Tragic And Comic Elements In Eugene O'Neill's Late Works

On the basis of the analysis of traditional concepts of tragedy and comedy, this dissertation tries to explore the novel notion of Eugene O'Neill's tragicomic plays and his new understanding of tragedy and comedy. Through his plays he brings a wide range of new themes and styles to the stage, which is point I want to probe through this dissertation. His inheritance and breakthrough of traditional notions on tragedy and comedy, the laughter in his tragedies, the tears and deep sighs in his comedies, the hopes hidden behind the despair shown by his characters, all of these is what this dissertation will expose.In American drama history, Eugene O'Neill developed drama into a serious form of literature. He freed it from the melodrama. Through his many plays he brought a wide range of new themes and styles to the stage. Each play is an exploration of the human condition. His inheritance and development of traditional tragedy attract me. Some critics name his plays as new tragedies. In their opinion, new tragedy is like a Bible story, but O'Neill gives the story Freudian meaning. O'Neill also uses themes and technique from Greek tragedy in such plays as The Great God Brown (1926) and Desire Under the Elms (1924). In this dissertation, traditional tragedies and O'Neill's new tragedies will be compared with, from which some characteristics of new tragedy can be shown. Another important point of my paper is smiles crystallized by tears, that is to say, the optimism hidden behind pessimism. I always believe that O'Neill is not a pessimist, like what he described himself. Most people think his plays are gloomy and depressing, and O'Neill looks at life in a pessimistic light. But I don't think so. Indeed, there is some kind of superficial optimism to some extend and on some occasion, but the optimism involved with pessimism is much more penetrating and moving. So the smiles acquired by the sweat and tears are most touching, and the dance of the death in darkness is most beautiful. It is only the tragedy that possesses the sublime beauty, which is the truth, reality. Tragedy reflects the connotation of life and hope. O'Neill himself also believes the noble are always the miserable. From the biographical note of O'Neill, it is possible to figure out some implications and hints of the source of his literary concept and values towards life and the world. As a son of a travelling actor, O'Neill never knew a stable "home." The experience of his early period helped to form the personality and some unique ideas of O'Neill. In 1934 O'Neill entered a highly creative but withdrawn period; he gave birth to several significant works. The most important were The Iceman Cometh (1946). A Long Day's Journey into Night (1956), A Moon for the Misbegotten (1957) and Hughie (1962). From the last plays, we can understand that O'Neill's tragic view of life is perpetuated in his relationships with his mother, the three women he married, two of which he divorced, and with his three children. However, O'Neill's works are not so dark and gloomy like many people think. He does not just treat life as an isolated tragedy. A hint of optimism in his tragedies can be recognized. He makes us believe that our life is a tragicomedy, involving tragedies and comedies, neither a perfect comedy nor a sheer tragedy. Because every cloud has a silver lining, the dawn will approach at the close of the long night.