Versions of Heroism in Modern American Drama

Download or read book Versions of Heroism in Modern American Drama written by Julie Adam and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-07-27 with total page 185 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Taking as its starting-point the 'death of tragedy' debate, and focusing on the supposed disappearance from the stage of the individual tragic hero, the book views selected plays and writings on the theatre by Miller, Williams, Maxwell Anderson and O'Neill as exemplifying four versions of heroism: idealism, martyrdom, self-reflection and survival. Julie Adam shows that these diverse playwrights share a desire to redefine tragic heroism in individualistic liberal terms.