures as the classical Greek and Roman, medieval European, Elizabethan, Renaissance Spanish, Japanese, and Chinese.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Paul Lifton's book on Thornton Wilder provides for both the student and the scholar the entire intellectual and artistic context of Wilder's work. It is prodigious and indispensable.”–Donald Haberman, Professor of English Arizona State University

About the Author

PAUL LIFTON is Assistant Professor of Theatre Arts at North Dakota State University.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Greenwood Press (October 30, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0313293562
• ISBN-13: 978-0313293566
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,729,280 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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