STUDY QUESTIONS

1. The play is a reflection of contemporary human relationships in the late 20th century in America. Discuss any historical events that would justify how people such as those in the play could be so impervious to human feelings and emotions.

2. Critically evaluate the play as an Absurdist drama. What elements does it share with other Absurdist plays?

3. How is the theme of reality and illusion explored in the play through the use of game playing?

4. Analyze game playing as the ruling metaphor of this play. What kinds of games are being played? How are they different but similar to children's games?

5. Compare and contrast the characters of George and Nick as male characters. What does each lack and envy in the other?

6. Describe how each of the titles conveys a major theme of the acts?

7. How do the characters of Nick and Honey undermine the concept of the American Dream?

8. Explain the title of the play in terms of its prevailing theme.

SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY

Albee, Edward. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? New York: Atheneum, 1969.

Bigsby, C.W. E. Albee. Chip's Book Inc. 1969.

Bloom, Harold ed. Edward Albee: Modern Critical Views. New Haven, Conn: Chelsa House, 1987.

Hayman, Ronald. Edward Albee. New York: Ungar , 1971.

Roudane, Mathew C. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?: Necessary Fictions, Terrifying Realities. Twayne Publishers: Boston, 1990.

Kolin, Philip and J. Madison Davis eds. Critical Essays on Edward Albee. Boston, 1986.

Kolin, Philip C. ed. Conversations with Edward Albee. Jackson and London: University Press of Mississippi, 1988.

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