Mourning Becomes Electra Lesson Plan

In Mourning Becomes Electra, Eugene O'Neill has extensive and detailed descriptions of all of the elements for every part of each scene and character's reactions. Why do you think he writes in this extremely detailed way? What does it contribute to the readers'/audience's experience of the story?

Part of the reason that O'Neill writes in this way is simply a stylistic choice -- most of his plays have this level of detail in their scenic and character descriptions, which allows O'Neill to paint very specific and clear pictures of characters and their hidden intentions. O'Neill was writing during a time when examinations of cultural norms of the past were a common theme for...