In the following essay, Ruddick determines “Melanctha” to be Stein's conscious break with nineteenth-century literary standards.

In the following essay, Hilfer argues that “Melanctha” is a radical empiricist work in the vein of the philosophy of William James, in which “mood is a phenomenological reality.”

In the following essay, Neuman details the historical and literary circumstances surrounding the composition and staging of Doctor Faustus Lights the Lights.

In the following essay, Robinson evaluates Stein's plays in the context of her unique voice in the evolution of twentieth-century American theatrical conventions.

In the following essay, Marranca provides an overview of Stein's life and career.

In the following essay, Pladott assesses Stein's contribution to American drama in terms of her “exile” as an expatriate American woman, a Jew, and a lesbian.

In the following excerpt, Knight applies theories of artistic perception to Stein's poetic style in Tender Buttons, emphasizing Stein's desire to create subjective impressions of the world rather than to produce concrete descriptions as in more traditional poetry.

In the following essay, Goebel probes the interwined crises of personal identity and mortality in Gertrude Stein's fiction.

In the following essay, Giesenkirchen describes the multilingual dimension of Stein's style in Accents in Alsace, contrasting her famous preference for the English language with her sensitivity to the conversational aspect of other languages exhibited in the play.

In the following essay, Hadas provides a biographical interpretation of Tender Buttons which includes explanations of Stein's feelings for her brother, Leo Stein, their mutual interest in the psychological theories of William James, and Stein's relationship with Alice B. Toklas.

In the following essay, France discusses Stein's relationship with composer Virgil Thomson, featuring a series of selected letters to each other.

In the following excerpt from his introduction to Stanzas in Meditation and Other Poems, Sutherland discusses the evolution of Stein's poetics.

In the following essay, Ruddick discusses the “buried psychological allegory” in “Melanctha” that owes much to the psychological studies of William James.

In the following essay, Ryan considers “Melanctha” as avant-garde text.

In the following essay, Schultz discusses Stein's ruminations on her writing career in "Stanzas in Meditation" and her autobiographical prose works.

In the following essay, Mizejewski contrasts Stein's perceptions of self in Tender Buttons with examples of how feminist writers of her era treated the theme of female self-perception.

In the following excerpt, Schmitz explains some of Stein's puns and identifies humorous references to Alice B. Toklas in Tender Buttons.

In the following excerpt, Koestenbaum describes Stein's poetry as having appealing qualities of indefiniteness and as producing a liberating effect through its lack of focus and disregard of generic restrictions.

In the following excerpt, DeKoven examines Stein's use of nouns in Tender Buttons in the context of Modernist poetry.

In the following essay, Braddy contends that “Melanctha” demonstrates aesthetic primitivism in its narrative form as well as in Melanctha's characterization.

In the following essay, Hutchison contrasts the forms and meanings of A Movie and Film.

In the following excerpt, Ziarek discusses "Patriarchal Poetry" as an avant-garde work of rebellion against traditional poetic styles.

In the following excerpt, Dickie presents an overview of Stein's role in the early years of experimentation in Modernist poetry.

In the following excerpt, Feibleman describes Tender Buttons and Geography and Plays as comically meaningless works, of interest only for the connotative value of their nonsensical words.

In the following review of Stanzas in Meditation and Other Poems, Ashbery describes the difficult, ambitious nature of Stein's experiments with language.

In the following essay, Mellow examines the writing style and structures of the plays in Operas and Plays.

In the following review, Savran assesses a 1992 New York City production of Doctor Faustus Lights the Lights in terms of director Robert Wilson's contemporary associations with the play's critique of Western rationalism.

In the following essay, Weiss recounts incidents from Stein's life as a Radcliffe sophomore studying under noted American psychologist William James.

In the following review, Fowlie praises Stanzas in Meditation and Other Poems, noting the power of Stein's poetic rhythms.