미국희곡에서의 리얼리즘과 초현실주의 : 유진 오닐과 샘 셰퍼드를 중심으로

Realism and Surrealism in American Drama : Eugene O'Neill and Sam Shepard

The coexistence of realism and surrealism is a decisive dramatic technique common in Eugene O'Neill and Sam Shepard. Although O'Neill is considered as a traditional dramatist and Shepard as an avant-garde dramatist, it is hard to establish both playwrights' genuineness through these standardized concepts. This thesis studies The Iceman Cometh and Buried Child in terms of realism and surrealism which seem to be opposite styles. In The Iceman Cometh of O'Neill and Buried Child of Shepard, the identities of 'Iceman' and 'Buried Child' are discussed. Although these two characters are absent in the realm of naturalistic realism, they are important characters to create dramatic conflicts and affect the self-discovery of the real characters. American drama of psychological realism, ordinary language and action comes to surpass its limits by introducing other drama styles. As realism changes, it accepts surrealistic devices. And surrealism is charged with psychological realism. The new realism of O'Neill and Shepard is not old fashioned realism but puts together imagination, recognition of life-force and unconsciousness, illogicalness, and non-action. O'Neill and Shepard need to overcome the limits of realism in order to explain uncertainties which put individuals in confusion. Although they began to write in different ages, O'Neill and Shepard sought variety and genuineness in American drama, and established the tradition of 'the coexistence of realism and surrealism'.