Dramatic criticism of the play

"Criticism" is "the art of estimating the qualities and character of literary or artistic work" (Oxford English Dictionary). Whenever we see or read a play and talk or write about it, we're engaging in criticism. The form of criticism we're most familiar with is the mass media review of a theatre production (ie newspaper reviews that tell you about the play and give it a thumbs up or thumbs down); but, in fact, criticism takes many forms, a few of which are sampled below.

Scholarly reviews of the original production of the play

Review of the original production in the scholarly journal PAJ: A Journal of Performance and Art

Review of the original production in the scholarly journal Theatre Journal

Review of the original production in the scholarly journal The American Journal of Philology

Review of the original production in the scholarly journal Commentary

Scholarly articles analyzing the play

Essay arguing that the original New York production of the play created a space for communal mourning after 9/11 from the scholarly journal Comparative Drama

Essay arguing that the play's presentation of Orpheus is metaphor for post-9/11 mourning, from the scholarly anthology From Word to Canvas: Appropriations of Myth in Women's Aesthetic Production

Student papers analyzing and reflecting upon the play

MFA Thesis by an actor at Louisiana State University who played Hermes, Vertumnus, Poseidon, and Bacchus

Student honors paper arguing that recognition is a unifying element in the play