Eugene O'Neill: Art as religious quest

The premise of this dissertation is two-fold: that O'Neill's work is indicative of a lifelong personal religious quest and that a clear understanding of O'Neill can only come from knowledge of his period and biography. Moving from that premise, O'Neill's life, period, and work are examined in light of three major influences: Expressionism, masks, and religion. There are eight chapters.; The first chapter introduces the thesis, discusses Expressionism, masks, and religion in relation to that thesis, and explains the decision to use an in-depth analysis of one play, The Great God Brown, to show the interrelatedness of O'Neill's life, work, and period with the three influences under consideration.; The second and third chapters focus on Expressionism. The second chapter examines the relationship between Romanticism and Expressionism, the movement of Expressionism in the United States and in Europe, and the relation between Expressionism and O'Neill's period. The third chapter continues the examination of Expressionism, investigating the influence of Expressionism on O'Neill's life and work, and then analyzing the use of Expressionism in The Great God Brown.; Chapters four and five deal with the influence of masks. Chapter four gives a brief history of the use of masks in the theater followed by a discussion of the influence of masks on O'Neill's period. Chapter five examines masks as an influence on and outgrowth of O'Neill's life and work, and concludes with an analysis of masks as they are used in The Great-God Brown.; The sixth and seventh chapters focus on the influence of religion. Chapter six defines "religion" and related terms as they are used in this dissertation and then examines religion as it influenced O'Neill's period. Chapter seven discusses religion in relation to O'Neill's life and work, and then analyzes The Great God Brown in terms of the religious influence at work in the play.; Chapter eight contains the findings and conclusions of this study.