Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller, theater, american theater
Miller's play is based on a number of assumptions on national, social identity of his audience. He imagined that he would really address a wide-social spectrum and not just Americans impatient with any theatrical enterprise that require education or patience. He addressed a serious audience, not the kind of people that wanted to have fun. But he did not want to write for the "clique" of college graduates and academics. A sort of middle-range kind of audience. The audience targeted was middle-class. He also imagined coming from many different cultural and educational backgrounds.
[...] Death of a Salesman is based on Miller's experience when he worked with a jewish salesman after highschool's graduation. 1921 crash, key to the writing of Death of a Salesman and all his plays. Depression shaped Miller's imagination. Contracts were incredibly fragile. The theme appears in his first play of 1940, this is a play about a character which is guilty to be so lucky and has a brother who is very unlucky, he seems to be a prototype of Biff. [...]
[...] Death of a Salesman - Arthur Miller (1949) - American theater in the 20th century Edition Bloomsbury Miller Death of a Salesman Miller, and his (implied) audience He was a play writer. Miller explained why he wanted to be a play-writer because "the theater was the cockpit of literary activity". He added "you could talk directly to an audience and ridiculous the people". Very important quotation, it shows that to Miller, the theater was a forum and understood his role as an artist and an "artiste engagé". [...]
[...] Linda is not really convincing and why should we pay attention to Lowman? Linda did not suffice to transform him into a tragic character. Willy is a salesman and not a prince. The cases he carries characterize his identity. He carries himself through the cases. Miller uses Willy because people know others like Billy. Miller wrote the play assuming everyone knew Willy Lowman. He imagined the audience as being the same as himself. Miller's opinion on theater According to Miller, theater is a conservationist art. Lack of solitude necesary to find inspiration. [...]
[...] in the 1970s the alternatives to broadway was mainly the theater union and the group theater as well as the federal theater. The group theater and federal theater were huge influences on Miller. The federal theater 1935 was primarily a relief project for various kinds of literary workers. Aim to appeal the a working class audience to produce plays across the country and to reflect social concerns. The plays produced were quite often European plays but also produced the living newspaper plays. [...]
[...] Death of Salesman is a good example of other theater exposing commercialism that destroyed mind and people. Miller is also strategic, he tries to steal the middle course between cropping the ? He engaged an American audience who exiged a certain realism while oppening up the play to public morality and social fate. He dealt with the invisible. His autographer, Bigsby, said that Miller was more and more isolated and had more and more difficulty to discuss with Broadway. Broadway never really dominated theater in America. [...]
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