Down the Nights and Down the Days

This latest book from veteran O'Neillian Edward L. Shaughnessy examines the influence of the Irish playwright's Catholic heritage on his moral imagination. Due to O'Neill's early renunciation of faith at age 15, critics have mostly overlooked this presence in his work. While Shaughnessy makes no attempt to reclaim him for Catholicism, he uncovers evidence that O'Neill retained the imprint of his Irish Catholic upbringing and acculturation in his work.

Shaughnessy discusses several key plays from the O'Neill canon, such as Long Day's Journey into Night, The Iceman Cometh, and Mourning Becomes Electra, as well as the lesser-known Ile and Days Without End.

Down the Nights and Down the Days: Eugene O'Neill's Catholic Sensibility is a compelling investigation into the psyche of one of the most brilliant, internationally honored playwrights of our time.

Acknowledgments

xi

Prologue

1

(10)

Part One The Reluctant Apostate

The Lad, the Rebel, the Artist

11

(23)

The O'Neills: Cradle Catholics

11

(7)

Training and Education

18

(5)

Greenwich Village, Radicals, and the Provincetown Theatre

23

(4)

Dorothy Day

27

(7)

Catholic Memory, Classic Forms

34

(19)

Catholic Sensibility: A Brief Definition

34

(5)

O'Neill the Traditionalist

39

(4)

O'Neill and the Timeless Issues of Sin and Guilt

43

(7)

``What a modern tragedy would have to be''

50

(3)

Church Authority, Artistic Freedom, and the Search for God

53

(28)

A Note on the Climate of Opinion

53

(3)

O'Neill and the Catholic Press

56

(10)

``The Substitute-God Search'': Brief Remarks on Three Plays

66

(15)

The Great God Brown

67

(3)

Lazarus Laughed

70

(3)

Strange Interlude

73

(6)

Part Two Catholic Sensibility and Thematic Development

An Introductory Note

79

(2)

Plays: Early Period (1916-1923)

81

(14)

Ile

81

(2)

Beyond the Horizon

83

(4)

All God's Chillun Got Wings

87

(8)

Plays: Middle Period (1924-1933)

95

(32)

Desire Under the Elms

95

(6)

Mourning Becomes Electra

101

(15)

Ah, Wilderness!

116

(11)

The ``Catholic'' Play: Days Without End (1934)

127

(17)

Plays: Late Period (1939-1943)

144

(43)

The Iceman Cometh

144

(8)

Long Day's Journey into Night

152

(10)

A Touch of the Poet

162

(8)

More Stately Mansions

170

(9)

A Moon for the Misbegotten

179

(8)

Epilogue

187

(6)

Appendix The Immigrant Church Press and the Catholic Writer, 1920-1950

193

(6)

Notes

199

(22)

Index

221

What is included with this book?

The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

FREE SHIPPING

Amazon no longer offers textbook rentals. We do!

Down the Nights and Down the Days

Summary

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials