Albee's work is frequently likened to that of Eugene O’Neill. In O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey into Night (1956), he depicts the struggles of a troubled family. The youngest son is sent to a sanatorium to recover from tuberculosis, harboring resentment towards his father for making him go. Meanwhile, the mother is addicted to narcotics, and the older brother battles alcoholism.

When Albee's style veers towards the absurd, it is often compared to Harold Pinter's work. Pinter's renowned play, The Homecoming (1976), unfolds in an old house in North London. There, an aging father resides with his two sons and younger brother. The story takes off when Teddy, another son who has been away for six years, returns with his wife to introduce her to the family she has never met. As events unfold, the younger brothers flirt with their sister-in-law, almost reaching the point of intimacy in front of her astonished husband.

Albee has acknowledged Eugene Ionesco as one of his influences. In Ionesco's Rhinoceros (1959), as seen in many of his early works, audiences are jolted by an absurd reality that elicits both laughter and unease. The plot follows a town's inhabitants gradually turning into rhinoceroses, leaving only one human by the end. Ionesco uses this to critique conformity, particularly in the context of the Nazi regime of his era.

If Albee were to identify the playwright who left the greatest impact on him, it would likely be Samuel Beckett. Beckett's Happy Days (1961) delves into the complexities of human relationships by portraying the interdependence between Winnie, a woman buried in dirt (first waist-deep, then neck-deep), and her uncommunicative partner, Willie.

Often referred to as the Albee play that missed out on the Pulitzer Prize, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1962) is frequently seen as a thematic forerunner to A Delicate Balance. Set in the living room of a middle-aged couple, George and Martha, the play unfolds over three acts. The couple, both intoxicated and argumentative, are joined by another couple for a late-night drink. This leads to a night filled with vicious games, insults, humiliations, betrayals, and sharp wit. Throughout the evening, the secrets and illusions of both couples are mercilessly revealed.

To gain a deeper insight into alcoholism, James Robert Milam and Katherine Ketcham authored Under the Influence: A Guide to the Myths and Realities of Alcoholism (reissued edition 1984). Drawing from scientific research, this book explores the physical aspects of alcoholism and proposes a non-stigmatizing approach to understanding and treating individuals with alcohol addiction. Among the subjects covered are methods for identifying an alcoholic, the progression of alcoholism, selecting an appropriate treatment program, the dangers and potential lethality of prescribed medications for alcoholics, and strategies for achieving long-term recovery.

John Osborne, known as one of the Angry Young Men—a group of English writers who openly criticized established British society—is credited with transforming British theater through his play Look Back in Anger. First staged in 1956, the play introduced fresh content despite its traditional format. It focuses on disillusioned youth, a rare theme at the time, with its protagonist, Jimmy Porter, expressing frustration over his societal status, which he is unable to change due to the enduring control of wealth and privilege by the traditional elite.