Eugene O'Neill at Sea On Page and Screen
DRA1-5a-Wed2
Steve Bloom
This course will take place in person at 60 Turner Street. The room will be equipped with a HEPA air purifier.
March 12 - April 9
Eugene O’Neill is best known for his later works, such as Long Day’s Journey Into Night and The Iceman Cometh. Before he wrote those plays, however, he won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1936 (still the only American playwright to win the Nobel Prize), in recognition of the transformative impact of his plays from 1916 until that time on American drama. Many of his earliest works were based on his youthful experiences at sea. In this study group, we will consider four of his one-act sea plays, known as the “Glencairn plays” (1916 – 1918) – “The Long Voyage Home,” “The Moon of the Caribees,” “Bound East for Cardiff,” and “In the Zone” – and the second of his four Pulitzer-Prize-winning plays, “Anna Christie” (1921). In 1940, John Ford directed The Long Voyage Home, a compilation of the four Glencairn plays, and in 1930, Greta Garbo spoke her first words on film in Anna Christie. After reading and discussing each of O’Neill’s plays, we will watch and discuss the film adaptations.
More facilitated discussion than lecture
All play texts are available for free online. If you want to have it in a book, they are available, mostly used, online at low prices. The movies are available on YouTube as well as other platforms and should be viewed prior to class sessions.
Eugene O’Neill, “Anna Christie,” Independently published, May 5, 2021
- ISBN-13 : 979-8748851091
Eugene O’Neill, Seven Plays of the Sea, Random House, 1972
- ISBN-10 : 0394718569
- ISBN-13 : 978-0394718569
Films:
The Long Voyage Home, directed by John Ford, 1940
Anna Christie, starring Gretta Garbo, 1930
1-2 hours/week.
Steve is Professor Emeritus, English, at Lasell University, where he was Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs when he retired in June 2020. Steve earned his Ph.D. (and M.A.) in English and American Literature from Brandeis and his B.A. in English from the University of Rochester. Steve has published two books and many articles and reviews on Eugene O’Neill, and he speaks frequently at Boston-area theatres and other forums on O’Neill and other modern dramatists. Throughout his academic career, he has taught senior adult learners as well as traditional college-age students. Steve has been a BOLLI study group leader since Fall 2021.