曹禺的《原野》和尤金·奥尼尔的《榆树下的欲望》(以下简称《榆》)都是20世纪戏剧作品中的经典。国内外批评界对他们的研究已经很多,但进行文化批判精神阐发的研究还很少。本文拟从这一角度切入,探讨两悲剧产生的根源。文化批判之于文学创作一般来说,文学的主要功能在于隐喻、 Cao Yu’s “Wilderness” and Eugene O’Neill’s “Desire Under the Elm” (hereinafter referred to as “Elm”) are classic works of 20th century drama. Many studies have been done by critics at home and abroad, but few studies have done on the spirit of cultural criticism. This article intends to cut from this perspective, to explore the root causes of the two tragedies. Cultural criticism in literary creation In general, the main function of literature lies in metaphor,