Metzger is a Ph.D. specializing in literature and drama at the University of New Mexico. In this essay, she discusses the disparity in the critical assessment of Shelagh Delaney 's A Taste of Honey.

Critics greeted the Broadway premier of A Taste of Honey with conflicting critiques. Many reviewers found the plot pointless and boring, while others found it honest and real, with wonderful authentic dialogue. It is worth considering what elements of Shelagh Delaney's play created such a diverse reaction. The New York critics were prepared to like Delaney's play, since they had received advance word from the English press that the young playwright was, as John Chapman of the Daily News reported, "a fresh, forceful new talent." But as were many critics in the New York theatre world, Chapman was disappointed to find that A Taste of Honey had no purpose, no idea, no...