Who is afraid of Virginia Woolf Essays - Literature,

Who is afraid of Virginia Woolf? Summary Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Is a 1962 play by Edward Albee . It examines the breakdown of the marriage of a middle-aged couple, Martha and George. Late one evening, after a university faculty party, they receive an unwitting younger couple, Nick and Honey, as guests, and draw them into their bitter and frustrated relationship. The play is in three acts, normally taking a little less than three hours to perform, with two 10-minute intermissions . It won both the 1963 Tony Award for Best Play and the 1962-63 New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Play. While other plays establish the difference between reality and illusion, it starts out with the latter but leans to the former. More specifically, George and Martha have evaded the ugliness of their marriage by taking refuge in illusion. The disappointment that is their life together leads to the bitterness between them. Having no real bond, or at least none that either is willing to admit, they become dependent upon a fake child. The fabrication of a child, as well as the impact its supposed demise has on Martha, questions the difference between deception and reality. As if to spite their efforts, the contempt that Martha and George have for one another causes the destruction of their illusion. This lack of illusion does not result in any apparent reality. Taqeya Ali 20122062