The epic tradition in contemporary American drama: Robert Schenkkan, August Wilson, and Tony Kushner

This study argues that Robert Schenkkan's The Kentucky Cycle , August Wilson's cycle about African-Americans in the twentieth-century, and Tony Kushner's Angels in America participate in the epic tradition as descended from classical Greece. Understanding this relation is a fundamental part of seeing the plays' form and purpose. The project begins by proposing that epic as a genre is recognized by its accumulation of traditional traits, not by its adherence to a definitive list of features. A full definition involves accounting for the external form of the genre as well as the way it is put to use. The study goes on to observe how epic traits manifest themselves on stage, in what can be called "epic-drama." A discussion of the genealogy of modern epic-drama follows, in a selective historic overview of plays and films that use epic patterns.; Schenkkan's drama about two centuries of life in an Appalachian coal-mining region is then evaluated in terms of epic. Although the analysis identifies a number of parallels between The Kentucky Cycle and Wagner's epic Ring cycle, the dissertation argues that Schenkkan's play is ultimately too bleak to function as an epic for American audiences. August Wilson's cycle of plays is more successful in approaching epic expression. He uses epic patterns of heroism and the supernatural throughout his work, and also speaks from a position within his culture. Out of the three playwrights, Tony Kushner has the most self-consciously epic style, employing in Angeis in America an episodic structure and centering on the trope of a heavenly emissary. The story has precedents in the medieval mystery cycles as well as Paradise Lost, but more importantly, it depicts a subculture at a moment of historical crisis.; The study concludes that America stands in an unusual relation to epic, being a nation composed of various nationalities. As such, a national epic becomes an elusive goal. Therefore, the playwrights in this study focus on subcultures forging distinct American identities. Because of their ambition to present their groups' stories on a grand scale, these writers have naturally, if not always systematically, employed the tools of traditional epic.