Abstract

Eugene O’Neill is crowned as one of the greatest playwrights in the early 20th century of American history and his artistic style and creative contribution to the American modern stage make him extraordinary. He is a productive writer and during his lifetime, he produces many masterpieces. Among his various concerns, those tragic ones are the most outstanding. He has an indissoluble bound to Greek tragedy. Mourning Becomes Electra is the very play from which readers can sense the influence of Greek tragedy on O’Neill.
This thesis, by contrasting Mourning Becomes Electra with ancient Greek tragedies, tends to explore O’Neill’s unique methods of writing dramas. His inheritance of Greek tragedy is discussed in the first part of this thesis. Several aspects, such as plot, character, theme and dramatic technique, all cast influence on O’Neill.  What is more worth mentioning is his innovation. As to character, O’Neill begins to discuss mother-and-daughter relationship which has not been touched upon by Greek tragedy. In theme, he imbues modern elements, such as Freud’s theory, materialism and the distortion of human nature results from wars. In terms of dramatic techniques, he makes chorus and mask take on a new function. O’Neill’s experimentation in dramatic art influences many later playwrights and wins himself a reputation as “the father of modern American playwriting”.

Key words: Eugene O’Neill, Mourning Becomes Electra, Greek tragedy, Inheritance, Innovation

摘要

尤金·奥尼尔被誉为20世纪美国最伟大的剧作家之一。他独特的创作风格以及对美国戏剧的创新贡献使得他成为美国戏剧史上一颗璀璨的巨星。奥尼尔是一个多产的剧作家。在他的创作生涯中，他产出了很多杰作，其中又以悲剧最为著名。他的剧作与古希腊悲剧有着不可分割的联系。奥尼尔自己也承认古希腊悲剧对他的巨大影响，而《悲悼三部曲》正是他深受古希腊悲剧影响所创作的成功典型。
本文通过比较《悲悼三部曲》和古希腊悲剧的几个方面来探讨奥尼尔的悲剧创作。本文中首先探讨的是奥尼尔对古希腊悲剧的继承。古希腊悲剧对情节、人物、主题的描写以及对戏剧手法的运用都在一定程度上影响了奥尼尔。但相比继承，更值得研究的则是他的创新与超越。人物上，他讨论了古希腊悲剧不曾涉及的母女关系；主题上，他加入了诸如弗洛伊德心理分析理论、物质主义及战争对人性的摧残等；戏剧手法上，他更是赋予了合唱和面具新的功能，以此恰当的深化主题。奥尼尔对戏剧的研究不仅影响了许多后世的剧作家，而且也为自己赢得了“美国现代戏剧之父”的称号！

关键词：尤金·奥尼尔；《悲悼三部曲》；古希腊悲剧；继承；创新