Merits And Demerits Of Eugene O'Neill As A Modern Dramatist

Table of Contents

Introduction:

There are merits and demerits of Eugene O’Neill as a Modern Dramatist. Eugene O’Neill’s importance in American Drama can never be overvalued for he is one of those writers who made American literature popular throughout the world, Some scholars regard O’Neill as the father of American Drama. His contribution to drama is rich in both quality as well as quantity. In this respect he stands with Shakespeare and owns the same reputed place in American Drama.

Among his best plays ‘Beyond the Horizon’, ‘Anna Christe’, ‘The Emperor Jones’, ‘The Hairy Ape’, ‘Desire Under the Elms’, ‘The Great God Brown’, ‘Lazarus Laughed’, ‘The Strange Interlude’, ‘Mourning Becomes Electra’, ‘The Iceman Cometh’ and ‘Long Day’s Journey Into Night’ are counted. He is the only American dramatist whose plays are translated almost in all the popular languages and his plays are read and acted throughout the world.

A Romantic Dramatist:

O’Neill is a romantic dramatist in the sense that he always makes experiments for he is not satisfied with whatever exists. With this spirit he transformed the American drama by introducing so many new devices. When he started his career, he believed in the realistic tradition but then he turned to expressionism. In 1939, when he wrote “The Iceman Cometh’ he returned to the realistic tradition. The characters of his plays do not belong to a particular section. He represents the whole mankind for example in ‘The Hairy Ape’ Yank is a strong but poor stoker while Mildred is the daughter of Mr. Douglas one of the richest men in America who is President of Steel Trust for, he produces fifty percent of the whole steel produced in the country. Yank is stripped to the waist while Mildred does not care for her white dress that she intends to throw in the sea. She has a number of such dresses. How different their worlds are is exposed when Yank visits Fifth Avenue. Here one small article costs as much as is needed to feed a starving family for a year.

O’Neill revives the outdated tradition to introduce a bit of change in the existing drama. In this reference ‘Mourning Becomes Electra’ is an ideal example. O’Neill introduces the ancient myth of Electra in a modified form suitable to contemporary society. His characters take part in the Civil War instead of the Trojan War. Lavinia represents Electra. Besides it the play is a trilogy—a set of three plays in series to be read as one unit though every play is independent.

In ‘The Hairy Ape’, O’Neill uses Rodin’s ‘The Thinker’ as a model. So often Yank is found in this pose. It is interesting to note that even the gorilla in Zoo is found in this pose.

Fusion of Naturalism, Symbolism and Expressionism:

O’Neill makes a rare fusion of naturalism, symbolism and expressionism. For example, in ‘The Hairy Ape’ he introduces a real picture of the stokehole with natural activities of stokers. The scene opens with voices that indicate that the stokers are busy in drinking heavily. The implied suggestion is that people working in odd circumstances fall a victim to intoxications. There are narrow benches of steel on all sides. The room is crowded with men shouting, cursing, laughing and singing. The confused noise gives impression as if beasts in a cage were roaring. Nearly all the men are drunk. Many bottles are passed from hand to hand. All are dressed in rough trousers and heavy ugly shoes. Most of them are stripped to the waist.

It seems they are imprisoned by white steel. The ceiling is low enough to touch the men’s heads. They can’t stand upright. All the time they have to work in stooping posture. By shoveling coal in this posture, they suffer from over development of back and shoulder muscles. They look like pre-historic men. All are hairy chested with long strong arms but small angry eyes. In colour of hair, skin, eyes, all these men are alike. But this naturalistic account becomes symbolic when the dramatist remarks that: “The treatment of this scene, or of any other scene in the play, should by no means be naturalistic.”

It means all the characters and their situation are symbols. It is blended with expressionism when voices are heard for the represent the inner reality. It is the basic quality of expressionism that characters become abstract. Here they do not appear but their voices are audible.

VOICES. Gif me trink, dere, you!

‘Ave a wet!

Salute!

Gesundheit!

Skoal!

Drunk as a lord, God stiffen you !

Here’s how!

Luck!

Pass back that bottle, damn you !

Pourin’ it down his neck!

Ho, Froggy! Where the devil have you been?

Tonight-

She who’s the best man!

Bloody Dutchman!

Tonight on the for’ard square.

I’ll bet on Dutchy

He packa da wallop, I tella

Shut up, Wop!

you!

No fightin’, maties. We’re all chums, ain’t we?

(A voice starts bawling a song.)

“Beer, beer, glorious beer!

Fill yourselves right up to here.”

Yank takes notice of the uproar. Using his authority, he asks them to keep quiet. He rejects the idea of taking beer and remarks the light drinks suit girls instead of strong men like them. He demands a hard drink. So many bottles are offered. He tastes all of them and keeps one with himself and asks the owner of the bottle to leave it for him. Yank again turns to people. Seeing his face all become silent. Voices are heard again.

VOICES. We must be passing the Hook.

She’s beginning to roll to it.

Six days in hell-and then Southampton.

Py Yesus, I vish somepody take my first vatch for me!

Gittin’ seasick, Square-head?

Drink up and forget it!

What’s in your bottle!

Gin.

Dot’s nigger trink.

Absinthe? It’s doped. You’ll go off your chump, Froggy!

Cochon !

Whisky, that’s the ticket!

Where’s Paddy?

Going asleep.

It is an example of fusion of naturalism, symbolism and expressionism.

The Note of Melodrama:

O’Neill has a deep inclination for melodrama. His carly plays show a blending of symbolism and melodrama. Melodrama is a play based on romantic plot with constant appeal to the emotions of the audience. O’Neill uses it in two ways (i) use of improbable character and situation and (ii) destruction of surface reality and truth of character. In ‘The Hairy Ape’ it amounts to the improbability of character and situation in which Mildred remarks bitterly on Yank’s appearance for in the opening of the play the dramatist has pointed out that all are hairy-chested with long arms of tremendous power…all these men are alike. It means there may be slight difference of degree in their appearances but not so great that she is able to bear all other stokers’ ugly appearance but feels shocked only when Yank turns to her.

No doubt Mildred’s attitude is unconvincing. Likewise, Yank’s reaction to it does not seem much convincing. It seems unjust when it is reported that as a student of Sociology she has always been mixing with the poor working class. It is hard to believe that the whole race of Yank like people was confined to that stokehole. She would have seemed such people outside the ship also. Likewise, Yank claims that he scorns all women for they are faithless, no better than prostitutes. Such a man should never take a woman’s remark deep at heart. Yank’s end and his speech to call all to see him would be regarded as melodramatic.

His Poetic Inclination:

O’Neill had a natural love for poetry for his father was a popular artist. His love for poetry, song and music is exposed in his plays. He introduces chanty or shanty, the sailors’ song repeatedly in ‘Mourning Becomes Electra’. In ‘The Hairy Ape’, he introduces emotional songs. A very drunken stoker sings:

“Far away in Canada,

Far across the sea,

There’s a lass who fondly waits

Making a home for me—”

Paddy is remembered for his whisky song. He is an Irish old drunkard who takes interest only in sleeping and dreaming of his past peaceful days. His face is extremely monkey-like. His eyes are full of pathos. He blinks and says that he is never too drunk to sing. He starts to sing in a thin, nasal, sad tone.

“Oh, whisky is the life of man!

Whisky! O Johnny! (They all join in on this.)

Oh, whisky is the life of man!

Whisky for my Johnny! (Again chorus.)

“Oh, whisky drove my old man mad!

Whisky! O Johnny!

Oh, whisky drove my old man mad!

Whisky for my Johnny!”

In fact, it was O’Neill’s ambition that he should be remembered as a poet dramatist. In a way it was strongly needed in his plays to lighten the burden of crude reality by providing poetic relief as a kind of dramatic relief. He wrote about dull life of farmers, sailors, poor workers. Sometimes he gives a poetic touch to his speeches. For example, Yank speaks in “The Hairy Ape’.

He can’t breathe and swallow coal-dust, but I kin, see? Dat’s fresh air for me? Dat’s food for me! I’m new, get me? Hell in de stokehole? Sure! It takes a man to work in hell. Hell, sure, dat’s my favʼrite climate. I eat it up! I git fat on it! It’s me makes it hot! It’s me makes it roar! It’s me makes it move! Sure, on’y for me everyting spots. It all goes dead, get me? De noise and smoke and all de engines movin’ de woild, dey stop. Dere ain’t nothin’ no more! Dat’s what I’m sayin’. Everyting else dat makes de woild move, somep’n makes it move. It can’t move witout somep’n else, see? Den yuh get down to me. I’m at de bottom, get me! I’m de end! I’m de start! I start somep’n and de woild moves! It— dat’s me! — de new dat’s moiderin’ de old!

Sometimes voices fulfil the need of a blank verse. For example, in Scene IV when Yank is in prison voices pass satire on democracy.

Voice (scornfully) Hurrah for de Fort’ of July!

Pass de hat!

Liberty!

Justice!

Honour!

Opportunity!

Brotherhood!

His Limitations:

In spite all the greatness as a dramatist, he suffered from certain weaknesses also. Scholars like W.E. Woodbridge and Halsted Welles point out his limitations:

(i) He lacks sense of bright humour.

(ii) His grasp on character is uncertain.

(iii) He lacks in composing proverbial statements.

(iv) He suffers from false robustness.

(v) His symbolism so often grow obscure.

(vi) He suffers from uncertain control over emotion.

It is O’Neill’s weakness that uses grim irony in place of humour. He uses satire but that too becomes bitter and biting. In ‘The Hairy Ape’ there appear opportunities to create humour but O’Neill fills them with bitter satire or irony. He fails in keeping characters in his grip. They display such changes that look improbable. For example, Yank in ‘The Hairy Ape’ displays childish behaviour at Fifth Avenue. We have no quotable lines or passages in his plays. His characters suffer from false robustness. Mildred is eager to visit stokehole though she knows the place would be too hot. She longs to see the stokers at work so greatly that she seeks permission to visit the place by telling a lie to the Captain that her father had written a letter for it. But when she meets the situation in reality, she faints. Yank too suffers from false robustness of part from bending the iron cage bars of the prison, he fails in proving his gigantic strength anywhere. His symbolism leads to obscurity when used in excess. For example, in ‘The Hairy Ape’ the end suffers from obscurity for symbols lack charity. Uncertain control over emotions amount to a grave weakness.

A Great Dramatist:

In spite of a few weaknesses or limitations, he is a great American dramatist who contributed a lot to the development of contemporary drama. In 1936, he got Nobel Prize for literature. It shows his greatness. Even after his death, he was awarded posthumously Pulitzer Prize in 1957 for ‘A Long Day’s Journey into Night’.