Premiering in 1944 and winner of the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award, "The Glass Menagerie" was Tennessee Williams' first popular success. The play introduced Williams' notion of plastic, or sculptural, drama as he incorporated both sound and lighting into his stage directions in an attempt to heighten the audience's emotional experience. This updated "Bloom's Modern Critical Interpretations Guide" is an essential resource for those seeking to deepen their appreciation of this riveting character study.
Perhaps best recognized for the horror films it has spawned, "Frankenstein", written by 19-year-old Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, was first published in 1818. "Frankenstein: Or The Modern Prometheus" warns against the "advancements" of modern man and the industrial revolution. Whether for research or general interest, "Bloom's Modern Critical Interpretations" furnishes students with a collection of the most insightful critical essays available on this Gothic thriller, selected from a variety of literary sources.
An inquiry into the meaning of the American Dream, "Death of a Salesman" is Arthur Miller's most famous play and won him a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award. 'Attention must be paid' to its lead character, Willy Loman (played over time by Lee J. Cobb, George C. Scott, Dustin Hoffman, and Brian Dennehy, among others), who has come to represent the middle-class struggle. Readers seeking in-depth analysis of this affecting drama will appreciate this fully updated "Bloom's Modern Critical Interpretations" study.
Black Boy is a firsthand account of what it was like to come of age in the Jim Crow South. Richard Wright’s story is an emotional journey through violence, abandonment, neglect, and hunger, as well as blatant racial discrimination. Richard Wright's Black Boy details the themes and history of this seminal American classic with thought-provoking critical essays, a comprehensive chronology of Wright's life and times, and an easy-to-follow index.
Composed about CE 1000, "Beowulf" is the longest known poem written in Old English. Considered one of the great epics, the Anglo-Saxon saga relates the heroic deeds of the warrior Beowulf, who kills the man-eating monster Grendel, and the monster's mother. Containing touches of Christian and pagan symbolism, "Beowulf" is the source of many medieval and Renaissance legends. It also influenced J.R.R. Tolkien, and helped spawn the fantasy genre so popular today in literature and film. Arm students for immersion in the study of this mythic adventure with "Bloom's Modern Critical Interpretations".
