Edward Albee is one of the “Big Four” modern American playwrights, the others being Eugene O’Neill, Tennessee Williams, and Arthur Miller. His career spans six decades, from the late 1950s to the present, during which he has written 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 has outlived and transcended all labels except that of “Great American Playwright.” Though often attacked by drama critics, he has 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,

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First published 18 October 2005

Citation: Konkle, Lincoln. "Edward Albee". The Literary Encyclopedia. 18 October 2005.
[http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=58, accessed 21 November 2009.]