Writing Style of Eugene O’Neill

Writing Style of Eugene O’Neill

Eugene O’Neill Revolutionized the American theatre with his style. When O’Neill’s plays were first staged in the early 20th century they were unlike any other plays seen before. This uniqueness can be contributed to O’Neill’s style. However, O’Neill’s style is nearly impossible to define. As written in the Kennedy Center’s Arts Edge’s online magazine:

It is impossible to put one “label” on Eugene O’Neill’s style of dramatization. At different times, and sometimes within the same framework, he is a naturalist, a romanticist, an impressionist, a symbolist, an expressionist, often bordering on the surreal. He is an empiricist, a psychoanalyst, and a mystagogue. (Biographical)

This quotation is a perfect example of why it is so hard to label O’Neill’s style. Nevertheless there are certainly aspects in all of his writing that make it distinguishable from other playwrights. A few of these characteristics are his use of extensive stage directions, evocative titles and Greek-styled structure. These three unique traits are a few aspects of style that often identify an O’Neill play.

Eugene O’Neill is famous for his multi-page long, incredibly specific stage directions. An example of this is the beginning of Long Day’s Journey Into Night which starts off with a three page length section of stage directions. This is noticeably different from other playwrights, as stage directions usually are a page at max. The reason for the length is the extreme detail that O’Neill goes into. O’Neill basically describes two different categories in his stage directions: set and characters, both to equally great extent.

Of the three pages of stage directions that make up the beginning of Long Day’s Journey Into Night, half of it describes the set. O’Neill goes into great depth, naming every work on the book shelf, giving a specific time and day and describing the different rooms of the house, even going as far to describe specific rooms as appearing “rarely used.” The extreme detail in the description of the set accomplishes two tasks. One, it ensures that O’Neill’s sets will be set up exactly as he pictured and two, it begins to tell part of the story before the characters even speak their lines. O’Neill is able to show great amounts of information about his play just through the set alone. This is a unique aspect of his style.

The other part of O’Neill’s stage directions focus on the individual characters. This occurs in all of O’Neill’s work but there is not a finer example than in Mourning Becomes Electra when O’Neill describes Christine Mannon; it reads:

Christine Mannon is a tall striking-looking woman of forty, but she appears younger… she moves with an animal grace. Her face is unusual, handsome rather than beautiful. One is struck by the strange impression it gives in repose of being not living flesh but a wonderfully life-like pale mask, in which only the deep-set eyes, of a dark violet blue, are alive.

Obviously this description goes into great detail about the character. Similar to O’Neill’s description of the set, this character description has two purposes. One, to ensure that the character is exactly as O’Neill pictures when writing the piece and two, it reveals information about the character before she even speaks. For example, the fact that Christine’s face looks like a “life-like” mask would indicate to many readers that she is hiding behind a fake front, covering up the truth. O’Neill so effectively uses stage directions that they become nearly as significant to the writing as the dialogue itself. This is a unique aspect of his style.

Another trait of O’Neill’s style is his use of dense, evocative play titles. His titles seem to always have two lairs: one of face value and one of a deeper meaning. Take for example Long Day’s Journey Into Night, a good guess might be that this play takes place in one day, starting in the morning and progressing into night, but nobody will be able to understand the true meaning of the title without reading or seeing the play. After reading it becomes obvious that the title holds a much deeper meaning than it appears to. It’s apparent that the journey from day into night symbolizes the journey from life to death. In the play, “night” also symbolizes a time of chaos and exhaustion. As the day progresses the Tyrone’s problems become deeper and darker (for example, Mary’s morphine addiction). After reading the play its clear that the title holds a stronger meaning than just an indication of time.

Similarly, both titles, Mourning Becomes Electra and Desire Under the Elms follow a similar pattern. The title Mourning Becomes Electra may have no real meaning to a reader at all prior to reading the play. It is unclear whether Electra is a person or something else; the reader may only gather that they play has to do with mourning. However after reading the play, the genius of the title is exposed. The title is a reference to the Electra complex which plays a huge role in the play. Before reading Desire Under the Elms it is clear that the play deals with desire. Only after reading, once again, is the true genius of the title revealed. This title works in so many ways. Desire under the elms could refer to the brother’s desire to go to California, Eben’s desire for the farm itself, the lustful desire between Eben and Abbie or anything in-between. This artistic craftsmanship of perfect titles is a defining characteristic of O’Neill’s writing.

Another aspect is how O’Neill follows the structure of a Greek tragedy in many of his plays. An example of this is his use of a “chorus” of people in Mourning Becomes Electra. O’Neill states in the stage directions that the people lingering around the Mannon mansion take the role of a rumor spreading chorus. They spread rumors with unknown origins and unidentified means of acquiring these details. This element of spreading unknown information further relates them to a Greek chorus.

Another way that O’Neill relates his plays to a Greek tragedy is he actually draws influence from ancient Greek tragedies. Mourning Becomes Electra as well as Desire Under the Elms draw much of their plot from ancient Greek stories (Specific comparison of O’Neill’s work to Greek tragedy can be found on the THEMES page). Finally, O’Neill relates his plays to Greek tragedies by using common themes. The official Eugene O’Neill website states, “[O’Neill drew] on Greek themes of incest, infanticide, and fateful retribution (Eugene).” The use of Greek tragedy as a plot influence and structure design is a characteristic of O’Neill’s style that sets his style apart from others.

Eugene O’Neill is a playwright who was so masterful and revolutionary in his style that it is impossible to define it with just three characteristics. However there are consistent traits such as extensive stage directions, evocative titles and Greek-styled structure that separate him from other playwrights. Nonetheless, O’Neill’s style can not be labeled specifically, because of its many facets and his great versatility.