Eugene O'Neill (1888-1953) was an Irish-American playwright. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama techniques of realism. O'Neill was awarded the 1936 Nobel Prize in Literature. He is also the only playwright to win four Pulitzer Prizes for Drama. O'Neill's plays were among the first to include speeches in American English vernacular and involve characters on the fringes of society. They struggle to maintain their hopes and aspirations, but ultimately slide into disillusion and despair. Nearly all of his other plays involve some degree of tragedy and personal pessimism.