The Goat or Who is Sylvia? concerns a married middle age architect who - in the same week that he's received an international prize, been awarded a lucrative contract, and celebrated his 50th birthday - is forced to confess to his wife and son that he's involved in a relationship that will probably destroy his marriage, his career, and his life.

Not only does the play focuses on Martin whose life crumbles when he falls in love with a goat but also on where the limits of an ostensibly liberal society are. Through showing this family in crisis, Albee challenges audience members to question their own morality in the face of other social taboos including infidelity, homosexuality, incest and, of course, bestiality.

The play also features many language games and grammatical arguments in the middle of catastrophes and existential disputes between the characters

The name of the play refers to the song "Who is Sylvia" from Shakespeare's play "The Two Gentlemen of Verona". Proteus sings this song, hoping to woo Sylvia