Determinism In O'Neill's Middle Tragedies

Eugene O'Neill (1888-1953) is generally regarded as founder of modern American drama. His idiosyncratic tragic temperament, bold-innovative theatrical experiments and influential masterpieces have long firmly established his leading position in modern American drama. Before his time, Americans saw only imported plays from Europe, farces and sentimental comedies of melodrama with exemplary figures and clear contrasts between good and evil. It was Eugene O'Neill who first regarded drama as a serious noble literary art and dared to break the commercial tradition in theatre. He always has a high appreciation of Greek tragedy and has successfully realized his Greek dream through his inheritance of the traditional Greek determinism. This thesis aims to analyze the determinism in O'Neill's middle tragedies.The introduction gives a brief review of O'Neill's significant position in American modern drama, his contribution to reforming the convention of melodrama by his innovative theatrical experiments, and the increasing studies of his life and works in and after his life home and abroad.Chapter One analyzes the double meaning of determinism in O'Neill's tragedies: his inheritance and renovation of the traditional determinism. Traditionally, determinism in tragedies has double meaning: one is the inevitable defeat of men and the other is men's struggle against this defeat. O'Neill, while inheriting the traditional conception of determinism, added new meaning to it. One of his renovations is reflected through the protagonists he chooses. Chapter Two focuses on the fate conception in his tragedies such as The Hairy Ape and Desire Under the Elms. Though O'Neill admits the determined force of fate, he has his own interpretation of fate which is entirely different from that of the Greek tragedians. The fate conception he developed marks another important renovation he made to traditional determinism. Chapter Three discusses the psychology and psychological forces in his tragedies like The Emperor Jones and Desire Under the Elms. Psychology provided O'Neill with a scientific tool to understand the underlying motives of men's behavior from which he gained an insight to the psychological cause of men's tragedies.The conclusion summarizes the main idea clarified in aforementioned parts, and restates O'Neill's firm position in American and the world literature.