1. Biography. Edward Albee (1928- ): American playwright. 

2. Social and political atmosphere of the Postwar times: confusion and polemics. Internally, the 1950s were a complacent times after the Depression. Americans were divided over the Korean war Chief Justice Earl Warren wanted to addres racial injustice. Americans were confused as ever. McCarthyism revealed a dark side of the American political psyche that elevated free thinking to anti-American activities.

Externally, the Soviets invaded Hungary; the Rosenbergs; Rosa Parks; Martin Luther King
Consumerism elevated materialism to the essential of existence Allen Ginsberg; James Baldwin; Lorraine Hansberry; Jack Kerouac. There were doubts about the ebullience of the American dream

3. Works of Dissenting Voice: The Zoo Story, The American Dream, The Death of Bessie Smith, Who is Afraid of Virginia Woolf? 

4. Importance of the work. The plays deals about the psychic dislocations of people against the backdrop of our civilized culture left to us by the Greeks and the Romans who established guidelines to settle disputes in a way that would not interrupt social order. Theater is essentially an art of order and symestry according to Aristotle. The problems of the main characters reflects the issues debated by the whole nation and human existence (the relevance of what George call the survival kit). 

5. Albee's originality (recognized immediately in scholarly media)

• technical virtuosity as embedded in his language, witty dialogues
• some saw in the play a sociopolitical protest
• others saw a case of absurdist theater
• the son-myth episode and exorcism

1.  What do you think about George's speech against scientists? Is this complaint genuine or just another weapon to get even with Nick? P. 65-67.

2. Is Martha's and George's son real?

3.  The gun incident dramatizes into the open the belligerent psyche underlying the relationship between the two spouses. Do you think George could kill Martha? Why or why not?

4. What is the relevance of the following line: "Truth and illusion. Who knows the difference ..?" 

5. Act II is entitled "Walpurginacht ..." which means the old German witches' Sabbath. Does this label match the deeds we encounter in this part of the play?  Explain.

6. What is the use of the Bergin story in the framework of the play?