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"To succeed in the theatre, students must have strong skills in analyzing plays." So states the authors' rationale for this concise text that offers a step-by-step approach to recognizing how plays work. Pritner and Walters guide the reader through four levels of reading a play. This approach progresses from a purely subjective and personal response, through objective information gathering, and on to more complex levels of interpretation.

Each chapter of Introduction to Play Analysis introduces a concept that is then explored by studying its application to The Glass Menagerie, chosen for its simultaneous accessibility and complexity. Other examples rely on works by Sophocles, Molière, August Wilson, and Shakespeare. End-of-chapter questions can be applied to any play being analyzed.

Table of Contents in Brief:

Introduction: The Why and What of Play Analysis

I: FIRST IMPRESSIONS

1. The First Reading

II: GATHERING INFORMATION

2. Given Circumstances 3. Theatrical Contract

III: INTERPRETATION

4. Character 5. Conflict 6. Conflict Analysis Applied to a Scene 7. Supplemental Research

IV: BRINGING IT TOGETHER

8. Synthesis

Appendixes: Analyzing Shakespeare's Hamlet / Character Maps / Key Terms