The dramatic development of Robert Sherwood as revealed in his first eleven plays
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Date
1941
Authors
Ludden, Allen
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Let us suppose, as a premise, that we accept the fact that Robert Sherwood is an intelligent, thinking American. If he is more, it can be proved. In 1941 the student of Robert Sherwood and his work can observe the technical and spiritual growth of a playwright who has written eleven produced plays since 1926. That will be my task. The plays will be studied in the order in which they were produced. No attention will be paid to Sherwood's transactions or scenario writing. Because consistency is important for the full understanding of a study of this kind, each play will be analyzed, first, in general terms; then, in the light of the critical reception and the author's own comment on his work; and, finally, through detailed study of the play itself and its relation to its particular stage of the author's development. Robert Sherwood is a young playwright. His career has only begun. This study is no final answer. It is a recognition of a good beginning.