A

 

Rodney Ackland (1908-1991)

• english playwright, actor, theatre director, screenwriter

• collaborated with Hitchcock

• collaborated with Rattigan

• his play “the Pink Room” received a demolishing critic, which lead to him rewriting it and a nearly 40 year break of playwriting at all.

 

Leonid Andrejew (1871-1919)

• russian writer

• “The Life of Man” was the first symbolist drama in Russia.

• featured nameless characters

• In “Someone in Grey”, the scenery was made out of ropes and staged in a black box. The costumes covered the performers in black velvet and only their silhouette was emphasized. Recorded sound was played to their movements.

 

Adolphe Francois Appia (1862-1928)

• swiss stage and lighting designer

• famous for idea of unity between elements on stage

• saw potential on electric stage lighting and as an expressive tool rather than just illumination

• Appia was inspired by Wagner and saw music as the condition for any other art. On stage the two dimensional scenery bothered him and the lighting from the sides. Appia invented a system, where the lights come from above and therefore throw more realistic shadows. His book “Aesthetic Principles of the Modern Designer” had a huge impact on Europe and US theatres. Appia combines all arts on stage: Space, Actor, Costume, Setting and Light. He even started considering projecting scenery on movable slides.

 

Achim von Arnim (1781-1831)

• german poet

• tried to start a german revolution against Napoleon

• part of the literary movement of romanticism

 

Antonin Artaud (1896-1948)

• french actor, director and poet

• surrealist

• his radical ideas for the theatre inspired and influenced generations of theatre-makers

• strong influence on avant-garde movement

• created Theatre of Cruelty

• theatre was seen as soul therapy and should prevent audience from practice violence in future

• wanted to touch the unconsciousness

• inspired by Freud

• speeches did not need to be meaningful; the intonation was important

 

B

 

Gaston Bachelard (1884-1962)

• french professor of philosophy

• literary criticism

• explored creativity of imagination

 

Roland Barthes (1915-1980)

• french philosopher, literary critic

• influenced many theoretic tendencies

 

Pina Bausch (1940-2009)

• german ballet dancer, teacher and choreographer

• contemporary style

 

Lilian Baylis (1874-1937)

• english theatre producer, manager

• worked at the “Old Vic”

• when her interest in Shakespeare grew, she decided to mainly produce Shakespeare plays

• intensive promotion of Shakespeare's work to make it unforgettable for future generations

 

Binkie Beaumont (1908-1973)

• british theatre manager and producer

• one of the most successful West End managers/producers of the 20th century

• 1936 foundation of his own production company, after he was unsatisfied with the productions at the West End

• He brought huge productions, famous casts to the West End and calculated what would appeal to the West End audience. He staged nw plays, revivals and classics. He also worked with Gielgud and Coward.  

 

Simone de Beauvoir (1908- 1986)

• french writer, feminist and philosopher

• influence on existentialism and feminist movement

• open relationship with Jean-Paul Sartre

 

Julian Beck (1925-1985) and Judith Malina (1926-2015)

• american director, poet, writer

• american writer, actress

• founded “The Living Theatre”

• influenced by Artaud

 

Samuel Beckett (1906-1989)

• irish playwright, novelist, theatre director, poet

• his work offers an dark outlook on human existence

• famous for: “Waiting for Godot”

• counted into Theatre of the Absurd

 

Brendan Francis Aidan Behan (1923-1964)

• irish playwright, poet, novelist

• seen as one of Ireland’s greatest writers

• “The Quare Fellow” was his breakthrough

 

Aphra Behn (1640-1689)

• writer, playwright, poet, dramatist

• first professional female writer in UK

• pioneer of female voice

 

Walter Benjamin (1892-1940)

• german philosopher, essayist

• friend of Bertolt Brecht

• 2oth century thinkers and modern aesthetics

 

Herbert Blau (1926- 2013)

• american director, critic and writer on topics regarding life performances and theatre

• co-founder of Actor’s Workshop in San Francisco

• directed first production of Mother Courage from Brecht

• wrote "The Audience"

 

Alexander Alexandrowitsch Blok (1880-1921)

• russian poet

• 2nd generation of symbolists

• use of romanticism as tool to show a world of illusion and to step into a “higher reality”

 

Augusto Boal (1931-2009)

• brazilian theatre director

• theatre can make social impact

• theatre should help audience to solve real issues, situations

 

Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956)

• german poet, playwright, theatre director

• developed the Epic Theatre

• collaborated with Caspar Neher

• mainly influenced by Büchner and Wedekind

• developed brass-buying theory

• founded Arnold Bronnen/ Bertolt Brecht company

• created “Verfremdungseffekt” to turn audience into participants rather than passive voyeurs

 

André Breton (1896-1966)

• french poet

• one of the most important surrealists

• wrote manifesto

• surrealistic art should show the inner landscape to the audience

• inspired by Freud’s

 

Peter Brook (1925-2015)

• english director

• most famous show: “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in 1970

• always tried to create meaningful theatre

• founded “Centre International de Recherche Théâtrale”

 

Wilhelm Busch (1832-1908)

• german artist

• inventor of illustrated stories

• exaggerated characters

• pessimistic point of view;  

 

Georg Büchner (1813-1837)

• german writer

• most important dramatist of his epoch

• politically active and supported revolutionary tendencies

• famous for “Woyzeck”; “Leonce and Lena”; “Lenz”

• through absurd elements he denounced social and political issues;

• nihilistic main characters

C

 

Albert Camus (1913-1960)

• french writer and philosopher

• won nobel prize for literature

• worked with absurdity

• famous for “The Plague” and “The Myth of Sisyphus”

• sometimes announced as existentialist

​

Anton Chekhov (1860-1904)

• russian playwright, writer

• use of grotesque names, extraordinary stylistic devices

• his writings reflects his consciousness about political problems and social concerns

• created special kind of mood

• impressed by Tolstoi’s idea

• 1887-1890 he focused on writing plays

• tried vaudevilles and four-act-plays

 

Paul Claudel (1868-1955)

• french writer and poet

• wrote religious plays with little action and loads of poetry

• symbolic style and featured rituals

• Lugné-Poe, who staged Claudel’s plays, introduced music as the element, which touched off the poetic speech. Later: spoken lines to music were used to create “inner thrill”.

 

Matthias Claudius (1740-1815)

• german poet

• belongs to the time period of sentimentalism

 

Jean Cocteau (1899-1963)

• french writer, director, painter

• created striking and unique visual images

• collaborated with Picasso and Apollinaire on “Parade”

• worked with Erik Satie’s music

​

Jacque Copeau (1879-1949)

• french actor, manager, dramatist

• opened left bank theatre

• reinvented classical plays

• worked in New York and tried thrust stage

• set should be simple and functional suggestions rather than a complete picture

• founded school

 

Noel Coward (1899-1973)

• playwright, composer, director, actor, singer

• known for his wit

• published more than 50 plays

 

Edward Gordon Craig (1872-1966)

• english actor, director, designer, producer, theorist

• major influence on theatre of the 20th century

• denounced realism and in “The Art of Theatre”, he showed how a release and a transformation into poetic drama is possible

• the director’s concept should combine all elements of a performance. incapacitated actors as “Über-marionettes”;

• actors = embody the Director’s ideas and not create or enhance the play with their personality

• scenes for Craig depicted more an atmosphere then a location

• prefered simplicity and the use of vertical lines in the set design, let the actors appear rather small

• his new principles of design, inspired many practitioners.

 

D

​

Émile Jaques Dalcroze (1865-1950)

• swiss composer

• figured out that music and not speech contains expression

• background from rhythmic gymnastics

• to enhance the importance of the performer, Dalcroze only needed a bare hall and overhead-lighting to showcase his productions

• Critics and the audience disliked this. They still prefered the richly decorated sets.

• Dalcroze laid a milestone with his ideas about rhythm; he defined it as the physical expression of the abstract time and space

 

Shelagh Delaney (1938-2011)

• english dramatist and playwright

• “A Taste of Honey” was her debut and it was staged by Littlewood

• She was said to be the “answer” to the Angry Young Man.

 

George Alexander Cassady Devine (1910-1966)

• english theatre manager, director, teacher, actor

• worked for the Motley Design Group as business manager

• 1932 invited Gielgud to direct a performance of Romeo and Juliet

• opened the Old Vic Theatre School

• formed a plan for a radical new theatre company

• wanted to get writers back into the theatre

• founded in 1955 the English Stage Company

 

E

 

T.S. Eliot (1888-1965)

• american lyricist

• revived verse drama

• aim: create successful poetic drama for 20th century audience

​

Lajos Egri (1888-1967)

• hungarian journalist and writer

• founded “Egri School of Writing” in the US

• famous for book “The Art of Dramatic Writing”

• instructions are still used and taught to create scripts, novels and plays

 

 

F

Michel Foucault (1926-1984)

• french academic, philosopher

• looked into the relationship between knowledge and power

• researched the topics insanity and madness

​

Max Frisch (1911-1991)

• swiss novelist, journalist, playwright

• search and construction of identity are his main topics

• famous for “Andorra” and “Homo faber”

 

 

G

John Gielgud (1904-2000)

• english actor and director

• dominated english stages with Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier

• joined “Old Vic” in 1929 with Lilian Baylis

• famous for “Richard 2.” production

 

Jean Giraudoux (1882-1994)

• french dramatist

• leading dramatist in France between the wars

• famous for “Electra”

• made parallel between greek saga and modern topics

 

Johann Wolfgang Goethe (1749-1832)

• german poet, writer, thinker

• influenced by Herder

• started in the period of Storm and Stress; influenced through Enlightenment and started the literary movement of classicism

• famous for “The Sorrows of Young Werther” and “Faust”

• realist

 

Nikolai Wassiljewitsch Gogol (1809-1852)

• russian poet and writer

• inspired by human emotions

• difficult to classify him; could be realism, symbolism, romanticism, classicism

• tried to explore Russia’s future path through his art

• used loads of alliterations, metaphors and created a special rhythm through an unordinary arrangement of his words

 

Martha Graham (1894-1991)

• modern dancer, choreographer

• first who performed in the White House

• her style is still taught worldwide

• 1958 debut of “Clytemnestra” which became a huge success

 

Harley Granville-Barker (1877-1946)

• edwardian era

• english actor, playwright, manager, critic, theorist

• co-operated with George Bernhard Shaw

​

Lady Augusta Gregory (1852-1932)

• irish dramatist, theatre manager

• co-founder of the Irish Literary Theatre, Abbey Theatre

• through political struggles, she converted to cultural nationalism in her written work

​

Jacob Grimm (1785-1863) and Wilhelm Grimm (1786-1859)

• german librarians

• part of “Göttinger Sieben”, which protested against the abolition of the constitution

• famous for collection of legends and myths

• unified german language through writing the first german dictionary

 

Jerzy Grotowski (1933-1999)

• polish theatre director, performer

• founded the Laboratory Theatre, which focussed on researching the actor- audience relationship

 

 

H

Peter Hall (1930-2017)

• british director

• founded Royal Shakespeare Company and later Peter Hall Company

• 1955 directed successfully “Waiting for Godot” and this production kickstarted his career

• Through his dedication for theatre, he supported its development and productions of contemporary and classical text in a recognizable style were established.

​

Oscar Hammerstein (1895-1960)

• american librettist, theatre producer and director

• won 8 Tony Awards

• His most successful and sustained collaboration began with Richard Rodgers.

 

Gerhart Hauptmann (1862-1946)

• german writer

• won nobel prize for literature

• was considered as political poet

• famous for “The Weaver”

• started including social criticism in naturalistic set plays. These kind of “reports” were highly objective and the author aimed at showing his point of view.

• visionary scenes were written in lyrical verse.

 

Friedrich Hebbel (1813-1863)

• german dramatist

• featured female main characters

 

Heinrich Heine (1797-1856)

• german writer, lyricist

• politically engaged and commented europe’s and germany’s situation in his writings

• most of his writing was censored or prohibited

• his writing has a specific rhythm

 

Johann Gottfried Herder (1744-1803)

• german thinker, philosoph

• student of Kant

• developed philosophy of history

 

Hermann Hesse (1877-1962)

• german writer

• won nobel prize of literature

• rebellion of the individual, psychological creation of identity, oppression were his main topics

• became pacifist and wrote letters to young germans to influence them

• balance of spirit and soul and askese became his later topics

​

Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann (1776-1822)

• german writer, painter, musician, componist

• famous for “The Sandman”

• highly interested in the shadow sides of society

 

Hugo von Hofmannsthal (1874-1929)

• austrian poet, dramatist

• co-founder of the “Salzburger Festspiele”

• collaborated with Richard Strauss on different opera libretti

• combined lyrical poetry and symbolism to give the stage and the character's life a dreamlike quality. With the poetry he tried to evoke “state of soul”. He desired characters striped bare from their personality and therefore, reconciled art, dream and reality.

• followed Maeterlinck's ideas and borrowed from greek myths.

​

Friedrich Hölderlin (1770-1843)

• german writer

• used antique verse metre

• his anti-classicism inspired Nietzsche

• created theory which combined philosophy, religion and science and reflected human behaviour in poetry

 

I

 

Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906)

• norwegian playwright, theatre director, poet

• in earlier play: included controversial elements about trusting the individuals and not the mass

• later: explores psychological elements, as well

• naturalists and the symbolists acknowledge Ibsen as master

• encountered as father of the realism

• In European Theatres strict morals have been modelled and Ibsen was one of the first, who expanded the realism behind the facades.

• provided the important foundation for the modern theatre.

• Ibsen used symbolic characters and covered them in a too realistic world.

• his plays became huge metaphors

 

Eugène Ionesco (1912-1994)

• french-romanian writer

• counted to “Theatre of the Absurd”

• tried to express the absence of meaning of life

• famous for “Améde”, “Rhinoceros”

 

Wolfgang Iser (1926-2007)

• german literary scholar

• theory of “Reader’s Response” had a huge impact on literary critics

• involved in founding the school of reception aesthetics

 

J

​

Alfred Jarry (1873-1907)

• french writer

• the first who broke with naturalism and symbolism

• lived in poverty around Montmartre

• he gave explicit stage directions for his plays

• created Ubu roi

• the stage was a mirror, which distorted the characters in their proportions and masks distorted the characters faces in itself. There was only a minimum of decoration on stage

• founded the science of imaginary solutions, called “Pataphysics”

• his collège of Pataphysics was an institution which refused to serve any purpose

​

Gertrude E. Jennings (1877-1959)

• playwright

• notable one-act plays

• pioneer of women writing

 

K

 

Franz Kafka (1883-1924)

• german speaking writer

• most of his work was published by Max Brod after his death

• immense use of parables

• famous for “Metamorphosis” and “The Judgement”

• his novels are nowadays often turned into plays

 

Immanuel Kant (1724-1804)

• german philosoph

• defined borders of rational thinking

• shaping character in the movement of enlightenment

• created the categoric imperative

• he understood enlightenment as a constant challenge for each human being

 

Tadeusz Kantor (1915-1990)

• polish artist, theatre director, writer and designer

• admirer of Edward Gordon Craig

• avantgardist

• founded Cricot 2 to explore non-realistic movements in theatre

 

Jerome Kern (1885-1945)

• american composer of musical theatre and popular music

• created a lot of Broadway musicals

• He innovated the 4/4 dance rhythm, syncopation and jazz progression for musicals.

• Edna Ferber’s “Show Boat” impressed him and he collaborated with Hammerstein for the production.

 

Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock (1724-1803)

• german poet

• belongs to time period of sentimentalism

• influenced the lyric in the 18th century

• developed utopia of a science and literature based society

 

L

​

Rudolf Laban (1878-1958)

• hungarian dancer, choreograph and dance theoretiker

• famous for Labanotation, which were used by Joan Littlewood’s theatre workshop

• studied movement and energy used to change positions

• developed notation to make it possible to write down positions

• pioneered modern dance in Europe

 

David Herbert Lawrence (1885-1930)

• english novelist, poet, playwright, literary critic, painter

• wrote “Woman in Love”

• In his art he pointed out the dehumanizing effects of the industrialisation and modernisation.

 

Jacques Lecoq (1921-1999)

• french actor, instructor

• opened school “L'École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq”

• aim: produce a generation of young theatre-makers

• trained actors in physical theatre

• used masks

• body movement were more important than the facial expression

• notable students

​

Henri Lefebvre (1901-1991)

• french philosopher

• influence on human geography and urban planning

 

Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729-1780)

• german writer and critic

• believed value of a human being lies in his efforts to find the truth and not in the “truth” itself

• wrote “tolerant dramas”

• transformed into a play: “Nathan the Wise”

 

Maudie Joan Littlewood (1914-2002)

• theatre director

• best known for the development of the Theatre Workshop

• her production of “Oh, what a lovely war!” was one of the most influential pieces

• received a Tony Award

• She is said to be the ”Mother of Modern Theatre”

 

Federico Garcia Lorca (1898-1936)

• spanish poet, painter, musician

• surrealist

• created trilogy of poetic folk-tragedies

 

M

 

Thomas Mann (1875-1955)

• german writer

• won the nobel prize for literature

• representative of german literature; even if he believed in cosmopolitanism

• famous for his family saga of the “Buddenbrooks”; nowadays turned into a film

 

Maurice Maeterlinck (1862-1949)

• belgian writer

• placed his plays in mystical spheres and draw inspiration from medieval subjects and used the old-fashioned allegorical writing as a style

• style of the actors was too realistic for the poetic drama

• poetry tried to reveal the invisible mystery of life; Maeterlinck was afraid, that if we remain realistic, we remain ignorant towards the external world.

• His drama only had psychological action and no movement. His characters appeared therefore allusive and the dialogue was interrupted by long pauses.

 

Filippo Tommaso Marinetti (1874-1944)

• italian writer

• founded the italian futurism and the music hall became the model for the new drama

• comical distortions became en vogué

 

Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1908-1961)

• french philosopher

• challenged separations of mind and body

• related to existentialism

 

Vsevolod Meyerhold (1874-1940)

• russian director, producer, writer and actor

• challenged naturalism

• avantgardist

• symbolism

• transformed theatre- aesthetics after the revolution

• developed “biomechanics”

• theoretical concepts can be found in his book “On Stage” (1913)

• emotional state of actor had to be linked to his physical state/ use of method acting

​

Agnes George de Mille (1905-1993)

• american dancer and choreographer

• 1939 first significant work for Aaron Copland's Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo

• included her ballet repertory into musicals like “Oklahoma!” to show the troubled emotional insight of the heroine

• success in Broadway did not continue in Hollywood

• later worked with the same core of dancers regularly

• She revolutionized musical theatre by creating choreographies which enhanced the plot. The dance began to reflect the fears and thoughts of the character and it supported the acting.

• 1973 foundation of the Agnes de Mille Dancing Theatre, which was later revived as Heritage Dance Theatre

 

Arthur Miller (1915-2005)

• playwright, essayist

• left his first wife for Marilyn Monroe

• won Pulitzer Prize for Drama

 

N

​

Caspar Neher (1897-1962)

• set designer of most of Brecht’s plays

• helped creating distinctive look for epic theatre

​

Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900)

• german philosopher

• sceptical culture theory

• developed theory of the opposites from Apollo and Dionysus

• believed in the senselessness of the world

• criticized Metaphysics and Religion as tools used by the power-hungry

• his theories inspired many sceptical thinkers and writer

​

Novalis (1772-1801)

• german poet, writer

• poetry equaled for him the conquest of death

• wrote an utopian novel, where he combined science and art

 

O

​

Laurence Olivier (1907-1989)

• actor

• performed successfully in Gielgud’s “Richard 2.” production

​

Clifford Odets (1906-1963)

• american playwright, screenwriter, director

• wrote socially relevant dramas

• inspired several playwright like Arthur Miller

• His style is distinguished by a poetic, metaphoric loaded street talk.

• Characters were more important to him then the actual plot.

 

Eugene O’Neill (1888-1953)

• american playwright

• won Nobel prize of Literature

• introduced drama techniques to realism

• his characters are on the edge of society and struggle to maintain their hopes

• includes tragedy and personal pessimism

• He was one of the first who included speeches in american vernacular.

​

John Osborne (1929-1994)

• english playwright, screenwriter, actor

• known for his prose and intense critical points of view regarding social and political standards

 

P

​

Luigi Pirandello (1867-1936)

• italian writer

• famous for: “Six Characters in Search for an Author”

• won nobel prize for literature

• revival of dramatic and scenic art through writing

 

Plato (c.427-347 BC)

• greek philosopher

• student of Sokrates

• greatest influences on western culture

 

Alexander Sergejewitsch Puschkin (1799-1837)

• russian poet, writer

• formalist

 

R

 

Marie Rambert (1888-1982)

• polish dancer

• great influence on british ballet as dancer and teacher

• choreographed “Rodeo” for touring european troupe “Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo”

 

Terence Rattigan (1911-1977)

• english playwright and famous dramatist

• plays are normally set in an upper-middle class background

• his success as a playwright came early in 1937

• He saw writing still as craftsmanship and this was classed as “old-fashioned” after the war.

​

Richard Rodgers (1902-1979)

• american composer for songs, musicals, films and television

• won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony and Pulitzer Prize for his work

• known for collaborations with Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein

 

S

 

Jean Paul Sartre (1905-1980)

• french philosopher, dramatist

• existentialist

• man is a lonely creature, driving by anxiety and despair and exists in a meaningless world

• person needs to adopt some social casualties to find identity and purpose

 

Erik Satie (1866-1925)

• french composer and pianist

• movements include: avant-garde, dadaism, surrealism, minimalism, theatre of the absurd, repetitive music

• Acosta Danza (Mermaid)

 

Herbert Scherreiks (1930-2016)

• american-german production designer

• made castle “Zwergapfelkern”

• used three dimensional elements to present costumes and set designs

• saw inspirational exhibition at the Buchheim Museum about his work

 

Friedrich Schiller (1759-1805)

• german writer, poet, thinker

• started in period of storm and stress

• started the weimar classicism with Goethe

• famous for “the Robber”

• idealist

• shaped idea of aesthetic education through theatre

 

Oskar Schlemmer (1888-1943)

• german painter, sculptor, theatre designer

• associated with Bauhaus School

• famous for triadic ballet

 

George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)

• irish playwright, critic

• won Nobel Prize in Literature

• Granville-Barker and Vedrenne staged 14 of his play

• He introduced a new-realism into english language drama and established a more provocative modern drama.

 

Lee Simonson (1888-1967)

• american stage designer

• New American Stagecraft Movement

• abstract designs

​

Laurence Sterne (1713-1768)

• english- irish writer

• writer of Tristram Shandy

• one of the first novels which features non-linear elements in storytelling

​

August Strindberg (1849-1912)

• swedish artist and writer

• searched for the expansion of naturalistic of drama to reveal reality beneath surface

• inspired by the symbolism movement

• created the “Dream Play”. Those plays appear like phantasies and evoke hypnotic emotions.

• combined rhythm with symbolic language.

 

Josef Svoboda (1920-2002)

• czech artist, scenic designer

• father of modern theatre design

• co-founder of Laterna Magika Theatre

• innovative use of lighting

​

John Millington Synge (1871-1909)

• irish playwright, poet

• poems: fin-de-siècle style

• temperate nationalist

• wrote “The Playboy of the Western World”

• He is a key figure for the revival of the Irish Literature and was involved in the foundation of the Abbey Theatre.

 

T

 

Josephine Tey/ Gordon Daviot (1896-1952)

• scottish author and playwright

• pseudonym used by Elizabeth MacKintosh

• wrote famous mystery novels

​

Lew Nikolajewitsch Tolstoi (1828-1910)

• russian writer

• describes things like he would see them for the first time

• his writings features simples phases and detailed descriptions

• stylistic use of parallelism

• tried to find the answer how mankind should live; formulated rules which are inspired by christianity; only his fame kept him safe from the anger of the authority

​

Tristan Tzara (1896-1963)

• rumanian writer

• co-founded and promoted Dadaism

• aim: abolishment of all order, manners

• featured senseless art and shocked audience

​W

 

Richard Wagner (1813-83)

• founder and supporter of  music drama

• changed the movement away from the 19th century realism; his drama is based on archetypes and myth

• key figure in the development of drama. He changed the movement away from the 19th century of realism and his drama is based on archetypes and myth.

• discovered that the audience oral perception can be enhanced, if the orchestra is placed below the stage level.

​

Christoph Martin Wieland (1733-1813)

• german translator, writer and publisher

• introduced authorial narrator in Germany

• wrote educational books

• translated Shakespeare, Horaz and Cicero into prose;

 

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)

• irish playwright, novelist, poet

• following movement of aestheticism

• He irritated the Victorian Society and challenged it through his comedies of society

• literatur = perfect expression of life and evoking emotions the highest goal, art could achieve.

• before “Salomé” was staged, the Lord of Chamberlain triggered law, which forbids staging biblical characters. Lugné-Poe saw his advantage and staged the play in France, while Wilde was in Prison and never saw his play.

 

Tennessee Williams (1911-1983)

• playwright of many staged classics

• got many ideas from his dysfunctional family

• famous for “A Streetcar named Desire”

 

Y

​

William Butler Yeats (1865-1939)

• irish poet

• won the Nobel Prize in Literature

• involved in foundation of Abbey Theatre

• symbolism had to alter literature

• rejected realism

• in dramas are the simplifications of characters and actions in the foreground

• Craig designed for him

• speech should get most of the attention

• wrote slow paced, lyrical poets and is counted into the symbolist movement

• He was the driving force behind the revival of Irish Literature and had an important impact on 20th century literature.