الفهرس 
IntroductionOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
This study concentrates on plays which can be considered hallmarks in the African-American theatre. It focuses on four dramas written by four African-American women as representatives of African-American woman’s theatre: Adreinne Kennedy’s Funnyhouse of a Negro (1964), Ntozake Shange’s For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf (1974), Aishah Rahman’s Unfinished Woman Cry in No Man’s Land, While a Bird Dies in a Gilded Cage (1977), and Alexis De Veaux’s The Tapestry (1975). Their journey progresses from the recognition of pain to its verbalization and subsequently to self –affirmation. They could be considered pioneers in breaking the silence of African-American women. They discuss such controversial issues as abortion, sexuality, female empowerment, while challenging obstacles like racism, sexism and gender stereotypes. Their non-realistic theatrical styles emphasize their confused state of mind in their continuous search for their identities within their societies. The four dramatists tackled their inner sufferings from different angles. whereas Kennedy’s play, Funnyhouse of the Negro, represents death as its final image, Shange’s For Colored Girls ends with the heroines’ dance to celebrate their real identities in life. Rahman, on the other hand, presents both birth and death at the end of the play. De Veaux adds a new aspect to her play; that is hope.