Edward Albee was one of the “Big Four” modern American playwrights, the others being Eugene O'Neill, Tennessee Williams, and Arthur Miller. His career spaned six decades, from the late 1950s to the 2016, during which he wrote nearly 30 plays. Classified early in his career as part of the Theatre of the Absurd, Off-Broadway, and the Angry Young Man movements, Albee outlived and transcended all labels except that of “Great American Playwright.” Though often attacked by drama critics, he nevertheless won more Pulitzer prizes in drama (three) than anyone except O'Neill (four) and Robert E. Sherwood (also three). Drawing on philosophical concepts from existentialism and the conventions of the dramatic comedy of manners genre, Albee's plays are the most intellectual and witty of the…

2625 words

Citation: Konkle, Lincoln. "Edward Albee". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 18 October 2005; last revised 23 June 2022. [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=58, accessed 19 March 2024.]

58 Edward Albee 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

Save this article

If you need to create a new bookshelf to save this article in, please make sure that you are logged in, then go to your 'Account' here

Leave Feedback

The Literary Encyclopedia is a living community of scholars. We welcome comments which will help us improve.