The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?

by Edward Albee

On his 50th birthday, Martin, a world-famous architect prepares for a recorded interview by an old friend in the TV business; but in the course of the conversation a secret emerges that threatens to turn celebration to tragedy. Edward Albee's black comedy offers a fascinating look at the limits liberal society can be pushed to, and asks the audience to question their beliefs, to examine their own bigoted views and reconsider their judgement of matters that may or may not be considered socially taboo.

Winner of the 2002 Tony Award for Best Play, The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? is a hugely enjoyable parable that plumbs the deepest questions of social constraints on the individual expression of love.

This Modern Classics edition features a new introduction by Toby Zinman.

Genres: Plays, Drama, Theatre, Fiction, Classics, American, School

104 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Noted American playwright Edward Franklin Albee explored the darker aspects of human relationships in plays like Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1962) and Three Tall Women (1991), which won his third Pulitzer Prize.

People know Edward Franklin Albee III for works, including The Zoo Story , The Sandbox and The American Dream .
He well crafted his works, considered often unsympathetic examinations of the modern condition. His early works reflected a mastery and Americanization of the theater of the absurd, which found its peak in European playwrights, such as Jean Genet, Samuel Barclay Beckett, and Eugène Ionesco. Younger Pulitzer Prize-winner Paula Vogel credits daring mix of theatricalism and biting dialogue of Albee with helping to reinvent the postwar theater in the early 1960s. Dedication of Albee to continuing to evolve his voice — as evidenced in later productions such as The Goat or Who Is Sylvia? (2000) — also routinely marks him as distinct of his era.

Albee described his work as "an examination of the American Scene, an attack on the substitution of artificial for real values in our society, a condemnation of complacency, cruelty, and emasculation and vacuity, a stand against the fiction that everything in this slipping land of ours is peachy-keen."

Reviews

[e. roy lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Edward Albee is know for his ability to write plays in which each character's flaws slowly ooze out of them like sweat from a roasting pig, resulting in a combustion of relationships among the characters. in this repulsivly dark comedy about a happily married man who falls in love with a goat, Albee raises questions about the social boundaries of sex and love and what is deemed "moral" to the norm of the society. this is almost a farce to Peter Shaffer's Equus, except that Albee's message is more focused on the breakdown of the relationships of his wife, his son, and his best friend, and throws mud in the faces of those who question the morality of the situation.

i highly recommend this read, especially to witness Albee's masterful control of language and deep psychological insight into love and relationships.

[Mjm · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not really about a guy who fucks a goat (not that it couldn't be, but that only scratches the surface.) In a deeper sense, the goat is a metaphor for any unutterable desire or act that once revealed is met with repulsion, castigation, condemnation and expulsion. Although Albee is undoubtedly America's most vicious playwright (and the play has a quality of baiting the audience who will come to any play with Albee's name on it, regardless of how offensive it appears to be) his choice of a goat is far from random. Even beyond the etymological origin of the word "tragedy" that Albee himself references, in the deepest and most literal sense, the goat is the scapegoat, that vessel into which we pour all of our sin in the hope of redemption. This is a mirror of Martin's journey, for it is only after the awful revelation that the door to redemption opens. We need to remember that Albee is not only a notorious iconoclast, but a very sophisticated artist whose work has many layers.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This play is about guy who fucks a goat (which is really gross). And even though it's about a guy who fucks a goat, it's VERY GOOD!

[david · Rating 5 out of 5]

*Dysfunctional is the New Normal*

We have four main characters in this play:

*Martin, a dad and a husband and a friend
*Stevie-a mother and a wife and a friend
*Billy-the son of Martin and Stevie
*Ross-the long-time best friend of Martin and Stevie


I laughed throughout each page, so much at times, that my eyes were tearing. I became annoyed with myself because every five minutes, I would have to remove my glasses, wipe my wet eyes as quickly as possible, and wait until my vision could re-focus, so I could return to the play.

There are serious nuances within it, as in any great written work, that will resonate.

But with that aside, it is extremely entertaining.

And how I loved Stevie, the mother and the wife. Her lines, her delivery, were just too much (of a good thing).

Cautions: Do not drink any liquids while reading this.
Better to read this alone and not in front of others.
Have tissues at heel.

Do not pass up this hysterical and short comedy.

[Anna Avian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tragicomic, mischievous marital drama. An exploration of the limits of modern, upper-middle-class, liberal tolerance. It poses serious questions about the uncontrollable nature of human sexuality.

“Is there anything anyone doesn’t get off on, whether we admit it or not?”

[Amy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think this one might have been more impacting had I seen it performed. The idea of the play -- a man forms a relationship with a goat, and it tears his family apart -- was really interesting. The wife, Stevie, was probably my favorite character as she slowly went insane from desperation.

Albee said that his intent with the play was to make people "think afresh about whether or not all the values they hold are valid." I'm not sure that it did that for me. I think the point of the play was not to focus on the goat being a goat per se, but instead to look at how love changes and adapts and how monogamy breaks down. The goat was merely comic relief.

(the rest of the review is a spoiler, but it's the reason I think I liked this play less, so read if you want...)

I didn't understand the relationship between Martin and his gay son Billy. There's obviously tension in that the parents think that Billy is merely going through a phase, so his lifestyle is constantly disregarded or made to be a joke. Then... at the climax of the scene after Stevie has stormed out, Billy runs in and starts screaming at his dad Martin which eventually leads to Billy screaming that he loves him, and running at Martin and kissing him sexually. The play then goes on for Martin to confess that when Billy was a baby, he was bouncing on Martin's lap one day and Martin got a (claimed to be non-sexual) boner.

I just don't understand this part of the play. It was as if all characters were kind of going insane and the implication is that Billy's sexuality stemmed from a deep seated mental instability. Martin begins to defend Billy's Father complex. I felt like Martin is just sexually misguided in all ways, and the idea was that Billy being gay was almost a trait passed down through having to be around Martin's perversion. Maybe I'm looking at it wrong, but that whole part of the play was just way out of left field, and I didn't understand it. Mostly, I just feel like I missed something considering that Albee himself is gay and probably isn't making those implications. I just can't figure out why.

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 2 out of 5]

This threw me for a loop...was not expecting this. There are very disturbing questions of what love is; questions that I am not sure we're answered. The play deals with bestiality - but beastiality based on 'mutual love' between a man and a female goat. Not sure I really understand this. The ending is particularly horrific.

[Rich · Rating 2 out of 5]

*Spoilers ahead* (I see that this is how people protect their reviews from fake outrage.)

It's not about bestiality. It's about infidelity in the embarrassingly dull marriages of financially successful babyboomer suburban Americans. It was basically one long discovery of the infidelity, so I didn't think it was anything special. Albee's way of brightening up dialogue and characters is weak, so the play doesn't end up doing much besdies showing us a man explaining and those close to him reacting to a certain affair.

Another bad thing about writers like Albee is that their characters come out and analyze everything as a philosophical thought experiment in order to make his modern point.

Another problem with this play is that Albee sounds like he takes his sexual queues from 17th century England.

Edit, and spoiler: I personally don't get much out of thought experiments adn metaphors along the lines of "the goat represents the innocent person in the affair but also ends up paying the ultimate price." That is more literal than metaphor. I don't find it insightful or thought-provoking.

[Ivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Welcome to the quagmire of human sexuality. "The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?" (a 2002 Tony Award winner for Best Play) places the audience in the jury box. The accused are Martin, his wife Stevie and their gay teen-aged son Billy. Albee challenges us to question the nature and meaning of love. Can love and shame coexist? Who defines normal? Who, or what, has been betrayed? Who decides which behaviors are acceptable? After the evidence has been presented and issues debated we realize that this play isn't about bestiality or infidelity, but rather intolerance, nonconformity and the arbitrariness of societal standards. Does Albee provide any answers? No, he insists, as he always has, that you find your own. A truly great play.

[Sketchbook · Rating 1 out of 5]

The shocked, stunned, horrified, dazed GR reviews,
in praise of this sassafrass, prove that lemmings get
violent indigestion from a helping of pickled herring.
The condiment in question comes with Sylvia, the metaphorical
mammal who represents any "love" that Society might condemn.
I'm mixing my metaphors because what else can you do?
Albee, grunting around a horny barnyard, is not being
literal when his married Dad, in the play, explains that he's acuddle, or what have you, with a goat. The Puritan mind is always in a state of wonder.

[Phillip · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read several Albee plays thus far, and I think this one is far and away the best of those plays. Although Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is Albee's most famous play, I prefer this play. What I liked most about this play is the set of absurdist overtones. I mean, the entire premise is a bit absurd--a man and a goat fall in love at first sight--but then there are the issues of incomplete and missed communication, the different levels of ethical discourse, and so on. For instance, Martin spends a good bit of the play seemingly unable to comprehend why bestiality is ethically problematic.

[Danya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my God. I'm still in a state of shock. Oh my God. I read the whole play in approximately an hour sitting on the couch in a trance. While this play was absolutely extraordinary, and a real masterpiece, it was probably one of the most disturbing things I've ever read. Definitely rated NC 17. Highly recommended, because it was insanely well done and the incredibly dark, difficult subject matter was handled with grace, empathy, and sophistication, but it is not light reading. It revolves around a man who is in love with (and having sex with) a goat, while being equally in love with his human wife. There is (obviously) bestiality, and even some less obvious notes of sexual attraction between a man and his son. There is no clear right or wrong in this story about love and the many forms it can take, and the moral ambiguity of it all is what makes it so fascinating and such a wonderful work of art. It's a very dark story, and does not have a happy ending, but it isn't over the top or melodramatic, as stories like this are likely to be. There are notes of humor throughout the whole thing, and I loved how even in the middle of violent, emotional fights Martin and Stevie take the time to comment on metaphors and congratulate each other on witty comments. Although it might be easy to make a play like this more about what happens than an actual, realistic story about people, Albee manages to give Martin and Stevie distinct characters, and the fact that they are so realistically human is part of what makes the whole thing so upsetting and so fantastic. I will say that I might not have read this if I had known quite how disturbing it would be, but I don't regret having read it now. It's highly, highly recommended, as long as you know what you're getting in to.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

So I'm in this club at the University of Pittsburgh called Pizza and Plays. The premise of the club is to get free pizza and free plays. It's great. Every week, we meet, eat pizza and talk about the play we just read that week. Suffice it to say we read a fair number of plays. Of all the plays we've read so far this year, I think my favorite play must be this one. God, this was a hilarious yet heart-wrenching play. The characters were weaved so intricately and beautifully. They complemented each other so well. The dialogue was masterful, the premise was faaaantastic. Shocking, but not out of the realm of belief. It was an animated yet greatly human play. Really...it's just a wonderful read. Check it out. If you don't read plays, this would be a good one to start out with. It's great.

[R.A. Pedersen · Rating 1 out of 5]

This work played a fundamental role my choice to leave graduate school while I was studying theatrical design. Perhaps my hatred of it is irrational and related to the surrounding events. However, I never liked it. I tolerated it as a project and as time wore on, and it garnered praise from others as being some grand writing denouement and well of deep insight.... I became more and more disgusted with the educational system and the self-praising nonsensical people within its echo chamber. So, yes, I hate this play.

[Lucy Swinson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just not for me. Not one bit. Thought beastiality was enough but then incest and pedophilia came into the mix and that was a NO. It did make me feel things, so that means something was successful. The writing is great, just wish I could unread it to be honest. Didn’t need that in my life, but here we are!

[Sotiria Lazaridou · Rating 5 out of 5]

absolutely traumatizing, but I enjoyed every single second of it

[Juliet Guthrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

this play will fuck you up!!! enjoy some man on goat bestiality xxxxx

[Mohadese · Rating 4 out of 5]

تا الآن نمی‌دونستم قضاوت‌نکردن چه‌قدر می‌تونه سخت باشه.

[Al Knott · Rating 4 out of 5]

such a disgusting and brilliant mind. reading this made me feel ill. ill be reading more.

[Pep · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who is Silvia? what is she... - W. Shakespeare

Nici nu știu de unde să încep…
Cert este că am citit (probabil) cea mai ciudată piesă scrisă vreodată. Trecând peste tema scandalosă, nu ai cum să nu fii fermecat de stilul lui Edward Albee. Chiar dacă nu atinge complexitatea din Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Albee pătrunde cu aceeași finețe în cele mai întunecate colțuri ale psihicului uman, scoțând la iveală fațetele incomode ale dorinței și rușinii și depravării. Relația dintre Martin și Sylvia nu e doar o alegere șocantă, ci o ruptură completă de logica lumii. E acel ceva ce nu poate fi înțeles, ci doar trăit sau judecat.

Îl poți condamna pe Martin, dar nu ai cum să nu-l compătimești pe Billy. Homosexualitatea lui, reacțiile celorlalți, marginalizarea... toate îl transformă într-un personaj tragic, prins între furie, respingere și nevoia disperată de afecțiune. Și, în cele din urmă, totul se reduce la singurătate. O singurătate adâncă, crudă, aproape animalică care bântuie fiecare personaj, chiar și atunci când par să comunice sau să se iubească.

Încep să cred că sunt un magnet pentru astfel de lecturi. Ha-ha.

[Max · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cool play. I felt a little bit like the unusual sexual components of it were gimmicks. I appreciated its absurdity at first--and tried to look at the piece symbolically maybe in terms of how we as a society view sexual deviance. Or maybe what defines sexual deviance anymore. And why anything should be viewed as being deviant.

However, the message was a little bit muddled. Was this a piece about a broken family? Was it a piece about sexuality? Was it a piece about the two-faced-ness of our personal and professional lives?

Sure and sure and sure, I think. However, it also felt a little bit like Albee was taking something he's great at (broken domestic relationships) and looking for something new and startling to throw into the mix. We've seen these themes before.

It works, but not at a really deep level. It's not quite subtle enough.

[Quinn · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you have some sort of categorical imperative concerning the morality of bestiality then just skip this book. This book isn't about just bestiality it's more about the arbitrary delineations of morality and what qualifies as human or subhuman behavior. This play is a sort of short Lolita in the barnyard, I can empathize with most of the characters in the play though Ross is pretty much despicable. The wordplay and offbeat structure of the dialog is something that I haven't found in many plays. A short enjoyable though partially uncomfortable foray into whether humans are really above animals or whether it is a lie we tell ourselves to feel better. I would suggest this book to anyone who enjoys this sort of breakdown of convention.

[Jack Davidson · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want to experience something brave, daring and edgy please read this. I can only imagine how dramatic and spectacular it would be to see this as a performance. Some might say that Albee goes too far with this one, I would say that he hits the mark perfectly. "The Goat" tackles questions and themes that our society kills itself to ignore. By bringing these things out of the shadows and onto the page (or stage), Albee invites us to understand more of the world that might make us feel uncomfortable, but will always make us more understanding and universal.

[Elly Tarahimofrad · Rating 4 out of 5]

۲ ساعت و نیم نمایشنامه "بُز یا سیلویا کیه؟" رو با خوانش محسن نامجو و ترجمه بهرنگ رجبی گوش دادم.
یک کمدی تاریک، در مورد مارتین مرد خوشبختی که عاشق همسرش سیلویا و پسرشون بیل هست ولی خیلی اتفاقی عاشق یک بُز می‌شه و باهاش رابطه جنسی برقرار می‌کنه.
به‌نظرم بُز استعاره از هر خواسته یا عمل غیرقابل تکراری از طرف انسانه که یک بار فاش شدن و برملا شدنش باعث طرد شدن، تحقیر، محرومیت همیشگی و دورانداخته شدن میشه.
داستان عجیب و دردناکی بود بعد از تموم شدنش خشمگین و پکر شدم.

[I. Merey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A late middle aged man at the top of his career, in the bosom of his perfect family, on the eve of his birthday, decides to confess to his best friend that he is having a love affair with a certain Sylvia.
Sylvia is a goat.
The love affair is of a tab-a / slot-b varietal.
The horrified best friend feels morally compelled to reveal these infos to the man's wife.
Shenanigans ensue.

[Ayne Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of Albee's wittiest works, it takes a skilled craftsman to create such a funny and ultimately touching story of a man who falls in love with...you guessed it...a goat. Unique, to say the least.

[Wes Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great work! Greater questions of who, or what, we love and why. Tragicomic for sure.

[L. Hager · Rating 4 out of 5]

An amusing play in the style of Edward Albee; good to read, better to see performed.

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good. A challenging subject. I remember the furor over the language of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf. This too will infuriate the prudes.

[Bryan Cebulski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hilarious and uncomfortable first two acts and an inexplicable final act.