Seven Guitars

Research Wilson’s Century Cycle and choose another play from the series to read. How is it similar to or different from Seven Guitars? What themes recur in both plays? How does the play relate to Seven Guitars through characters, plot points, conflicts, and structure?

The play is set in 1947, but it was first performed in 1995. How might the issues presented in the play speak to what was going on in the United States at that time? What issues would the play speak to in our present moment?

Choose one historical figure mentioned in the play and research them. Who were they? How do they relate to the play? Why do you think August Wilson chose to reference them? What do you think an audience needs to know about that person in order to fully understand what they mean to the characters?

One image that recurs throughout the play is the rooster. The audience hears him throughout the first act, then Hedley slaughters him dramatically, but eventually Mrs. Tillery gets another rooster. What do you think the rooster symbolizes? Why does Hedley kill him?

How would you characterize Hedley based on his speeches and actions in the play? Is he fully delusional? Is he correct? Be specific and include examples from the text.

One of the hallmarks of August Wilson’s Century Cycle plays is the suggestion of supernatural or magical events that remain ambiguous. Where do you think the magic appears in this play? Within the world of the play, do you think that it is magical or not?

Consider the women in Seven Guitars. Do you think Wilson gave the women as much complexity as he gave the men? Why or why not?

Using Aristotle’s explanation of classical Greek tragedy in his Poetics, how might Seven Guitars be considered a tragedy? What makes Floyd a tragic hero? Why do you think the playwright would have chosen to make Floyd a tragic hero?