Hello and welcome to the Discourse. Eugene O’Neill was a popular American playwright who won the Nobel prize for literature in 1936. Apart from that, he won three Pulitzer prizes for his dramas Beyond the Horizon (1920), Anna Christie (1922), and Strange Interlude in 1928. Heis autobiographical drama Lond Day’s Journey into Night was published posthumously in 1956 and it won the Pulitzer prize in 1957. Thus, Eugene O’Neill is the only such author who won four Pulitzer prizes and a Nobel prize for literature. Eugene was born on October 16, 1888, and he died on November 27, 1953, at the age of 65. He attended Princeton University for his graduation but was thrown out after the first year for throwing a beer bottle into the window of a professor, allegedly Woodrow Wilson, who later became the President of the United States.
O’Neill enjoyed marine life and he spent many years at the sea during which he suffered alcoholism, depression, and dereliction, yet, his love for the sea didn’t cease. Many of his plays include sea life as a theme. In 1912, he suffered a contagious attack of Tuberculosis and was sent to a sanatorium when he decided to invest his time in writing. He wrote some of his plays during his time in the sanatorium. In 1916, he went to Provincetown town for his summer vacation where he met Susan Keating Glaspell. Eugene read one of his plays titled Bound East for Cardiff for Susan Glaspell and she liked his writing style. Later on, many of Eugene O’Niel’s early plays were performed by the Provincetown town players.
His first published play was Beyond the Horizon which was first performed on Broadway in 1920. The play got a huge success and was declared the winner of the Pulitzer prize for the drama of 1922. Eugene O’Neill was deeply influenced by Swedish playwright, novelist, and poet Johan August Strindberg and he mentioned this influence during his Nobel prize acceptance speech. His other important works include Emperor Jones (1920), The Hairy Ape (1922), Desire Under the Alms (1924), and The Iceman Cometh (1939). While most of his plays and dramas depict the themes involving characters on the fringes of society struggling to maintain their dignity and aspirations and thus involve tragic pessimism, he wrote some comedies too and one such was Ah Wilderness which was first performed in 1933. It differs from a typical O'Neill play in its happy ending for the central character, and depiction of a happy family in turn of century America.
Beyond the Horizon Plot Summary and Analysis
Beyond the Horizon was Eugene’s first published play that he copyrighted in 1918. It was first performed in 1920 on Broadway and the drama won Eugene’s first Pulitzer prize in 1922. Before this, many of Eugene’s One Act plays have been performed but Beyond The Horizon was his first full-length play. The main theme of the play is the necessity of the dream or vision for the sustainability and success of a man.
In this play, Euegene depicts the progressive disillusion of Mayo’s family with clear realistic details. The play begins at a farm in Spring and then shifts to Summer three years in the future. Again the play moves to late Fall, five years later. While the play focuses on the Mayo family, the main characters are the two young brothers Robert Mayo and Andrew Mayo. Both are different in nature and temperament. Robert Mayo is a sea-lover who dreams of exploring and journeying ‘Beyond The Horizon.’ Andrew Mayo is a homely guy who is in love with a girl in the neighborhood. Andrew wishes to marry the girl whose name is Ruth and settle there with his parents. However, when Andrew proposes to Ruth, she rejects him and shows interest in Robert instead. Andrew is heartbroken but he is happy for his brother. The two brothers discuss the matter and decide to exchange their dreams. Robert, who wished to explore far places, suddenly throws himself into the new dream of marital happiness with Ruth. Andrew, on the other hand, could not bear the burden of seeing the girl he loved with anyone else. So he decides to take the sea route in place of Robert.
As the two brothers exchange their dream, Robert is expected to settle with Ruth and remain at their home with his parents, while Andrew tries to seek a new life and purpose Beyond The Horizon.
Five years later, they realize that both brothers are failures. The two brothers are forced to suffer the consequences of betraying their respective dreams. Robert, who gave up his dream of being a sea explorer finds himself depressed and unsatisfied at home. He turns alcoholic and the romance between him and Ruth evaporates. He dies on the farm in disillusionment. Andrew, who took the sea route, finds it difficult to cope with the sea challenges and decides to give up the life of a seaman. He tries to settle with a South American business venture but that too fails and he suffers penury. Ruth, who initially was happy having married the man she desired, realizes that she made a huge mistake and committed a wrong choice. Her romantic dreams are soon shattered as she faces the stark realities of farm life.
As Robert continues his quest for beauty and poetry in life, he realizes that he cannot sail beyond the horizon on any ship because beyond the horizon can only be achieved through death. As he realizes that the happiness that lies beyond the horizon is unattainable for living people, he prefers death.
Robert’s death explains the need for the dream for the sustainability and success of a person. His struggles and suffering at the farm make him realize the purpose of his life, which he couldn’t achieve as he gave up his dream. Like in other stories of Euegene O’Neill, happiness through love is an illusion in this drama while suffering not only offers salvation but results in peace.
So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss the history of American literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards!
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