Arthur Miller: American Witness

John Lahr, a distinguished theater critic, provides a fresh perspective on the life of Arthur Miller (1915–2005), the playwright who greatly advanced American theater in the 20th century. This book explores Millers personal life, including his family, the Great Depression, fascism, Marilyn Monroe, Vietnam, and his role as a public intellectual. It also examines his early playwriting failures, radio plays during World War II, his novel Focus, and his award-winning and canonical plays, such as All My Sons, Death of a Salesman, and The Crucible. Lahr offers an original interpretation of Millers work and personality.

Format: Hardback
Length: 264 pages
Publication date: 06 January 2023
Publisher: Yale University Press

Distinguished theater critic John Lahr brings a unique perspective to the life of Arthur Miller (1915–2005), the playwright who almost single-handedly propelled twentieth-century American theater to a new level of cultural sophistication. Organized around the fault lines of Millers life—his family, the Great Depression, the rise of fascism, Elia Kazan and the House Committee on Un-American Activities, Marilyn Monroe, Vietnam, and the rise and fall of Millers role as a public intellectual—this book demonstrates the synergy between Arthur Millers psychology and his plays.

Concentrating largely on Millers most prolific decades of the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, Lahr probes Millers early playwriting failures; his work writing radio plays during World War II after being rejected for military service; his only novel, Focus; and his succession of award-winning and canonical plays that include All My Sons, Death of a Salesman, and The Crucible, providing an original interpretation of Millers work and his personality.

Lahrs cogent analyses are revelatory. . . . He does not reduce the work to the life, but shows how it explains the life from which it emerges. . . . New Yorker critic Lahr shines in this searching account of the life of playwright Arthur Miller. . . . Its a great introduction to a giant of American letters. . . . Distinguished theater critic John Lahr brings unique perspective to the life of Arthur Miller (1915–2005), the playwright who almost single-handedly propelled twentieth-century American theater to a new level of cultural sophistication. Organized around the fault lines of Millers life—his family, the Great Depression, the rise of fascism, Elia Kazan and the House Committee on Un-American Activities, Marilyn Monroe, Vietnam, and the rise and fall of Millers role as a public intellectual—this book demonstrates the synergy between Arthur Millers psychology and his plays.

Concentrating largely on Millers most prolific decades of the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, Lahr probes Millers early playwriting failures; his work writing radio plays during World War II after being rejected for military service; his only novel, Focus; and his succession of award-winning and canonical plays that include All My Sons, Death of a Salesman, and The Crucible, providing an original interpretation of Millers work and his personality.

Lahrs cogent analyses are revelatory. . . . He does not reduce the work to the life, but shows how it explains the life from which it emerges. . . . New Yorker critic Lahr shines in this searching account of the life of playwright Arthur Miller. . . . Its a great introduction to a giant of American letters. . . . Distinguished theater critic John Lahr brings unique perspective to the life of Arthur Miller (1915–2005), the playwright who almost single-handedly propelled twentieth-century American theater to a new level of cultural sophistication. Organized around the fault lines of Millers life—his family, the Great Depression, the rise of fascism, Elia Kazan and the House Committee on Un-American Activities, Marilyn Monroe, Vietnam, and the rise and fall of Millers role as a public intellectual—this book demonstrates the synergy between Arthur Millers psychology and his plays.

Concentrating largely on Millers most prolific decades of the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, Lahr probes Millers early playwriting failures; his work writing radio plays during World War II after being rejected for military service; his only novel, Focus; and his succession of award-winning and canonical plays that include All My Sons, Death of a Salesman, and The Crucible, providing an original interpretation of Millers work and his personality.

Lahrs cogent analyses are revelatory. . . . He does not reduce the work to the life, but shows how it explains the life from which it emerges. . . . New Yorker critic Lahr shines in this searching account of the life of playwright Arthur Miller. . . . Its a great introduction to a giant of American letters. . . . Distinguished theater critic John Lahr brings unique perspective to the life of Arthur Miller (1915–2005), the playwright who almost single-handedly propelled twentieth-century American theater to a new level of cultural sophistication. Organized around the fault lines of Millers life—his family, the Great Depression, the rise of fascism, Elia Kazan and the House Committee on Un-American Activities, Marilyn Monroe, Vietnam, and the rise and fall of Millers role as a public intellectual—this book demonstrates the synergy between Arthur Millers psychology and his plays.

Concentrating largely on Millers most prolific decades of the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, Lahr probes Millers early playwriting failures; his work writing radio plays during World War II after being rejected for military service; his only novel, Focus; and his succession of award-winning and canonical plays that include All My Sons, Death of a Salesman, and The Crucible, providing an original interpretation of Millers work and his personality.

Dimension: 210 x 146 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780300234923