Thornton Wilder's The Long Christmas Dinner

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Genre research History The typical content of a history play would involve specific content in regards to what period of time in which the play is set. Shakespeare for example wrote many historical plays based on the lives of English kings. Shakespeare lived under the reign of Queen Elizabeth I so his plays are often regarded as Tudor propaganda because they often celebrate the founders of the Tudors. One of Shakespeare’s many historical plays was All is True, based on the life of Henry VIII of England. The play takes us through Henry’s life from his divorce of Katherine of Aragon to his marriage to Anne Boleyn. The play King John written by William Shakespeare is another good example of a history play, dramatizing the reign of the King of England. Mystery Mystery Plays are among the earliest plays within medieval Europe. Medieval mystery plays focused on the depiction of Bible stories. They developed from the 10th to the 16th century, reaching the height of their popularity in the 15th century before being considered obsolete by the rise of professional theatre. The York Mystery Plays were a cycle of forty-eight Mystery Plays, covering significant Biblical events from the…show more content…
These plays involve meaningless dialogue, confusing situations and plots that lack any realistic or logical development. Thornton Wilder- ‘The Long Christmas Dinner’ portrays the idea of theatre of the absurd in a way that would influence some of the most significant plays within this genre. The setting of this play is a Christmas dinner that takes place over 90 years, with the characters frantically changing clothing to keep up with the time. Eventually when death occurs the characters exit stage right through a portal. Wilder crafts a play where time becomes so unpredictable that its characters, as well those performing them, will have trouble keeping
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