Moody, William Vaughn (1869-1910), was an American dramatist, poet, teacher, and literary historian. Critics hailed his play The Great Divide (1906) as a landmark in American drama because of its frank, naturalistic treatment of the collision between eastern puritanism and western frontier individualism. Moody planned a verse trilogy (three related plays) on the theme of “the unity of God and man.” He completed The Masque of Judgment (1900) and The Fire Bringer (1904), but died before finishing the third play, The Death of Eve. He also wrote The Faith Healer (1909).
Moody’s Poems (1901) contain the well-known lyrics “Gloucester Moors” and “The Quarry.” While teaching at the University of Chicago, Moody wrote History of English Literature (1902) with Robert Morss Lovett. Moody was born on July 8, 1869, in Spencer, Indiana. He died on Oct. 17, 1910.
