ABriefIntroductiontoEdwardAlbeeEdwardFranklinAlbeeIIIwasbornonMarch12,1928.AccordingtoMagill'sSurveyofAmericanLiterature(2007),EdwardAlbeewasbornsomewhereinVirginia(thepopularbeliefisthathewasborninWashington,D.C.).HewasadoptedtwoweekslaterandtakentoLarchmont,NewYorkinWestchesterCounty,wherehegrewup.Albee'sadoptivefather,ReedA.Albee,thewealthysonofvaudevillemagnateEdwardFranklinAlbeeII,ownedseveraltheaters.HeretheyoungEdwardfirstgainedfamiliaritywiththetheatreasachild.EdwardAlbeeisthemostimportantcontemporaryAmericanplaywrightofthe"absurd".Hisplaysontheabsurdityofhumanlifebuiltverymuchonafrailillusionandspiritualemptiness.Albee'smajorsuccessisWho'sAfraidofVirginiaWoolf?-athreeactplayaboutanightofdrunkenverbalconflictbetweenamiddle-agedprofessorandhiswife,inwhichastateofcompassionisfinallyachievedafterthe"death"oftheirimaginarychild.Albee'sotherimportantplaysincludeTheZooStory,TheAmericanDream,andTinyAlice.TheAmericanDreamexpresseddisenchantmentwithAmericanmiddle-classvaluesthroughthedescriptionoftheappallingrelationshipofafamilymembers.TinyAliceisthestoryofarichwomanwhoseducesaCatholiclaybrotherintomarriageandthenmurdershim.AnAnalysisofWho'sAfraidofVirginiaWoolfFromthePost-modernistPerspectiveEdwardAlbee's"Who'sAfraidofVirginiaWoolf?"isoneofthemostimportantplaysinthehistoryofAmericanDrama,representingasortofmergingofthepsychologicaldramarepresentedbyTennesseeWilliamsandArthurMillerwiththeexistentialplaysofSamuelBecketandEugeneIonesco.Thisplayhasoneofthestrongest,mostpowerfulscreenplaysever.Primarily,thestoryisaboutGeorgeandMartha--adysfunctionalmarriedcoupleinauniversitytown.Theyspendtheirdaysfightingandretreating,sparringconstantly,playinggamesofone-ups-manship.Itisanabsolutelychilling,grotesqueportraitofcodependency.Onefatefuleveningayoungercouplejointhemforsome"entertainment",littlesuspectingthattheywillbedrawnintoanintensenightwheretheyarealternatelychallengedandusedaspawnsinGeorgeandMartha'sstruggle.Thisisnotforthesqueamishviewer.Eventhoughthebookwaswritten50yearsago,readerswillbeshockedandsurprisedabouthowfarGeorgeandMarthawaswillingtogoforvictory.Itisanabsoluteverbalbloodbath--fast,cruel,uncompromising,adult.BeforehavingananalysisofWho'sAfraidofVirginiaWoolffromthepost-modernistperspective.It’snecessaryforustohaveageneralknowledgeofpost-modernistanditscharacteristics.Postmodernismisatermdescribinglarge-scalechangesinintellectualthought,culturalproduction,andglobalsocietiesbeginninginthemid20thcentury.Postmodernistthoughthashadlargeimplicationsinphilosophy,art,criticaltheory,literature,architecture,history,andculture.Thetermhasbeenstretchedovermanydifferentdebates,andmanywouldarguethatanysinglecohesivedefinitionisimpossible.However,mostdefinitionsofthetermareundoubtedlyrelatedandabasicsummaryispossible.Postmodernistscholarstendtoemphasizetheculturalcontingencyorrelativityofdifferentformsofintellectualproduction,claimingthatthereisnowayforhumanbeingstocommunicateinalanguagecompletelyemptiedofmyth,metaphor,orculturalbias.Thuspostmodernistsportrayallcommunicationandanalysisasinherentlypoliticizedandcriticizethosewhoattempt"pure,""objective,"or"disinterested"intellectualendeavours.Postmodernistartworksinvariousdisplinestendtorecognizetheinherentlypoliticizednatureofcommunication,callingattentiontotheideologicalunderpinningsoftheirownrepresentationsthroughalotofrepres...
