Plays

by Joseph Kelly (Editor)

Less than half the price of full-length anthologies and more economical than most value editions, The Seagull Readers are a portable and inexpensive alternative to bulky anthologies. Each volume offers an inviting mix of classics and less familiar pieces, complemented by concise genre introductions, short headnotes and annotations, brief author biographies, and a glossary of terms.

The Readers also include access to innovative writing tips, study and review material, and much more at LitWeb and Norton Literature Online.

Genres: Fiction, Classics, Plays, School, Literature, Drama

547 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2004

Reviews

[Hope · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hate plays

[Jack D]

Tried to expand my literary horizons with this old college book I’ve held onto. I like some stories better than others, but I think I’d enjoy each better in person, or at least a film adaptation. Play formatting is hard for me to follow at times.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Final Update: Teaching the literature class (Introduction to Drama) for which this was the text has been some of my best experience as a teacher. For one, it was a lit class and I normally teach expository writing. Duh! Of course literature is more fun than writing essays! But also, I had never truly appreciated drama before, aside from a cool Shakespeare class in college. (And if you're wondering, NO, I did not feel particularly qualified to teach this going into it... thank goodness for department chairs who are in a pinch! How else do we adjuncts get any experience?) Whether or not I ultimately liked them all, every single play in this reader is fascinating, relevant, urgent, and unique. Never before had I really understood drama as a such a strong, effective mouthpiece for social change. I'd recommend them all, but the plays that absolutely must not be missed are: Ibsen's A Doll House, Hansberry's Raisin in the Sun, and... do I even need to mention Hamlet?


Recent update: Just finished A Doll House and found it spectacular. What a shock-- a very pleasant one-- to come to the ending where our oppressed protagonist finds freedom in a twist of feminism I hadn't expected. I'm surprised to read in the introduction that Ibsen himself wasn't a feminist. Luckily it's the play, and not Ibsen's beliefs, that is more commonly read and discussed.


The good news: I'll be teaching my first Literature class next term! The questionable news: It's Intro to Drama! Not exactly my favorite literary form. I guess you have to watch what you wish for. Meanwhile, I'm brushing up on my Sophocles, Shakespeare, Wilde, etc.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oedipus, Hamlet, A Doll's House, the Importance of Being Earnest, Trifles, A Raisin in the Sun, Death of a Salesman, Fences

[Ashley Bogner]

We read Oedipus , Hamlet , and Wit for my literature class.