The Skin of Our Teeth Style

The Skin of Our Teeth Style

Allegory

An allegory is a narrative in which the characters and events can be read both literally and figuratively. In the case of The Skin of Our Teeth, the Antrobuses can be read as ordinary people (a middle-class American couple) and as allegorical figures (Adam and Eve, the progenitors of humankind). The action of the play can be viewed literally, as the experiences of a particular family, and allegorically, as the story of human history. Wilder, with both character names (such as Henry a.k.a. Cam and Sabina) and explicit comments, emphasizes the allegorical nature of his play.

Anti-Illusion Theater

Anti-Illusion theater was pioneered by German playwright BertoltBrecht (The Threepenny Opera), who believed an audience should remain conscious of the physical realities of performance and not give into the illusion that events depicted on stage are real. Like Brecht and Italian dramatist Lmgi Pirandello (Six Characters in Search of an Author), Wilder uses...
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