1. The Play's the Thing

Agon
Agonistic, protagonist, agony, antagonistic, et.al.
From the Greek: to struggle, contest.

The play is among the oldest and most immediate literary forms. Some think the drama best presents the dramatic. Plays tell our greatest stories, pry into the most difficult questions, and provoke deep thought about the nature of man and his condition.

For William Shakespeare and Eugene O'Neill, late life was anything but "second childishness and mere oblivion." Shakespeare's The Tempest and O'Neill's Long Day's Journey into Night are dramatic "late editions" without equal. Could these giants have bequeathed finer gifts? Could any two plays present the human condition in greater contrast?

During our week together, we will read and thoughtfully discuss these two extraordinary plays, attend performances at the Stratford Festival and Toronto's Soulpepper Theatre, and probe into the essence of drama, conflict.

Discussion Leader

Gary Schoepfel spent ten years working as a stage actor, director, and acting instructor. He is currently a vice president with the Great Books Foundation and a faculty member at Harrison Middleton University, a Great Books distance learning institution. Gary finds Toronto Pursuits a delight-filled week of great books, great folks, and great fun. "Stratford, Shakespeare, O'Neill... Throw me in that briar patch!"

Books

William Shakespeare, The Tempest, Folger Shakespeare Library edition, Washington Square Press, ISBN 0-7434-8283-2

Eugene O'Neill, Long Day's Journey into Night, Yale University Press, ISBN 0-300-09305-5