The Analysis of Play Construction
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William Price, a publisher from Kentucky, directly attacks such Romantic notions of genius in his 1908 playwriting manual, Analysis of Play Construction. According to Price, it is technique–not genius–which enables one to write successfully; and technique is not “private property,” but rather something accessible to all. In Analysis of Play Construction, Price works to distribute this common good by breaking down the basic elements of a play and guiding aspiring writers through their construction.
Those people who think they have genius, and imagine that man is everything, are misguided egotists. They ignore, or pretend to ignore, the existence of Technique, or they may contend that technique is an indefinable thing and personal and private property. They even think that they have created Material. They are all wrong. Technique is what shapes the Material.
Introduction
- Label
- The Analysis of Play Construction
- Author
- Willliam Price
- Original Publication Date
- 1908
- New Publication Date
- 1908
- Publisher
- William Price
- Location
- RBML
- Case
- 1