Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Rating:
Summary: Insights into Albee's play and the Theater of the Absurd
Review: This review is of the Cliff Notes by Cynthia McGowan and James Roberts of Edward Albee's modern American classic play, "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" Beginning with a brief look at the life and background of Albee, McGowan and Roberts provide an excellent 12 page section on "Edward Albee and the Theater of the Absurd," developing the similarities and differences between his plays and those of Samuel Beckett, Eugene Ionesco, Jean Genet and Arthur Adamov. This section would be very useful to anyone teaching or studying these playwrights and the Absurdist tradition. After covering the setting, the significance of the title and the four characters, we have the main portion of this book, the Critical Analysis of the play itself. Unlike most Cliff Notes volumes, McGowan and Roberts do not separate their analysis into summary and commentary sections, choosing to combine the two elements instead. After covering the significance of the titles of the play's three acts, they conclude with an analysis of the four characters. Again, this is a departure from the standard practice of these Cliffs Notes volumes, which usually end with analysis of specific literary themes. So while the introductory essay is excellent and the analysis is more than adequate, you need to be aware that there is a sense in which this book is not as user-friendly as most Cliffs Notes volumes. However, I fully admit that I have a preference for having students learn how to work with the critical vocabulary, so I appreciate those Cliffs Notes where such terms are laid out as clearly as possible. Bottom line: there is a lot here that will help teachers and students with this great play on both the micro and macro levels.

Rating:
Summary: "You gotta have a swine to show you where the truffles are."
Review: This was Albee's first three-act play. It was also made into a film with Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, George Segal, and Sandy Dennis. A cocktail party given by an unsuccessful history professor (George) and his wife (Martha) for a new instructor (Nick) with his wife (Honey) turns into a long session of arguments, verbal abuse, revelations, and catharsis. There are several references to George and Martha's 21-year-old son who we later discover to be nonexistent. The younger couple, who are having a child, turn out to have a sterile marriage as well, albeit for different reasons. This play won the 1962-1963 New York Drama Critics' Circle Award. This play is filled with great dialogue: witticisms, verbal abuse, sorrow, and even compassion. It is easily one of the top dramas of the twentieth century.

Rating:
Summary: This Has to be the Best Play Ever Written! I Loved It!
Review: Wow. I never thought I could like a play so much. I had to read this for a class in college, so I admit that I didn't know what I was in for. I would've never thought that I would enjoy reading a play. This is a work of art with every line having meaning and significance.

A quick summary of the story without giving too much away: This is the story about an elderly couple who seem to hate each other with a passion. They're rude, loud, offensive, and insulting. When they invite a younger couple to their house, things quickly start to get out of control, while the elderly couple use their guests as sheilds and pawns in their brutal arguements and such. The story ends with a shocking resolution that will catch you off guard.

The dialogue in this play is so beautifully written. It reads like the way people actually talk. That is why I enjoyed it so much. It also enriched the characters that much more. Edward Albee did a magnificent job of weaving a tale that seems so realistic it's as if we are there at that house on that very night. There are no minor characters; everyone is important in a very significant way. It is refreshing to be able to get to know each character and the hopes, dreams, ambitions, and the conflicts that lie within.

I really enjoyed reading this wonderfully structured play. Much so that I have already read it at least seven times. It is a very easy read. And since it is mostly dialogue, it really doesn't take long to read. You could easily finish it in a day or two if you really put your heart to it. Even if you don't enjoy reading novels, maybe this is the solution. There is no lengthy descriptions of what color the characters' eyes are or what they're wearing. Just good old dialogue that will have you hooked from the very beginning. "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" is an outstanding play that will forever remain a true classic in American Literature.

Rating:
Summary: This Has to be the Best Play Ever Written! I Loved It!
Review: Wow. I never thought I could like a play so much. I had to read this for a class in college, so I admit that I didn't know what I was in for. I would've never thought that I would enjoy reading a play. This is a work of art with every line having meaning and significance.

A quick summary of the story without giving too much away: This is the story about an elderly couple who seem to hate each other with a passion. They're rude, loud, offensive, and insulting. When they invite a younger couple to their house, things quickly start to get out of control, while the elderly couple use their guests as sheilds and pawns in their brutal arguements and such. The story ends with a shocking resolution that will catch you off guard.

The dialogue in this play is so beautifully written. It reads like the way people actually talk. That is why I enjoyed it so much. It also enriched the characters that much more. Edward Albee did a magnificent job of weaving a tale that seems so realistic it's as if we are there at that house on that very night. There are no minor characters; everyone is important in a very significant way. It is refreshing to be able to get to know each character and the hopes, dreams, ambitions, and the conflicts that lie within.

I really enjoyed reading this wonderfully structured play. Much so that I have already read it at least seven times. It is a very easy read. And since it is mostly dialogue, it really doesn't take long to read. You could easily finish it in a day or two if you really put your heart to it. Even if you don't enjoy reading novels, maybe this is the solution. There is no lengthy descriptions of what color the characters' eyes are or what they're wearing. Just good old dialogue that will have you hooked from the very beginning. "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" is an outstanding play that will forever remain a true classic in American Literature.