Literary Devices in The Zoo Story
Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory
Setting
This is a one-scene play, so it's all set in one place: a quiet part of Central Park on a Sunday afternoon. The day is nice, the sun is warm, the birds are trilling, all is well with the world, exc...
Genre
Edward Albee worked in a style often called Theater of the Absurd, which sees humanity as… well, absurd. Folks go to the zoo, they sit on a bench, they get stabbed to death. And why? In order to...
Tone
The tone of The Zoo Story is blank. Weird stuff happens, odd things transpire, unusual words are spoken, and the play just goes on, without really telling you how you're supposed to feel about it o...
Writing Style
The Zoo Story is not a smooth reading (or watching) experience. There are lots and lots of pauses; Peter's first lines are "Hm?...What?...I'm sorry, were you talking to me?" (2). A lot of the play...
What's Up With the Title?
Jerry keeps telling Peter that he's going to go into detail about what happened to him (Jerry) at the zoo before he came to the park. He never manages to get it out, though. So The Zoo Story is a s...
What's Up With the Ending?
The very end of The Zoo Story has Peter screaming "OH MY GOD!" and then Jerry says, "Oh…my…God," and then he dies.So what's with everyone shouting out to God right at the end there? Part of it...
Tough-o-Meter
The Zoo Story is short. Its language isn't difficult and it only has a couple of characters. On the other hand, the action is jarring and you have to do a lot of reading between the lines (and/or b...
Plot Analysis
Where's That Confounded Zoo?Jerry finds Peter on the bench; they get to know each other. Jerry promises to tell Peter about his trip to the zoo. Waiting to find out about the zoo is what passes fo...
Booker's Seven Basic Plots Analysis
Theater of the Absurd intentionally messes with traditional storytelling. Plot, motivation, suspense, resolution—The Zoo Story either dispenses with them or scrambles them so much that they're...
Three-Act Plot Analysis
The Zoo Story is just one act, so splitting it into a three-act analysis seems a little beside the point; Albee might speak to Shmoop sternly. But Shmoop does not fear Albee. If Shmoop were going...
Trivia
The Zoo Story, Albee's first play, is dedicated to his lover and mentor William Flanagan. (Source)Albee was adopted by a wealthy family. He didn't get along with his adoptive parents. After an argu...
Steaminess Rating
Jerry talks about some unwanted advances by his landlady, and there are some other hints about sexual situations, but otherwise this is not a very steamy play. (Though there is a lot of quiet, side...
Allusions
Charles Baudelaire (100)Sigmund Freud (17)J.P. Marquand (100)Reader's Digest (167)Time (20)St. Francis (157)