The Reception of Greek Tragedies in Eugen O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey into Night

Abstract

A Long Day's Journey into Night occupies a prominent place in Eugene O'Neill's work because it is full of autobiographical elements. In addition to biographical episodes, the play is rich in literary parallels. generally speaking, O'Neill’s plays are heavily influenced by ancient Greek tragedies. The conflict/s between the main characters as well as protagonists’ struggle with their own selves and the mistakes of the past are the main point in this play. The myth of the son who fights against his father as embodied in the play is associated with the plot of  Sophocles’  Oedipus Rex. Sons see their own mistakes from their birth, but their every step against destiny is also a great tragedy. Euripides’ characters are also reinterpreted in this play. Medea and Meri suffer from the same misfortunes. Meri regrets her past decisions, mourns her lost child and considers herself destroyed as a woman. O Neill’s works are full of allusions to ancient Greek tragedies because modern literature is a kind of rereading and rearranging the great cultural artefacts and/or texts of the past.