Selecting the plays for an anthology of world drama is task accompanied by both anguish and risk - anguish at the realization of how many excellent plays must be left out, and risk because it is always uncertain wheter plays traditionally regarded as masterpieces will still speak to the contemporary reader. Any selection is arbitary to a degree, but we have chosen plays that have stood the test of long performance in the theatre or, in the case of recent dramas, those that seem to have the like hood of doing so. we have also selected plays taht are representative of various periods, countries, and genres. Obviously, the impression of world drama gained by knowing only some of its masterpieces is incomplete. Nevertheles, a useful if limited view of past drama can be obtained by reading some outstanding examples, much as one might get acquinted with a new terrain by nothing its highest mountain peaks. This collection, then, offers a rough map of Western drama as reveales by significant plays ranging from the classic to the contemporary.