American Literature Short Plays Reading Comprehension

Design for Drama: Short Plays Based on American Literature

• Published by the Office of English Language Programs, United States Department of State, Washington, DC, and first published in 1983 by the United States Information Agency.
• Reprinted in May 1994 and 2005.
• A collection of radio and television plays based on American literature, featuring characters that come to life and speak directly to the reader.

The Plays

• The Marriages: By Henry James, set in the Victorian era, about a young girl's strong reactions to her widowed father's impending marriage.
• The Furnished Room: By O. Henry, set in the lower west side of New York City at the turn of the century, about a young man's plight when he falls hopelessly in love.
• The Devil and Tom Walker: By Washington Irving, set in New England, about Tom Walker, who makes a deal with the Devil and suffers the consequences.
• The Black Cat: By Edgar Allan Poe, about a pitiful character named Ignatius Groper, an alcoholic who destroys everything around him and eventually himself.
• A Horseman in the Sky: By Ambrose Bierce, set in the southern United States during the Civil War, about a young soldier named Carter Druse who makes a heartbreaking decision.
• Richard Cory: By Edwin Arlington Robinson, based on a poem, about a man's suicide and the possible reasons behind it.

Suggested Teacher Guidelines

• Intended for radio and television, but can be adapted for classroom use.
• Teachers can assign students roles and have them perform as directors and actors.
• Can record the play and play it back for students to improve pronunciation and comprehension.

This quiz is based on a reading proficiency series that uses short plays from American literature to improve English language skills. It is designed for high intermediate to advanced level students of English as a foreign language.