미국 연극의 비극성

Tragedy of American Dramas - centered on Arthur Miller

The 20th century American author, Arthur Miller, is a very important figure in the modern literary world. From his early works to his latest, he mainly focuses on the relationship between humans and society, and is interested in exposing social irregularities. Therefore he is valued as a representative social playwright. His concerns about relationships between individuals and the modern industrial society make him more absorbed in political and social issues. Based on his own experiences, he found topics in his neighborhood and published works with which many people can sympathize. Miller was influenced by not only Greek tragedies, especially Aristotle s tragedy, but also the atheistic existentialists such as Sartre, Camus, and Foucault. However, he was more concerned not about their theories, but human life and its tragedies. He thought that What should I do? rather than What should I know? was important in his social tragic dramas. This paper is to examine which ideas Miller was affected by and how he made great developments as a social playwright.