Thornton Wilder Biography

Thornton Wilder, Writer
Born asThornton Niven Wilder
Occup.Writer
FromUSA
SpouseIsabel Wilder
BornApril 17, 1897
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
DiedDecember 7, 1975
Hamden, Connecticut, USA
CauseHeart attack
Aged78 years
Thornton Wilder was a respected as well as renowned playwright and storyteller born on April 17, 1897, in Madison, Wisconsin. His complete name was Thornton Niven Wilder, and he was the boy of a newspaper editor as well as U.S. diplomat, Amos Parker Wilder, and also Isabella Niven Wilder, a proficient and imaginative woman who motivated young Thornton's literary undertakings.

Wilder matured in a well-read family members and was among five siblings. He went to Oberlin College as well as made his Bachelor's degree from Yale University in 1920. He then studied French and archaeology at the American Academy in Rome before making his Master's level in French from Princeton University in 1926.

Wilder's literary occupation started with the magazine of his very first novel, "The Cabala", in 1926. However, it was his second book, "The Bridge of San Luis Rey" (1927), that acquired him extensive recognition and made him the very first of his 3 Pulitzer Prizes. This novel examined the lives of five people who passed away when a bridge broke down in Peru as well as discovered the thoughtful and also existential inquiries bordering destiny and also the interconnectedness of human lives.

As a dramatist, Thornton Wilder concerned importance with "Our Town" (1938), a play that narrated the everyday lives of the locals of the fictional community of Grover's Corners, New Hampshire. This Pulitzer Prize-winning play focused on themes of love, marital relationship, as well as the flow of time, famously breaking the fourth wall with a stage manager character who spoke directly to the audience. "Our Town" has turned into one of the most done plays globally and stays a classic work of art of the American cinema.

Wilder's various other popular play, "The Skin of Our Teeth" (1942), gained him his third Pulitzer Prize. This ambitious job adhered to the journey of a relatively common American household through several historic events, efficiently reinterpreting the entire human experience. The characters, Mr. as well as Mrs. Antrobus, represented Adam and Eve as they sought to make it through floodings, fires, and also various other disasters. With its innovative themes as well as speculative theatrical designs, "The Skin of Our Teeth" cemented Wilder's reputation as one of America's a lot of significant playwrights.

In addition to his well-known plays and also novels, Wilder served in both World War I and also World War II, initially as a participant of the Coast Artillery Corps as well as later as a knowledge police officer. He additionally instructed at colleges such as The Lawrenceville School as well as the University of Chicago during his life.

Throughout his job, Wilder maintained a network of close friends and also partners in the literary and also staged globes, consisting of Gertrude Stein, Max Reinhardt, and Tennessee Williams. Notably, he was also good friends with fellow writer Ernest Hemingway, whom he fulfilled while both were living abroad in Paris.

Thornton Wilder passed away on December 7, 1975, in Hamden, Connecticut, leaving an amazing heritage that continues to influence generations of authors and theatergoers. His jobs, defined by their thoughtful expedition of human existence as well as his dedication to challenging the conventions of the stage, continue to be vital contributions to 20th-century literary works as well as movie theater.

Our collection contains 34 quotes who is written / told by Thornton, under the main topics: Motivational - Marriage.

Related authors: Gertrude Stein (Author), Ernest Hemingway (Novelist), Tennessee Williams (Dramatist)

Thornton Wilder Famous Works:
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34 Famous quotes by Thornton Wilder

Small: Seek the lofty by reading, hearing and seeing great work at some moment every day
"Seek the lofty by reading, hearing and seeing great work at some moment every day"
Small: My advice to you is not to inquire why or whither, but just enjoy your ice cream while its on your plat
"My advice to you is not to inquire why or whither, but just enjoy your ice cream while it's on your plate"
Small: Marriage is a bribe to make the housekeeper think shes a householder
"Marriage is a bribe to make the housekeeper think she's a householder"
Small: Pride, avarice, and envy are in every home
"Pride, avarice, and envy are in every home"
Small: Many who have spent a lifetime in it can tell us less of love than the child that lost a dog yesterday
"Many who have spent a lifetime in it can tell us less of love than the child that lost a dog yesterday"
Small: It is very necessary to have markers of beauty left in a world seemingly bent on making the most evil u
"It is very necessary to have markers of beauty left in a world seemingly bent on making the most evil ugliness"
Small: Providence has nothing good or high in store for one who does not resolutely aim at something high or g
"Providence has nothing good or high in store for one who does not resolutely aim at something high or good. A purpose is the eternal condition of success"
Small: If I wasnt an actor, Id be a secret agent
"If I wasn't an actor, I'd be a secret agent"
Small: I know that every good and excellent thing in the world stands moment by moment on the razor-edge of da
"I know that every good and excellent thing in the world stands moment by moment on the razor-edge of danger and must be fought for"
Small: Every good thing in the world stands on the razor-edge of danger
"Every good thing in the world stands on the razor-edge of danger"
Small: The future author is one who discovers that language, the exploration and manipulation of the resources
"The future author is one who discovers that language, the exploration and manipulation of the resources of language, will serve him in winning through to his way"
Small: The best thing about animals is that they dont talk much
"The best thing about animals is that they don't talk much"
Small: We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures
"We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures"
Small: Theres nothing like eavesdropping to show you that the world outside your head is different from the wo
"There's nothing like eavesdropping to show you that the world outside your head is different from the world inside your head"
Small: Man is not an end but a beginning. We are at the beginning of the second week. We are children of the e
"Man is not an end but a beginning. We are at the beginning of the second week. We are children of the eighth day"
Small: Love is an energy which exists of itself. It is its own value
"Love is an energy which exists of itself. It is its own value"
Small: In advertising, not to be different is virtual suicide
"In advertising, not to be different is virtual suicide"
Small: But there comes a moment in everybodys life when he must decide whether hell live among the human being
"But there comes a moment in everybody's life when he must decide whether he'll live among the human beings or not - a fool among fools or a fool alone"
Small: A dramatist is one who believes that the pure event, an action involving human beings, is more arrestin
"A dramatist is one who believes that the pure event, an action involving human beings, is more arresting than any comment that can be made upon it"
Small: When youre safe at home you wish you were having an adventure when youre having an adventure you wish y
"When you're safe at home you wish you were having an adventure; when you're having an adventure you wish you were safe at home"
Small: A play visibly represents pure existing
"A play visibly represents pure existing"
Small: When God loves a creature he wants the creature to know the highest happiness and the deepest misery He
"When God loves a creature he wants the creature to know the highest happiness and the deepest misery He wants him to know all that being alive can bring. That is his best gift. There is no happiness save in understanding the whole"
Small: I am convinced that, except in a few extraordinary cases, one form or another of an unhappy childhood i
"I am convinced that, except in a few extraordinary cases, one form or another of an unhappy childhood is essential to the formation of exceptional gifts"
Small: The theatre is supremely fitted to say: Behold! These things are. Yet most dramatists employ it to say:
"The theatre is supremely fitted to say: 'Behold! These things are.' Yet most dramatists employ it to say: 'This moral truth can be learned from beholding this action.'"
Small: Nature reserves the right to inflict upon her children the most terrifying jests
"Nature reserves the right to inflict upon her children the most terrifying jests"
Small: Literature is the orchestration of platitudes
"Literature is the orchestration of platitudes"
Small: An incinerator is a writers best friend
"An incinerator is a writer's best friend"
Small: The more decisions that you are forced to make alone, the more you are aware of your freedom to choose
"The more decisions that you are forced to make alone, the more you are aware of your freedom to choose"
Small: It is only in appearance that time is a river. It is rather a vast landscape and it is the eye of the b
"It is only in appearance that time is a river. It is rather a vast landscape and it is the eye of the beholder that moves"
Small: Hope, like faith, is nothing if it is not courageous it is nothing if it is not ridiculous
"Hope, like faith, is nothing if it is not courageous; it is nothing if it is not ridiculous"
Small: Ninety-nine per cent of the people in the world are fools and the rest of us are in great danger of con
"Ninety-nine per cent of the people in the world are fools and the rest of us are in great danger of contagion"
Small: Many plays - certainly mine - are like blank checks. The actors and directors put their own signatures
"Many plays - certainly mine - are like blank checks. The actors and directors put their own signatures on them"
Small: I would love to be the poet laureate of Coney Island
"I would love to be the poet laureate of Coney Island"
Small: For what human ill does not dawn seem to be an alleviation?
"For what human ill does not dawn seem to be an alleviation?"