Trudell is a freelance writer with a bachelor's degree in English literature. In the following essay, Trudell takes a close look at the language of Gilroy's play to reveal some important psychological subtext. The Subject Was Roses follows the conventions of a realist play; it is intensely focused on very lifelike characters in a familiar and immediately believable situation. The dialogue sounds like it has been transcribed from real conversation, and the audience gets the sense that they are peering into an actual household. As Howard Taubman writes in his 1964 New York Times review that hails the reemergence of realist drama: "Mr. Gilroy's realism is not cluttered. He writes with spareness and simplicity. With shrewd prudence he lays the groundwork for some of his most amusing and touching lines like a trapper setting out his snares." By the end of the play, there emerges a very coherent...