چكيده فارسي :
Eugene O Neill s engagement with psychology is an essential feature of his dramatic career. From his early plays onwards, he grapples, to a more or less degree, with psychological theories and concepts. His anti-war plays are no exception. Shell Shock depicts the psychological hell which the traumatized Jack Arnold finds himself in during and after First World War. It employs a number of psychological concepts and methods such as shell shock, trauma, repetitive compulsion, and talking cure. Since studying shell shock falls within the domain of psychology, the present paper is divided into three main sections. As the play was written in October, 1918, about two months before the end of the First World War, section one is a study of the definitions, symptoms and treatment of shell shock as it is understood during the First World War. Section two deals with O Neill s engagement with psychology in general, shell shock and war trauma in particular. Section three is a study of Shell Shock as a testimony to the dehumanizing and monstrous nature of war. The paper is rounded off with a conclusion in which the main findings of the study are stated.
