Three Uses of the Knife: On the Nature and Purpose of Drama
by David Mamet

Name: Three Uses of the Knife: On the Nature and Purpose of Drama
Brand: David Mamet
SKU: 9780375704239
Rating: 3.94 (1888 reviews)

Three Uses of the Knife: On the Nature and Purpose of Drama Cover

Three Uses of the Knife: On the Nature and Purpose of Drama Book Cover — Three Uses of the Knife: On the Nature and Purpose of Drama Cover

What readers are saying

Readers appreciate the thought-provoking insights of this book on the nature and purpose of drama, viewing it as essential reading for those who wish to understand the complexities of art's role in human life. Many commend Mamet's unique perspective and stimulating writing style, though some find his ideas to be polarizing or convoluted at times. Overall, the text is seen as a dense yet rewarding exploration of dramatic theory and its implications.

Thought-provoking insightsEngaging writing styleIntellectually vigorousA must-read for Mamet fansDense and challenging to digest

Synopsis

The purpose of theater, like magic, like religion .

is to inspire cleansing awe .

What makes good drama?

And why does drama matter in an age that is awash in information and entertainment?

David Mamet, one of our greatest living playwrights, tackles these questions with bracing directness and aphoristic authority.

He believes that the tendency to dramatize is essential to human nature, that we create drama out of everything from today’s weather to next year’s elections.

But the highest expression of this drive remains the theater.

With a cultural range that encompasses Shakespeare, Bretcht, and Ibsen, Death of a Salesman and Bad Day at Black Rock , Mamet shows us how to distinguish true drama from its false variants.

He considers the impossibly difficult progression between one act and the next and the mysterious function of the soliloquy.

The result, in Three Uses of the Knife , is an electrifying treatise on the playwright’s art that is also a strikingly original work of moral and aesthetic philosophy.