Eugene O'Neill, Long Day's Journey Into Night

Download PDF Add to Bookshelf Report an Error

Completed

after

O’Neill received the Nobel Prize in Literature,

Long Day’s Journey into Night

is a four-Act, epic American family tragedy, blending realistic subject matter with a naturalistic exploration of the limits of personal freedom, heightened by a symbolic use of fog, and an expressionistic use of light and sound effects, creating a dream-like atmosphere. The play is considered one of the greatest tragedies of the twentieth century.

O’Neill recounts the story of one day in the life of the Tyrones. Set in August 1912 and based on events in O’Neill’s life, the play is the dramatic culmination of O’Neill’s theatrical life, the work of a mature artist who had honed his craft well beyond his several years of technical experimentation. Always an intensely personal artist,

3752 words

Citation: Herrmann, Eileen. "Long Day's Journey Into Night". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 05 December 2012 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=3914, accessed 19 March 2024.]

3914 Long Day's Journey Into Night 3 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.