Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf

You...you've Been Here Quite A Long Time, Haven't You?" What? Oh...yes. Ever Since I Married What's-her-name. Uh, Martha. Even Before That. Forever. Dashed Hopes, And Good Intentions. Good, Better, Best, Bested. How Do You Like That For A Declension, Young Man?

A Rather Ugly Thing Starts Happening: The Playwright Finds Himself Knocked Down For Works That Quite Often Are Just As Good Or Better Than The Works He's Been Praised For Previously. And A Lot Of Playwrights Become Confused By This And They Start Doing Imitations Of What They've Done Before, Or They Try To Do Something Entirely Different, In Which Case They Get Accused By The Same Critics Of Not Doing What They Used To Do So Well.

If You Examine The History Of Any Playwright Of The Past Twenty - Five Or Thirty Years - I'm Not Talking About The Comedy Boys, I'm Talking About The More Serious Writers - It Seems Inevitable That Almost Every One Has Been Encouraged Until The Critics Feel That They Have Built Them Up Beyond The Point Where They Can Control Them; Then It's Time To Knock Them Down Again.

The Arts Are The Only Things That Separate Us From The Other Animals. The Arts Are Not Decorative. ... They Are Essential To Our Comprehension Of Consciousness And Ourselves.

The Final Evaluation Of A Play Has Nothing To Do With Immediate Audience Or Critical Response.