Inheritance And Transcendence Of Greek Tragedy

Eugene O’Neill changed the face of American theatre, transforming Americandrama into serious art. His lifelong goal was to revive the Athenian theatre in amodern age. This essay aims to discuss O’Neill’s tragic vision in the context of hisinheritance and transcendence of Greek tragedy.O’Neill’s tragic vision is discussed from three perspectives—his technique, themeand philosophy in his drama. Psychoanalysis marks the uniqueness of O’Neill’stechnique. He was influenced by Jung’s theory of subconsciousness and was veryconcerned about the human mind. He had Strindberg as his role model and integratedthe exploration of human psychology into his plays. The Oedipus and Electracomplexes were not dominant in ancient Greek tragedies, but through the use ofpsychoanalysis, O’Neill innovatively demonstrated them.O’Neill’s themes cover a wide range but one theme connects them all, i.e. theexploration of the source of tragedy. While fate was the source of tragedy in Atheniantimes, O’Neill always sought to find a modern equivalent to the Greek sense of fate orthe Force behind. His early works left readers the impression that external forcesbring about the individual’s defeat. But he later found man is the source of his ownfate. What makes him even more unique is in his quest of the source of tragedy, heintegrated his own life.O’Neill’s technique and theme ultimately points to his philosophy in his plays.Nietzsche considered the essence of Greek tragedy is the reconciliation of theApollonian and the Dionysian forces. O’Neill’s understanding of tragedy derived fromNietzsche. But he drew on Chinese Taoism to some extent.The thesis points out that O’Neill revived the religious Athenian theatre in hislate works. However, he is not a mere copyist of Greek tragedy, but a bold innovator.