Its form has been of serious literary consequence for thousands of years now, but playwriting has often received something of an uneasy glare when its name is mentioned alongside such connotative behemoths as fiction or poetry.  Indeed, some of the most consequential writing to ever have been produced has been playwriting – of course, much of the most notable work of Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and Shakespeare is been intended for theatrical performance – but it seems that, to many, its stature is easier to digest if its more salient output is rather relegated to poetry.  There is much debate about the significance of the theatrical text, as to how much "literary" weight should be given it in its entirety as opposed to treating it as a springboard for the more collaborative work of the theater; the theatrical text – the play – is often treated in a less hallowed light than literary works of other media.  And while this debate is unlikely to end soon, it is unfair to let this impinge the value of these texts, to deprive them of their literary merit.  Many of the most prominent writers of the 20th century – Samuel Beckett, Harold Pinter, Caryl Churchill – have worked largely, if not entirely, with this form.  With the formidable backing of Shakespeare and the three ancient Greek tragedians, this form deserves recognition as one of the most significant and singular of literary modes.