Exposition

The Emperor Jones is a one-act play in eight scenes. The first and last scenes contain several characters and employ a realistic style while the six scenes in the middle are an expressionistic monologue chroncling Jones's nightmarish trip through the forest. This middle section is the main part of the play and focuses as much on light, sound, and setting as on Jones's spoken words. The first and last scenes of the play, then, serve as a framing device, first setting up and then resolving Jones's night in the forest. However, the first scene of the play is vastly different not only from the middle scenes but also from its companion, frame scene at the end of the play. For it is in this opening scene that O'Neill must provide all of the "exposition" for the play.

"Exposition" is the term used for that part of a play...