Spotlight on
Eugene O'Neill
(1888 - 1953)
Eugene O’Neill was born into the theater – his father, James O’Neill, was a popular 19th century actor. O’Neill’s early life was spent touring with his parents. After being expelled from Princeton, he traveled the world as a seaman, ending up in New York. At age 24 he contracted tuberculosis, and was drawn to playwriting during his recovery.
The early years
His early realistic plays drew on his experiences at sea; in the 1920s, with the rise of interest in the psychological theories of Freud and Jung, O’Neill began to write expressionistic dramas. Finally, he returned to realism, drawing on his own early life to create his finest works, including The Iceman Cometh, Mourning Becomes Electra and Long Day’s Journey Into Night.
He was a prolific writer, creating more than 20 full-length plays and many shorter ones. Awarded four Pulitzer Prizes, Eugene O’Neill was the first American playwright to earn a Nobel Prize for Literature. He brought the American theater to a new sense of literary seriousness and maturity.
Eugene O'Neill
(1888 - 1953)
Eugene O’Neill was born into the theater – his father, James O’Neill, was a popular 19th century actor. O’Neill’s early life was spent touring with his parents. After being expelled from Princeton, he traveled the world as a seaman, ending up in New York. At age 24 he contracted tuberculosis, and was drawn to playwriting during his recovery.
The early years
His early realistic plays drew on his experiences at sea; in the 1920s, with the rise of interest in the psychological theories of Freud and Jung, O’Neill began to write expressionistic dramas. Finally, he returned to realism, drawing on his own early life to create his finest works, including The Iceman Cometh, Mourning Becomes Electra and Long Day’s Journey Into Night.
He was a prolific writer, creating more than 20 full-length plays and many shorter ones. Awarded four Pulitzer Prizes, Eugene O’Neill was the first American playwright to earn a Nobel Prize for Literature. He brought the American theater to a new sense of literary seriousness and maturity.
