Synopses & Reviews
Proverbial language figures prominently in the works of Eugene O'Neill (1883-1953), the recipient of four Pulitzer prizes and a Nobel laureateship for literature. This book is a directory to the proverbs, proverbial expressions, and proverbial comparisons in O'Neill's 50 dramas and numerous letters, articles, diaries, and notebooks. Very little attention has been given to any aspect of O'Neill's language, to say nothing of the virtual disregard of him as a wielder of proverbial diction. This collection of 2,059 examples of O'Neill's proverbial usage is a first step towards remedying that situation and provides a foundation for future scholarship.
The introduction shows how O'Neill used proverbs as a structural element of his dramas and places his proverbial usage in the context of international proverb scholarship, offers examples and generalizations about his manipulation of proverbs, and suggests fruitful areas of further investigation. The heart of the book is a key-word index to the proverbial texts that identifies the locations of the proverbial examples in the canon of O'Neill's works and facilitates comparisons of similar locutions. Each proverbial construction is dated so that the reader can immediately see the chronological range of the texts. For those interested in the history of particular proverbs, citations of standard proverb dictionaries are appended to most of the texts. Two appendices show the frequency with which proverbs appear and their distribution among the various dramas.
Review
Bryan and mieder provide a foundational tool for advanced study of language in Eugene O'Neill's works- ...The introductory essay is moe susseccful for its "fundamental observations" on the types of proverbs in O'neill's life and works... ...the introductory essay presents several interesting approaches for futher study; and the keyword index to proverb text referenced to standard editions makes the volume useful in collections supporting advanced research on O'NeillARBA
Synopsis
Proverbial language figures prominently in the works of Eugene O'Neill (1883-1953), the recipient of four Pulitzer prizes and a Nobel laureateship for literature. This volume is an index to 2,059 proverbs, proverbial expressions, and proverbial comparisons in O'Neill's 50 dramas and numerous letters, articles, diaries, and notebooks. The work includes an introductory contextual history of proverbs in O'Neill's writings, a key-word index with citations of standard proverb dictionaries, and appendices showing the distribution and frequency of proverbial texts.
Synopsis
Indexes 2,059 proverbs, proverbial expressions, and proverbial comparisons in the dramas and private writings of Eugene O'Neill.
About the Author
GEORGE B. BRYAN is Professor of Theatre at the University of Vermont and has published several reference books on theatrical biography, the latest of which are Stage Deaths: A Biographical Guide to International Theatrical Obituaries, 1850-1990 (2 vols., Greenwood, 1991) and Ethel Merman: A Bio-Bibliography (Greenwood, 1992).WOLFGANG MIEDER is Professor of German and Folklore and head of the Department of German and Russian at the University of Vermont.
Table of Contents
Preface
How to Use This Book
Eugene O'Neill and the Proverb
O'Neill Editions Consulted
Key-word Index to Eugene O'Neill's Proverbs, Proverbial Expressions, and Proverbial Comparisons
Appendix I: Distribution
Appendix II: Frequency