 Born in Madison, Wisc in 1897  Spent much time in China (far East) during his childhood  1915—finished HS and attended Oberlin College to study Greek and Roman classics  1917—enrolled at Yale

 First full-length play--The Trumpet Shall Sound  Coast Artillery Corps in World War I  1920 studied archeology in Rome  Received a Master’s in French literature from Princeton in 1926  Taught French and literature at several universities.

 Close friends with Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein  1927—Breakthrough novel The Bridge Of San Luis Rey –1 st Pulitzer Prize!  Our Town—2 nd Pulitzer Prize!  ONLY American Author to win the PP in both fiction and drama

 During World War II, Wilder enlisted in the army, rising to lieutenant colonel in the Air Force and earning the Legion of Merit and Bronze Star  Hello, Dolly! Was a widely successful musical made from one of Wilder’s works.  December 7, 1975, Wilder died at the age of 78 in Hamden, Connecticut.

 Why was it so popular?  Universality  Anyone and everyone can relate---Grover’s Corner could be ANY town.  Themes can be applied anywhere  Simplicity Mise-en-scene—(next slide)

 No scenery or props except for tables, chairs, ladders, and a few other objects.  When actors dine, they hold imaginary utensils and eat imaginary food. When looking out an upper-story window, they stand on ladders. When the milkman makes deliveries from his horse-drawn cart, there is no horse or cart, although the audience may hear clip-clops or whinnies. And so goes the entire play.  Author Thornton Wilder presented the play in this way to force the audience to concentrate on the characters and the themes.

 Narrator ---“the stage manager,”  Supervises the placement of the chairs and tables at the beginning of the play.  Introduces the play and its setting, looking back from his 1930s vantage point to the year when the drama begins,  From time to time, he interrupts the play to comment on the action or to inform the audience about a character’s background. Early on, he even speaks with members of the audience.

 Greek Chorus –(Stage Manager, a modernized version of a Greek Chorus)  a company of actors who comment (by speaking or singing in unison) on the action

 THEMES  People should appreciate life while they are living it.  Carpe diem  Little things in life are really big things  No town can isolate itself from the rest of the world  No community is perfect, not even idyllic Grover's Corners