Word: utterly
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Dates: during 1920-1929
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...first place, Andreyev's "Life of Man" is obviously the work of a playwright who sees little or no hope for man in his present state of society. It is bitter, deeply so in parts, and tries at every turn to focus the listener's attention on the utter futility of Man's days on earth, and the frailty of his very work. With this as the dominant note, one might expect a Maeterlinck gloom to pervade the whole, but such is not the case. Andreyev was fortunately gifted with a unique sense of humor--almost Rabelaisian at times...
...fifth and last scene represents the end of Man's career, reflecting the utter confusion that attends his downfall. The two windows now twisted drunkenly stand out in silver draped with large swirling folds of blue gauze. A bed, oddly out of proportion, is seen in silhouette at the left, with a misshapen fireplace to the right, the whole combination reflecting to a remarkable degree the mood in which the play closes...
...more effectively outside of the League than if she were in it. To bear out this point he added that the United States can point to a remarkable series of achievements towards the promotion of international peace since the inception of the League. The League had previously admitted utter failure in dealing with the same problems which America successfully solved. "Disassociated from the cauldron of Europe's political affairs", he concluded, "the United States can lead into a new and brighter era of international relations...
...situation of real life goes, as a rule, and its character may be more sharply drawn than their actual counterparts, but fundamentally, in the situation out of which the tragedy grows and in the main lines of its characters, it is true. And it is true, too, in its utter hopelessness. It is as hopeless as life is--as life often is, anyhow. It does not end. It does not reach any solution, or even settlement of its problem. The curtain simply comes down on hopelessness. The only important point in which the play does not seem thus fundamentally true...
...play and veri-similitude have not even a nodding acquaintance. Every line of the play indicates rapid working over of very old material to which has been added to give a slight impression of up-to-dateness, a certain amount of modern "atmosphere". Two characters save the play from utter artistic oblivion; Lady Clarissa's aunt, who gives the audience a hearty laugh about once every half hour, and John Cordway's brother, a meek little man who worships, loves, and fears his younger brothers as if he were the Almighty himself...