Four Plays (Signet Classics)
by Tennessee Williams
Our Price: $15.98
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $3.99 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Tennessee WilliamsEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2003-11-04
ISBN: 0451529146
Number of pages: 496
Publisher: Signet Classics
Book Reviews of Four Plays (Signet Classics)
Book Review: Great Value - Portrait of a Playwright at the Height of his Powers
Summary: 5 Stars
Although I do not share the opinion that the quality of Tennessee Williams' plays suffered greatly after 1961's NIGHT OF THE IGUANA, it is true that his work lost favor with the public as he began to abandon conventional narratives in favor of more experimental and absurdist forms, as opposed to the expressionism and Southern Gothic melodrama that first put him on the map with THE GLASS MENAGERIE and A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE in the mid-1940s. This collection from Signet Classics brings together four plays from this decade-and-a-half "golden era" in Williams' career, a period that most would call his best and all would agree was his most successful critically and financially.
SUMMER AND SMOKE (1948) is the first play and it comes on the heels of the massive successes of MENAGERIE and STREETCAR. As a result, it is a work that continues in this expressionistic vein, with careful and detailed production notes recalling the former and the sexual angst and human drama of its characters quoting the latter. ORPHEUS DESCENDING (1957) is a remarkably effective reworking of an earlier apprentice play, and it updates the Greek myth within a rural Southern backdrop. In my opinion, it is not only the best play in this collection but one of the playwright's five best works in his entire canon. Next up, and almost just as good, is SUDDENLY, LAST SUMMER (1958), a tremendous psycho-drama that features a climactic monologue that is among the most gripping and nightmarish in American drama. The only real misstep in this collection is PERIOD OF ADJUSTMENT (1960), a shamelessly commercial romantic comedy... it is quite inconsequential.
Despite my indifference to the final play of this collection, the value of this small paperback is indisputable. There is more to Tennessee Williams than STREETCAR and MENAGERIE. While his later plays are less accessible (but quite underrated!), this collection is a great and inexpensive way to introduce yourself to more of this fascinating playwright's work. ORPHEUS and SUDDENLY, LAST SUMMER, in particular, are essential.
Classics Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Classics Books
Native sonby Richard Wright
Perennial Library; Published: 1987; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.75
Native Son: And How Bigger Was Bornby Richard Wright
Perennial; Published: 1993-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $26.84
Raphael and the Noble Taskby Catherine Salton
Harper; Published: 2000-10-24; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $5.49
Price in other shops:
Island (Perennial Classics)by Aldous Huxley
Harper Perennial Modern Classics; Published: 2002-07-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.00
Price in other shops:
A Tree Grows in Brooklynby Betty Smith
Harper; Published: 2001-11-13; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $14.77
Price in other shops:
The Great Divorce CDby C. S. Lewis
HarperAudio; Published: 2003-11-25; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $12.65
Price in other shops:
Great Expectationsby Charles Dickens
Macmillan Pub Co; Published: 1979-06; Paperback; Book
Price in other shops:
This Side of Paradiseby Fitzgerald
Scribner Paper Fiction; Published: 1988-09-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.95
Price in other shops:
Black Coffee (Poirot)by Agatha Christie
Harper Collins Pb; Published: 2002-12-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $68.32
Slouching Towards Bethlehem (1960s)by Joan Didion
Flamingo; Published: 2001-04-17; Paperback; Book
Best price: $22.25
Similar books summaries and other product reviews
Collected Stories (A New Directions Book)by Tennessee Williams
New Directions Publishing Corporation; Published: 1994-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.50
Price in other shops:
The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone (New Directions Bibelot)by Tennessee Williams
New Directions; Published: 1993-09-17; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.25
Price in other shops:
Cat on a Hot Tin Roofby Tennessee Williams
New Directions; Published: 2004-09-17; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.77
Price in other shops:
'Night Mother.by Marsha Norman, Marsha Norman
Dramatists Play Service, Inc.; Published: 1998-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.33
Price in other shops:
All My Sons (Penguin Classics)by Arthur Miller
Penguin Classics; Published: 2000-11-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.00
Price in other shops:
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Signet)by Tennessee Williams
Signet; Published: 1958-09-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.94
Price in other shops:
Sam Shepard : Seven Plays (Buried Child, Curse of the Starving Class, The Tooth of Crime, La Turista, Tongues, Savage Love, True West)by Sam Shepard
Dial Press Trade Paperback; Published: 1984-05-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.94
Price in other shops:
Three By Tennesseeby Tennessee Williams
Signet Classics; Published: 2003-10-07; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $22.09
A Streetcar Named Desire (New Directions Paperbook)by Tennessee Williams
New Directions; Published: 2004-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.21
Price in other shops:
The Glass Menagerieby Tennessee Williams
New Directions; Published: 1999-06-17; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.56
Price in other shops: