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1. What information is revealed in the Stage Directions in the beginning of the play?

Stage directions sum up the appearance of the house and imply that a particular attitude on the part of its owners has led to its current appearance. More detailed stage directions describe the setting in Pawhuska, Oklahoma. The time period is presumably the present.

2. What important exposition is established in the Prologue to August: Osage County?

This brief scene establishes several key elements that reappear throughout the narrative, influencing events and relationships. These elements include the tension between Violet and Beverly, their respective addictions, and Violet’s negative attitude towards Johnna.

3. What literary allusions does Beverly Weston make in the play's Prologue?

Beverly quotes poet T.S. Eliot who describes life as “very long”; commenting on how other poets might have experienced life differently; and on how he can’t relate to Eliot who, after enduring years of his wife’s emotional difficulties, packed her off into an asylum. Beverly also makes allusions to poets Hart Crane and John Berryman, calling them "Olympian Suicidalists."

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