The Expressionistic Techniques In Eugene O'Neill's Plays

This thesis is intended for the demonstration of Eugene O'Neill's expressionistic techniques in his plays, especially in his early plays like The Emperor Jones ,The Hairy Ape, and The Great God Brown, to show O'Neill's unique way of handling themes, and display his boldness in experiment in expressive device. These techniques contribute greatly to expressing man's frustration and perplexity, presenting their dislocation and dislocation under the irrational forces of the modern world.The thesis is composed of three parts. The opening part deals with Eugene O'Neill's relation with modernism which flourished in the mid 20th century. It first traces the rise and features of modernism, then focuses on the impact of modernism on Eugene O'Neill. The second part is concerned with Eugene O'Neill's relation with expressionism.. It first generalizes the rise and features of expressionism. Expressionism differs from the literary tradition of realism in subject matters and in styles. It is essentially a mode of analyzing an inner experience and it is employed for the portrayal of inner activity. Expressionism helps to distort life for the purpose of satirical stress, or to strike beneath the surface to show the chaos and the distress at the bottom. As an experimental dramatist, O'Neill was attracted to the greatest innovator in modern theatre; and his expressionism is certainly indebted to Strindberg's formal experiments. Then, the thesis demonstrates Eugene O'Neill's most successful experimental plays in expressionism --- The Emperor Jones and The Hairy Ape. The last part --- the most weighty part of this thesis --- concentrates on Eugene O'Neill's expressionistic techniques in the two typical plays. In these plays, O'Neill employs expressionistic tricks, such as the visual effects, the sound effects, the masks, the interior monologues, the symbols and images and ironies to create atmospheres and to externalize what is inside, to display the characters' inner reality, and to convey the psychological depth of individual characters, to objectify the invisible and even the incommunicable. These expressionistic techniques in his plays contribute greatly to externalize the inner world of his charters --- his modern men.