| The dissertation explores, on technical and thematic grounds, the existentialist patterns that inform Albee's artistry from his early off-Broadway pieces to his current full length plays. Despite his experimentation with form, despite his shifting focus with content, Albee consistently dramatizes the importance of the existentialist conviction that embraces the necessity of self-awareness.; Albee's theater reveals the paradoxical, complex, and burdensome task implicit in living itself. And yet his plays are not pessimistic or nihilistic works. Rather, his theater embodies a quality that ultimately presents an affirmative vision of human experience. This study seeks to demonstrate that, finally, Albee shows a great compassion for his fellow man.; After establishing the historical, critical, and philosophical context of Albee's theater in Chapter One, the dissertation chronologically analyzes those plays of Albee's which best present his recurring existentialist patterns (Chapters Two-Ten). Chapter Eleven, a concluding chapter, emphasizes Albee's affirmative vision towards human experience and is followed by a lengthy interview with the playwright. |
