eBook - ePub

Thornton Wilder, Classical Reception, and American Literature

Name: Thornton Wilder, Classical Reception, and American Literature
ISBN: 9781000480740

Stephen J. Rojcewicz,

Jr.,

198 pages
English
ePUB (mobile friendly)
Available on iOS & Android

eBook - ePub

Thornton Wilder, Classical Reception, and American Literature

Stephen J. Rojcewicz,

Jr.,

About this book

This book delineates how Thornton Wilder (1897–1975), a learned playwright and novelist, embeds himself within the classical tradition, integrating Greek and Roman motifs with a wide range of sources to produce heart-breaking masterpieces such as Our Town and comedy sensations such as Dolly Levi.

Through this study of archival sources and close reading, readers will understand Wilder's avant-garde staging and innovative time sequences not as a break with the past, but as a response to the classics. The author traces the genesis of unforgettable characters like Dolly Levi in The Matchmaker, Emily Webb in Our Town, and George Antrobus in The Skin of Our Teeth. Vergil's expression, "Here are the tears of the world, and human matters touch the heart" haunts Wilder's oeuvre. Understanding Vergil's phrase as "tears for the beauty of the world," Wilder utilizes scenes depicting the beauty of the world and the sorrow when individuals recognize this too late. Wilder exhorts us to observe lovingly, alert to the wonder of the everyday.

This work will appeal to actors and directors, professors and students in classics and in American literature, those fascinated by modern drama and performance studies, and non-specialists, theatre-goers, and readers in the general public.

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Yes, you can access Thornton Wilder, Classical Reception, and American Literature by Stephen J. Rojcewicz, Jr. in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in History & Ancient History. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.