Representative Plays

Mitchell, Langdon Elwyn, 1862-1935Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.4

Word count: 207K words
Chapters: 21

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.Representative Plays by American Dramatists: 1856-1911: The New York IdeaAuthor: Mitchell, Langdon Elwyn, 1862-1935,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: May 23, 2008

Editor's review

This book is a selection of plays by Langdon Elwyn Mitchell, published in a series of representative works by American playwrights, with a date range given as 1856 to 1911; among them, The New York Idea is the one most often mentioned. As a public-domain e-book from Project Gutenberg, its main value lies in giving readers low-cost access to the textual landscape of American drama from the late nineteenth to early twentieth century, and in allowing them to observe the social topics, conversational style, and stage conventions of the time. Reading plays differs from reading novels: readers must imagine the staging and character movement in their minds. The book suits enthusiasts of dramatic literature, students of English literature, and readers who need a glimpse of American theater history. Because it is in the original English and reflects period language habits, non-native English readers may need annotations or reference materials. Overall, this is a play collection valuable both as documentation and as literary text, suited to those with a clear interest in reading drama.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in American drama from the late nineteenth to early twentieth century
Students of English literature or drama who need primary texts
Readers who enjoy reading plays and can imagine stage staging on their own
Readers who want to read the original texts of plays such as The New York Idea

Not a good fit for

General readers seeking a Chinese translation or a bilingual edition
Readers who prefer the continuous narrative of novels and are unused to play format
Beginners with limited English reading ability who need extensive annotation

Reading tips

Read the play descriptions and character lists first to clarify the scenes and relationships before entering the dialogue.
Try reading aloud by role or marking stage directions while reading, which helps recreate the rhythm of the drama.
You might focus on The New York Idea first, then sample the other plays, to avoid spreading yourself too thin.
When encountering period slang or social-background obstacles, jot them down and look up relevant material rather than stopping at every word.

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

Which plays are included in this book?

The material indicates that the book belongs to a series of representative works by American playwrights, spans the years 1856 to 1911, and explicitly mentions The New York Idea. The other specific plays are not listed in the material; readers can confirm them in the book's table of contents.

How does reading a play differ from reading a novel?

Plays advance mainly through dialogue and stage directions, with scene changes and character movements left to the reader's imagination. When reading, you can first sort out the character relationships and scene structure, then focus on the conflict and subtext in the lines; the sense of rhythm is stronger than in a novel.

Can someone with average English read this book?

This is an original English edition with period language habits, so readers with average English may encounter difficulties. It is advisable to try reading a page first; if there are too many unfamiliar words and slang terms, you can use an annotated edition or related background material, or consult a translation before reading the original.

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About the author

Mitchell, Langdon Elwyn, 1862-1935 Author · American · 1862–1935

Langdon Elwyn Mitchell (1862–1935) was an American playwright and poet. Active in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, he is known chiefly for his social comedies. His representative work, The New York Idea, takes urban social life as its subject, depicting the manners and clashes of ideas among fashionable society. His plays are witty in language and carefully structured, dealing with marriage, class, and moral convention, and they had a certain influence on the American stage of their day. Besides drama, he also wrote poetry; his output was modest but shows a close observation of social manners. The library holds his Representative Plays, through which his dramatic style and themes can be explored. Mitchell belongs to the tradition of American social comedy, and his work is useful for understanding the urban theatre of his period. Public information is limited, and his life and full body of work remain to be further studied.