These six plays are central to the study of modern drama. Each is distinguished in its own right and exemplifies the playwright's particular influence on the shaping of the modern dramatic tradition. Translations of the European plays are among the best available: Ibsen's The Wild Duck has been translated by James Walter McFarlane, Chekhov's Three Sisters by Elizaveta Fen, Strindberg's A Dream Play by Elizabeth Sprigge, and Pirandello's Henry IV by Edward Storer. Shaw's The Devil's Disciple and O'Neill's Desire Under the Elms appear in the approved texts. The editor has written a special introduction on the reading of modern plays, for students beginning the study of drama. Essays in criticism provide the opportunity for both general study of the modern temper and specific study of individual plays and playwrights. - Back cover.