... the Elms. Desire Under the Elms represents one of the supreme moment in the history of American tragedy, because it is "the first important tragedy to be written in America."19 O‟Neill‟s treatment of the story seems almost Greek, both in the specific similarities and in the ... , Jay Ronald agrees with Edgar F. Racey on that Desire Under the Elms is based on the Greek myth of Phaedra and Hippolytus as well as Oedipus Tyrannus. They saw that: From Desire Under the Elms on, throughout O‟Neill's canon, the factor that determines the destiny of O'Neill's characters is ... father, as '...

• Word Count: 9352
• Approx Pages: 37
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School