Five Plays

Dunsany, Lord, 1878-1957Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

4.2

Word count: 115K words
Chapters: 12

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Five Plays by Lord DunsanyAuthor: Dunsany, Lord, 1878-1957,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Nov 7, 2012

Editor's review

Lord Dunsany was an Anglo-Irish writer of the early twentieth century, known for his fantastical imagination and concise style. This book collects five of his plays, a public-domain work of English literature suitable as an introduction to his dramatic writing. The plays are short with simple settings, often using myth, exotic locales and supernatural elements to explore fate, power and fantasy, in language rich in rhythm and imagery. For readers studying the origins of fantasy literature, the form of the English short play, or Dunsany's work as a whole, this book offers a direct route into his scripts. Note that these plays bear a distinct period stage style; readers should approach them as literary reading rather than expecting modern theatrical performance.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers studying the origins of fantasy literature and early English fantasy works
Literature students studying the structure and dialogue of English short plays
Readers who like Dunsany's fiction and wish to know his plays
Enthusiasts interested in early twentieth-century British stage literature

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting modern dramatic conflict and realistic character portrayal
Readers who only want long fantasy novels and are unfamiliar with script form
Beginners with weak English who are unfamiliar with dramatic text formatting

Reading tips

Read one short play through first, noting the division between stage directions and dialogue, then gradually move on to the other four.
While reading, visualize the stage scene or read the dialogue aloud to appreciate its rhythm and dramatic effect.
Reading Dunsany's short stories alongside is recommended, to observe how his fantasy themes differ between the two forms.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Are these five plays suitable for stage performance?

The plays are short with simple sets and are performable, but their language and imaginative style are closer to literary reading; modern productions require stylized direction and should not be staged as realistic drama.

Can I read the plays without having read Dunsany before?

Yes. The plays stand alone and do not depend on his fiction. It is advisable to start with a shorter one, first getting used to the format and dialogue rhythm of dramatic texts, then read the rest.

Is the English difficult?

The plays are mainly dialogue with uncomplicated sentences, but contain mythological and exotic vocabulary, and dramatic texts lack narrative setup, requiring readers to fill in the scene. Readers with some English and familiarity with script format will find it easier to enter.

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About the author

Dunsany, Lord, 1878-1957 Author

Lord Dunsany (1878–1957) was an Irish writer, born Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, known for fantasy and imaginative fiction. Seventeen of his works are held in this collection, including A Dreamer's Tales, The Book of Wonder, The Sword of Welleran and Other Stories, Tales of Three Hemispheres, The Gods of Pegana, Five Plays, Fifty-One Tales, and Time and the Gods. His short fiction often builds self-contained mythologies and invented worlds, marked by rich imagination, a fable-like tone, and restrained, poetic prose; he frequently writes of gods, dreams, distant lands, and fate. He is regarded as one of the forerunners of modern fantasy literature and an influence on later fantasy writing. Public information is limited, so details of his life and honors are not discussed here.