In the following essay, McDonough examines Rabe's depiction of men in his plays.

In the following interview, conducted on February 10, 1998, Rabe discusses his creative process, his use of symbolism, and aspects of individual plays.

In the following essay, Demastes and Vanden Heuvel contend that the works of Rabe and Sam Shepard embody a new direction in American theater, one that incorporates realism and absurdism to subvert “the bastion of traditional, strictly linear and causal realist theatre in an attempt to reveal the indeterminate and chaotic nature of the world.”

In the following essay, Bernstein examines and discusses criticism of Sticks and Bones and shows how the play combines realism and absurdism.

In the following essay, Wade discusses Rabe's use of a nude female dancer at the end of In the Boom Boom Room and its significance both to the play and to varied members of the audience.

In the following essay, Wade provides a feminist interpretation of In the Boom Boom Room, focusing on the equivocal implications of the closing scene of the play.

In the following essay, Andreach discusses The Orphan as a modern dramatization of Aeschylus's Oresteia trilogy.

In the following essay, Andreach compares Rabe's The Orphan with the original Greek work that inspired him to write it.

In the following essay, Fenn asserts that The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel exemplifies the defining characteristics of the genre of the Vietnam war drama and places the play within the context of Rabe's Vietnam trilogy.

In the following essay, Werner describes Rabe's attempts to overcome alienation in the American experience with a new form of expression.

In the following essay, Hertzbach examines Rabe's use of violence in his plays.

In the following essay, Cooper provides a critical analysis of Sticks and Bones.

In the following essay, Christie discusses the feeling of instability at the heart of Rabe's plays.

In the following essay, Barbera details the dramatic techniques used by Rabe to express what W. B. Yeats called the “emotion of multitude.”

In the following essay, Kolin recounts Rabe's high school career and the production of his first play, now lost.

In the following essay, Zinman suggests that the characters in Rabe's plays are similar to cardboard cutouts and comic-strip characters in the vein of Roy Lichtenstein's paintings.

In the following essay, Brady discusses Rabe's use of racism and other prejudices in his plays, focusing on Streamers.

In the following interview conducted in 1990, Rabe discusses his influences and interests, including language and ancient folk legends.

In the following essay, Colakis compares the use of the House of Atreus myth in Rabe's The Orphan and Joyce Carol Oates's novel Angel of Light.

In the following essay, Adler compares Sticks and Bones with King Lear.

In the following review, Brown views Recital of the Dog as an allegory about crime and punishment.

In the following interview, Rabe discusses his dramatic adaptation of A Question of Mercy.

In the following review, Filkins maintains that “despite a flaw or two, Recital of the Dog is a novel as well-crafted as it is brutal, as obsessive as it is superbly controlled.”

In the following essay, Kolin describes Streamers as a coming-of-age story.

In the following review, Austin provides a mixed assessment of Those the River Keeps.

In the following excerpt, Brustein considers Rabe's use of the family to reflect societal problems.

In the following review, Upchurch critiques a production of A Question of Mercy performed at the Intiman Theatre in Seattle, Washington.

In the following review, Hutchings cites parallels between Recital of the Dog and Samuel Taylor Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.

In the following review, Daniels provides a favorable assessment of A Question of Mercy.