Eugene O'Neill: Ah, Wilderness
Baltimore CenterStage production, 2007
Note: Below are a range of Subject searches that can provide background information for context and references in Ah, Wilderness (American society in the last decade of the 19th and first decade of the 20th centuries).
O'Neill, Eugene, 1888-1953
O'Neill, Eugene, 1888-1953--Criticism and interpretation
O'Neill, Eugene, 1888-1953--Political and social views
O'Neill, Eugene, 1888-1953--Technique
Theater--United States--History
Theater--United States--History--19th century
Theater--United States--History--20th century
United States--Civilization--1865-1918
United States--Civilization--1918-1945
United States--History--1865-1921
United States--Intellectual life--1865-1918
United States--Social conditions--1865-1918
United States--Social conditions--1918-1932
United States--Social life and customs--1865-1918
United States--Social life and customs--1918-1945
Eighteen nineties
Family--United States--History
Family--United States--History--19th century
Childhood--United States--History
Children--United States--History
Children--United States--History--19th century
Youth--United States--History
Drinking of alcoholic beverages--United States--History
Drinking of alcoholic beverages--United States--History--19th century
Drinking of alcoholic beverages--United States--History--20th century
Alcoholism--United States--History
Temperance--United States--History
Marriage--United States--History
Sex--United States--History
Prostitution--United States--History--20th century
Sex role--United States--History--19th century
Women--United States--History--19th century
Women--United States--Social conditions--19th century
Socialism--United States--History
Socialism--United States--History--19th century
Anarchism--United States
Anarchism--United States--History
Goldman, Emma, 1869-1940
Below are some of Richard's favorite authors. Where possible, I've linked to Web editions of works he quotes.
Swinburne, Algernon Charles, 1837-1909
Swinburne, Algernon Charles, 1837-1909--Criticism and interpretation
Poems and Ballads
"Laus Veneris"
Wilde, Oscar, 1854-1900
Wilde, Oscar, 1854-1900--Criticism and interpretation
"The Ballad of Reading Gaol"
"Panthea"
The Picture of Dorian Gray
FitzGerald, Edward, 1809-1883--Criticism and interpretation
Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
Kipling, Rudyard, 1865-1936--Criticism and interpretation
"Betrothed"
Ibsen, Henrik, 1828-1906--Criticism and interpretation
Hedda Gabler
Shaw, Bernard, 1856-1950--Political and social views
An Unsocial Socialist
O'Neill, Eugene, 1888-1953
O'Neill, Eugene, 1888-1953--Criticism and interpretation
O'Neill, Eugene, 1888-1953--Political and social views
O'Neill, Eugene, 1888-1953--Technique
Theater--United States--History
Theater--United States--History--19th century
Theater--United States--History--20th century
United States--Civilization--1865-1918
United States--Civilization--1918-1945
United States--History--1865-1921
United States--Intellectual life--1865-1918
United States--Social conditions--1865-1918
United States--Social conditions--1918-1932
United States--Social life and customs--1865-1918
United States--Social life and customs--1918-1945
Eighteen nineties
Family--United States--History
Family--United States--History--19th century
Childhood--United States--History
Children--United States--History
Children--United States--History--19th century
Youth--United States--History
Drinking of alcoholic beverages--United States--History
Drinking of alcoholic beverages--United States--History--19th century
Drinking of alcoholic beverages--United States--History--20th century
Alcoholism--United States--History
Temperance--United States--History
Marriage--United States--History
Sex--United States--History
Prostitution--United States--History--20th century
Sex role--United States--History--19th century
Women--United States--History--19th century
Women--United States--Social conditions--19th century
Socialism--United States--History
Socialism--United States--History--19th century
Anarchism--United States
Anarchism--United States--History
Goldman, Emma, 1869-1940
Below are some of Richard's favorite authors. Where possible, I've linked to Web editions of works he quotes.
Swinburne, Algernon Charles, 1837-1909
Swinburne, Algernon Charles, 1837-1909--Criticism and interpretation
Poems and Ballads
"Laus Veneris"
Wilde, Oscar, 1854-1900
Wilde, Oscar, 1854-1900--Criticism and interpretation
"The Ballad of Reading Gaol"
"Panthea"
The Picture of Dorian Gray
FitzGerald, Edward, 1809-1883--Criticism and interpretation
Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
Kipling, Rudyard, 1865-1936--Criticism and interpretation
"Betrothed"
Ibsen, Henrik, 1828-1906--Criticism and interpretation
Hedda Gabler
Shaw, Bernard, 1856-1950--Political and social views
An Unsocial Socialist
Note: The databases below will provide abundant critical resources on Eugene O'Neill but comparatively few focusing on Ah, Wilderness. The simply reflects the interests of O'Neill scholars to date.
Also Note: The Eugene O'Neill Review is available full text from the International Bibliography of Theatre and Dance (1989-2010) and from Academic OneFile (2008-the present).
International Bibliography of Theatre and Dance with Full Text : You can run Subject searches on play titles here by searching them in the Reviews & Products field, transposing any initial "The" to the end of the title, and following it with the term "theatrical production." This is worth the trouble since searching a play title as a Subject guarantees that the articles retrieved will be substantially about the the play. For example, here in the International Bibliography of Theatre & Dance a Keyword search on Hamlet retrieves about 2200 articles, whereas a Subject search retrieves about 700. The Subject search eliminates 1500 articles that are not primarily about Hamlet but merely mention it.
Names are best searched, last name first, as "People." If a People search doesn't generate enough hits, try searching the name as a keyword phrase--the name in its natural order, enclosed in quotation marks.
If both Subject and Keyword searches don't score many retrievals, try searching your term in the "All Text" field. But only use this as a last resort, since it will retrieve articles in which your search term is merely mentioned in passing.
For an interview with a contemporary figure from the performing arts, try setting the "Document Type" limit at the bottom of the main search screen to "Interview."
MLA International Bibliography provides the most complete and fully indexed coverage of articles and books on modern literatures, linguistics, folklore, rhetoric, and composition from 1925 to the present. There is ample full text provided by ProQuest, as well as links to full-text articles in JSTOR and Project Muse. Full text from other IC databases is also readily available via the "GetIt" links below article citations.
Because books, book chapters/essays, and dissertations will usually not be available full text, you may wish to limit your search to "Journal article" under "Source type."
"Author's Work" and "Author as Subject" will be especially helpful search fields at finding literary criticism. And for additional search field options either click on "Show more fields," or, for the complete list, open the drop-down menus to the right of the "Anywhere" default for the top three rows of search slots. This list includes both "Literary Influence"--who influenced a particular author you have entered--and "Literary Source"--who was influenced by that particular author.
Note: Whereas an Author as Subject search on O'Neill, Eugene retrieves almost 2,000 articles, an Author's Work search on Ah, Wilderness returns fewer than 20.
JSTOR has excellent 100% full-text coverage of literary scholarship. There is no Subject searching, so remember to put titles and authors' names in quotation marks to search them as Keyword phrases--and leave authors' names in the normal first-name last-name order. Set "Limit" to "Article"--or else you may unleash an avalanche of reviews of books on your topic.
JSTOR access to journal articles begins 2-4 years prior to the present--so don't look for any criticism from the last couple of years--but coverage always extends back to the first issue of each journal--in some cases into the 19th century and beyond.
Project Muse , although a smaller database, it complements JSTOR. LIke JSTOR it provides 100% full text of mostly scholarly journals, but its coverage is entirely current--mainly spanning the last 10-15 years. Muse offers a basic keyword search (be sure to put the titles of literary works in quotation marks). Once you've retrieved a set of articles you can sort them into broad categories using the Research Area options on the left.
Note: Checking the "Articles" box under Content Type before you run a search will eliminate reviews of books about your topic and leave you with just the articles on your topic.
ProQuest Research Library & Academic Search Premier are comprehensive databases and include considerable literary criticism--much of it full text. In running searches on authors, don't settle for a Keyword search on the author's name, as this will retrieve too many articles in which the author is only mentioned in passing. Instead use the specialized Subject search each provides. In ProQest enter the name, last name first, in the "Person" slot. In Academic Search Premier open the "Select a Field" drop down menu and search the name, last name first, in the "People" field.
In ProQuest the titles of literary works must be searched as Keyword phrases, so be sure to put them in quotation marks. In Academic Search Premier search the title of a play followed by the words "Theatrical production" in the "Reviews and Products" field.
General OneFile is another comprehensive database with considerable literary criticism, but the default Subject search forcess you to retrieve EVERYTHING on a particular author. The standard "subdivisions" by which General OneFile organizes these results--"Ethical Aspects," Political Aspects," "Social Aspects"--are broad in respect to authors.
If you wish to focus on a particular a theme, the best strategy is to open all the results from the initial Subject search and then use the the "Search within these Results" slot at the upper left to enter thematic Keywords.
If you wish to focus on a specific literary work, open "Advanced Search" and in the "Select Index" box choose "Named Work": this allows you to run a Subject search on a title.
ERIC (Ebsco interface) is an Education database where you can find many scholarly articles on the interpretation and teaching of literary texts at the levels of both secondary and higher education.
New York Times (1851-2009) offers the full text of the New York Times from 1851 up to 2006, so you can access contemporary reviews of most of O'Neill's plays and follow his career as a public figure. Enter a Keyword search, putting phrases in quotation marks--for example "Ah, Wilderness.". If the database opens to an Anywhere search, change the search field to “Anywhere except full text.” Only if this doesn’t yield enough results, expand to the “Anywhere” field.
O'Neill was sufficiently written about over the entire course of his career that you may want to target particular decades by using the date range limits below the search slots. For instance, if you set a date range of 1920 to 1935 and search "Eugene O'Neill" you retrieve articles from most of those years. Or set a date range of January 1933 to December 1934 and search "Ah, Wilderness" for articles relating to the original production.
America: History and Life : For research on some aspect of American society in 1906, this database may be especially useful since it allows you to set a "Historical Period" limit (below the search slots on the left). If you set this for 1890-1920, any Subjects or Keywords you enter above will retrieve articles on that topic as it played out during that 30-year period. But: be aware that setting a Period limit of 1890-1920 will also retrieve any Period that contains those 30 years: 1850-1950.
Be sure to set the "Document Type" limit to "Article" to weed out all the many book reviews that will otherwise clot your search for articles.
Literary Reference Center : You can find some very basic reference book entries for Ah, Wilderness or Eugene O'Neill here.
Also Note: The Eugene O'Neill Review is available full text from the International Bibliography of Theatre and Dance (1989-2010) and from Academic OneFile (2008-the present).
International Bibliography of Theatre and Dance with Full Text : You can run Subject searches on play titles here by searching them in the Reviews & Products field, transposing any initial "The" to the end of the title, and following it with the term "theatrical production." This is worth the trouble since searching a play title as a Subject guarantees that the articles retrieved will be substantially about the the play. For example, here in the International Bibliography of Theatre & Dance a Keyword search on Hamlet retrieves about 2200 articles, whereas a Subject search retrieves about 700. The Subject search eliminates 1500 articles that are not primarily about Hamlet but merely mention it.
Names are best searched, last name first, as "People." If a People search doesn't generate enough hits, try searching the name as a keyword phrase--the name in its natural order, enclosed in quotation marks.
If both Subject and Keyword searches don't score many retrievals, try searching your term in the "All Text" field. But only use this as a last resort, since it will retrieve articles in which your search term is merely mentioned in passing.
For an interview with a contemporary figure from the performing arts, try setting the "Document Type" limit at the bottom of the main search screen to "Interview."
MLA International Bibliography provides the most complete and fully indexed coverage of articles and books on modern literatures, linguistics, folklore, rhetoric, and composition from 1925 to the present. There is ample full text provided by ProQuest, as well as links to full-text articles in JSTOR and Project Muse. Full text from other IC databases is also readily available via the "GetIt" links below article citations.
Because books, book chapters/essays, and dissertations will usually not be available full text, you may wish to limit your search to "Journal article" under "Source type."
"Author's Work" and "Author as Subject" will be especially helpful search fields at finding literary criticism. And for additional search field options either click on "Show more fields," or, for the complete list, open the drop-down menus to the right of the "Anywhere" default for the top three rows of search slots. This list includes both "Literary Influence"--who influenced a particular author you have entered--and "Literary Source"--who was influenced by that particular author.
Note: Whereas an Author as Subject search on O'Neill, Eugene retrieves almost 2,000 articles, an Author's Work search on Ah, Wilderness returns fewer than 20.
JSTOR has excellent 100% full-text coverage of literary scholarship. There is no Subject searching, so remember to put titles and authors' names in quotation marks to search them as Keyword phrases--and leave authors' names in the normal first-name last-name order. Set "Limit" to "Article"--or else you may unleash an avalanche of reviews of books on your topic.
JSTOR access to journal articles begins 2-4 years prior to the present--so don't look for any criticism from the last couple of years--but coverage always extends back to the first issue of each journal--in some cases into the 19th century and beyond.
Project Muse , although a smaller database, it complements JSTOR. LIke JSTOR it provides 100% full text of mostly scholarly journals, but its coverage is entirely current--mainly spanning the last 10-15 years. Muse offers a basic keyword search (be sure to put the titles of literary works in quotation marks). Once you've retrieved a set of articles you can sort them into broad categories using the Research Area options on the left.
Note: Checking the "Articles" box under Content Type before you run a search will eliminate reviews of books about your topic and leave you with just the articles on your topic.
ProQuest Research Library & Academic Search Premier are comprehensive databases and include considerable literary criticism--much of it full text. In running searches on authors, don't settle for a Keyword search on the author's name, as this will retrieve too many articles in which the author is only mentioned in passing. Instead use the specialized Subject search each provides. In ProQest enter the name, last name first, in the "Person" slot. In Academic Search Premier open the "Select a Field" drop down menu and search the name, last name first, in the "People" field.
In ProQuest the titles of literary works must be searched as Keyword phrases, so be sure to put them in quotation marks. In Academic Search Premier search the title of a play followed by the words "Theatrical production" in the "Reviews and Products" field.
General OneFile is another comprehensive database with considerable literary criticism, but the default Subject search forcess you to retrieve EVERYTHING on a particular author. The standard "subdivisions" by which General OneFile organizes these results--"Ethical Aspects," Political Aspects," "Social Aspects"--are broad in respect to authors.
If you wish to focus on a particular a theme, the best strategy is to open all the results from the initial Subject search and then use the the "Search within these Results" slot at the upper left to enter thematic Keywords.
If you wish to focus on a specific literary work, open "Advanced Search" and in the "Select Index" box choose "Named Work": this allows you to run a Subject search on a title.
ERIC (Ebsco interface) is an Education database where you can find many scholarly articles on the interpretation and teaching of literary texts at the levels of both secondary and higher education.
New York Times (1851-2009) offers the full text of the New York Times from 1851 up to 2006, so you can access contemporary reviews of most of O'Neill's plays and follow his career as a public figure. Enter a Keyword search, putting phrases in quotation marks--for example "Ah, Wilderness.". If the database opens to an Anywhere search, change the search field to “Anywhere except full text.” Only if this doesn’t yield enough results, expand to the “Anywhere” field.
O'Neill was sufficiently written about over the entire course of his career that you may want to target particular decades by using the date range limits below the search slots. For instance, if you set a date range of 1920 to 1935 and search "Eugene O'Neill" you retrieve articles from most of those years. Or set a date range of January 1933 to December 1934 and search "Ah, Wilderness" for articles relating to the original production.
America: History and Life : For research on some aspect of American society in 1906, this database may be especially useful since it allows you to set a "Historical Period" limit (below the search slots on the left). If you set this for 1890-1920, any Subjects or Keywords you enter above will retrieve articles on that topic as it played out during that 30-year period. But: be aware that setting a Period limit of 1890-1920 will also retrieve any Period that contains those 30 years: 1850-1950.
Be sure to set the "Document Type" limit to "Article" to weed out all the many book reviews that will otherwise clot your search for articles.
Literary Reference Center : You can find some very basic reference book entries for Ah, Wilderness or Eugene O'Neill here.
New York Times review: 10/03/33
Theatre in Video is a database of video resources, featuring interviews with theatre professionals, clips of performances, and films of entire productions. Available here is a 1976 Long Wharf Theatre production of Ah, Wilderness.
Note: this database is limited to 5 simultaneous users.
Note: this database is limited to 5 simultaneous users.
O'Neill Resources:
Gateway Sites for Theatre Resources:
- eOneill.com: An Electronic Eugene O'Neill Archive: The best online resource for O'Neill. In the Production Archive you'll find records for 19 productions of Ah, Wilderness--theatrical, film, radio, and television--between 1933 and 2003. In eOneill.tv there's a complete video of the 1959 Hallmark television production of Ah, Wilderness. The Audio Archive inculdes recordings of 7 productions of Ah, Wilderness between 1936 and 1970. And in the Study Companion you'll find links to commentary and criticism of the play.
- Eugene O'Neill, 1888-1953: A Descriptive Chronology of His Plays, Theatrical Career, and Dramatic Theories: A useful timeline account of O'Neill's career.
- Eugene O'Neill and Theatre: Basic information from the Eugene O'Neill National Historic Site.
- Internet Broadway Database: Ah, Wilderness: Dates and credits for 5 Broadway productions, 1933-1998.
Gateway Sites for Theatre Resources:
- Brief Guide to Internet Resources in Theatre and Performance Studies: This not-so-brief guide is quite comprehensive--just be sure to scroll down to the actual contents (you might want to skip the "Introduction"). Categories include "Actors and Acting," Stagecraft and Technical Theatre," "Plays and Playwrights," "Arts Management and Non-Profit," and "Of Regional Interest"--this last being an excellent collection of links to regional theatre from around the world.
- Theater History on the Web: A comprehensive gateway to Web resources, covering theatre of all periods from classical to contemporary, as well as costume, lighting, design, and stagecraft.
MLA is the citation style used by most disciplines in the Humanities. The guides below use the most recent 2008/9 standards.
