This fourth volume  Luigi Pirandello’s collected plays contains four works written between 1916 and 1930 and covers the most productive years of Pirandello's life. It is difficult to overestimate the importance of Pirandello to 20th century theatre. Like Ibsen and Chekhov he held a mirror to life that tilted to bring out the tragedies, absurdities, and banalities that are present in the human condition. Like those who followed him--Beckett, Brecht and Ionesco in particular--Pirandello uses the stage in radical ways, mingling waking reality with dreams and allowing the appearance of truth. Pirandello is one of the most seminal figures of modern theatre, but his influence can be seen in the expressionist, surrealist, and other art movements of 20th century art.