by Spark Notes
First published 2014
This study guide breaks down Thornton Wilder's three-act play about life in fictional Grover's Corners, New Hampshire. The SparkNotes team analyzes each scene where Emily Webb and George Gibbs grow up, fall in love, and face the realities of marriage and mortality. The guide explains key themes like the passage of time and the value of ordinary moments. It examines motifs including the cycles of daily life and symbols like the moon and stars that connect the townspeople to larger truths. Students get chapter-by-chapter breakdowns of the Stage Manager's narration and the interactions between the Webb and Gibbs families. Review quizzes test comprehension while essay topics help students explore deeper meanings. Created by Harvard students who understand academic pressures, this guide serves students cramming for exams or writing papers about Wilder's meditation on human existence.
Genres: literature, drama, american-fiction, 20th-century, academic
Vibes: intimate, lyrical, thought-provoking
Tropes: coming-of-age, slice-of-life
Setting: Grover's Corners, New Hampshire
Period: 20th-century
75 pages · Kindle Edition · Sparknotes