Product Description

Known through four editions as the boldest and most distinguished introduction to drama, William Worthen's pace-setting text continues to provide exciting plays usefully situated within their historical and cultural contexts. In its fifth edition, THE WADSWORTH ANTHOLOGY OF DRAMA broadens its scope to offer even more plays than ever before.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #325030 in Books
• Published on: 2006-01-13
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 1728 pages

Review
"I think the historical introductions are unparalleled."

"The Wadworth Anthology is a superior drama anthology, offering its users an extensive range of plays, critical essays, and historical information for the study of theatre history and dramatic literature."

"W. B. Worthen’s selection of plays, choice of criticism and insightful and economical commentary make the Wadsworth Anthology the standout text in its field."

About the Author
W. B. Worthen is Professor and Chair of the Department of Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. He is the author of Shakespeare and the Force of Modern Performance (Cambridge University Press, 2003) Shakespeare and the Authority of Performance (Cambridge University Press, 1997), Modern Drama and the Rhetoric of Theater (University of California Press, 1992), The Idea of the Actor: Drama and the Ethics of Performance (Princeton University Press, 1984), Modern Drama: Plays, Criticism, Theory (Wadsworth, 1995), and of many articles on modern drama, Shakespeare, and theories of performance. Professor Worthen received his B. A. in English from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and his Ph.D. in English from Princeton University, and has held research fellowships form the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment of the Humanities. He is past editor of Theatre Journal and current coeditor of Modern Drama.

Customer Reviews

Nice sampling, but hardly a buffet
This Anthology's shortcomings in no way reflect poorly on the material in the book, but rather in what the editors chose to exclude. All the pieces (and there are many) come with excellent background information, interesting and relevant theory, and most importantly source text from many of the relevant playwrights, including original essays by Brecht and Artaud. The anthology includes many of the classics, and where it proves itself especially useful is in its inclusion of sociopolotical plays such as "Information for Foreigners" and "Los Vendidos", contemporary rewrites such as "Hamletmachine" and the clever pairing of the classic "Tempest" with the lesser known searing colonization commentary "A Tempest" by Cesaire. But totally lacking is treatment of the entire Roman and Medieval periods, as well as the post-Shakespeare pre-Ibsen area. The anthology remains an invaluable tool for survey courses (I used it for a Intro Theatre Studies Class) but perhaps is too limited for more specific Theatre applications.

Strong with some minor exceptions
I would first like to mention that this book has stunning supplementary materials (theory, performance discussions, etc.) that make the book well worth using for a general survey of Western dramatic history.
But it is what is excluded or glossed that makes this collection fall somewhat short. I teach out of this book for a major university (it is the required text for multiple other classes, so it is requested that I use this text as well.) While it does cover many major and significant periods, the Romans are entirely ignored and non-western theatre is seemingly thrown in as a sidethought... leading many of my students to question whether there is really a worthwhile eastern theatre tradition. When teaching Greeks and Renaissance drama, it is critical to understand the approach that the Romans took to the theatre. Even a Senecan tragedy would have enlivened the "Classical" section of the anthology.
I do understand that not ALL periods can be given equal weight, but by disrgarding periods and regions (or even worse, by giving them such short shrift that nobody even considers them beyond a passing comment) our students are presented an incomplete history of theatre. I must order a number of other texts to fill these holes in the historical timeline.
That being said, what this anthology does include is well documented and supported by appropriate texts. As I mentioned, it is a good basic introduction to theatre history and theory (and is possibly the strongest out there for this task) and should deserve 4 stars, but the 3 stars reflects my reservations above.

What's in it
I read so much about the anthology, but nowhere did I find what plays were actually presented, for those interested here is the list: Orestia, Agamemnon, Liberation Bearers, Eumenides, Oedipos King, Medea, Lysistrata, Matsukaze, Chushingura, Second Shepards' Pageant, Everyman, Doctor Faustus, Hamlet, The Tempest, Life is a Dream, Tartuffe, Phaedra, The Rover, Loa DIvine Narcissusm Recruiting Officer, Doll House, Father, Cherry Orchard, Major Barbara, Six Characters..., Mother Courage, Endgame, Homecoming, Hamletmachine, Cloud Nine, Our Country's Good, Trifles, Hairy Ape, Glass Menagerie, Dutchman, Vedidos, True West, Fences, M Butterfly, Angels in America I, Fires in the Mirror, America Play, Lady Aoi, My Beatles, A Tempest, Information for Foreigners, Death and King's Horseman, Translations, Gangsters, No Sugar, Dry Lips Oghta..., Valley Song. On top of it all, there are incredible and insightful critical reviews.