o'neill's technique of expressionism - DSpace@INFLIBNET Home

225period seven – type seven) there are forty nine differentcombinations of period and type. Each type has a distinctpredominant colo ur of its costumes which varies in kindaccording to its period. The masks of the Chorus of Old Menand double the size of the others. They are all seven in thesorr owful, resigned t ype of Old Age. (O’Neill III: LL 273 -74)Explaining the purpose of mask in Lazarus Laughed O’Neill told Barrett H.Clark:It ’s in seven scenes, and all the characters wear masks. Andhere I ’ve used them right. In ‘Brown ’ I couldn ’t know beforehand how th e scheme would work out. They were too realisticthere, and sitting way back in the theatre you could not be sureif the actors had masks or not. I should have had them twice atlarge – and conventionalized them so the audience could get theidea at once. In ‘Lazarus ’ I believe I ’ve managed the problemof big crowds better than crowds are usually worked in plays.It ’s never quite right. My Jews all wear masks, and it’s thesame with Greeks and Romans. I think I ’ve suggested thepresence and characteristic o f mobs (by means of masks)without having to bring in a lot of supers. I also have a chorusof seven, who chant together, emphasising and pointing theaction throughout. (116)In Dynamo , O ’Neill is primarily concerned wi th the ‘ inner ’ ratherthan the ‘Oute r’ world of the minds of the characters. He has used ‘spoken -thought s’ – an important anti -realistic device – to add to the concentrationand expressiveness of the play. The tendency of the characters is to avoiddirect confrontation when they get engaged in a dialogue , and are askeddirect and personal questions. They always prefer to reflect on them moreseriously and silently in their minds. Most of the information is not directlycommunicated, but is made available to the audience when the charactersar e lost in ‘dope dreaming ’ or ‘Mooning ’. The characters are often given todreaming sentimentally of the past , and they can easily move from the