4.1.1
Staging
Act One: The Opening Stage Direction
Act One: The Opening Stage Direction
Miller captures the psychological turmoil felt by Willy Loman in the last 24 hours of his life through his use of the stage, props and other theatrical devices.
Stage direction
Stage direction
- The opening stage direction allows us to see how Miller wanted to use the whole stage (and other theatrical devices such as lighting and music) in order to capture the psychological turmoil felt by Willy Loman in the last 24 hours of his life.
Stage space
Stage space
- Befitting a domestic tragedy, the stage space is dominated by the Loman home, carefully constructed by Miller’s original stage designer, Jo Mielziner, to allow us access to the living-room, kitchen, boys’ bedroom & back yard.
Props
Props
- Miller’s use of props is minimal but significant:
- The “silver athletic trophy” won by Biff reminds us (and perhaps Biff himself also) that he has failed to live up to the promise of his high school days.
Props cont.
Props cont.
- Miller’s use of props is minimal but significant:
- The “refrigerator” is a symbol of how new consumer goods are now being regarded as status symbols (“They got the biggest ads of any of them!”), as well as being a considerable financial pressure on the Lomans’ monthly household budget.
Lighting
Lighting
- Miller’s use of stage scenery and lighting is also important.
- The Loman household appears to be at the mercy of forces much stronger than it can withstand.
- The “towering, angular shapes” and “angry glow of orange” looming over it create a sense of urban oppression.
The Lomans’ house
The Lomans’ house
- The Lomans’ house seems about to be swallowed up by the encroaching city, symbolic of how Willy’s outdated notions of popularity as being the route to success are about to be swept aside by a more impersonal and ruthless business culture.
Act One: The Stage Space
Act One: The Stage Space
Miller's creation of a “continuous present” through his character's ability to move between past and present is vitally significant in Death of a Salesman.
Wall and time lines
Wall and time lines
- Miller’s characters are able to pass through imaginary wall-lines but even more significant is their ability to move between past and present as Willy’s memories begin to overwhelm him.
A “continuous present”
A “continuous present”
- The forestage is used to dramatise Willy’s memories (or imagined memories), allowing for what Miller called a “continuous present” where the dividing line between past and present dissolves, helping to capture Willy’s feelings of confusion & bewilderment.
Permeable boundaries
Permeable boundaries
- Although AQA will accept you describing such scenes as “flashbacks”, it is worth noting that Miller himself did not think this was the correct term.
- Miller stressed that these scenes, which become more frequent as Willy comes closer to collapse, “destroyed the boundaries” between past and present.
Significance
Significance
- The horror in these scenes is that there is no neat dividing line between past and present for Willy any more – in his torment, he is unable to distinguish between them.
Act One: Music
Act One: Music
Lastly, Miller’s use of music is revealing.
The flute
The flute
- The play opens with the sound of a “flute” which resonates on different levels.
- Miller tells us that it tells of “grass and trees and the horizon”, immediately creating a contrast with the oppressive cityscape which threatens to engulf the Loman household, and bringing to mind the countryside which Willy so loves.
- As such, the flute is a symbol of nature, freedom and beauty.
Willy's father
Willy's father
- We later learn that Willy’s father made and sold flutes, giving the sound of the flute an even more poignant connotation of Willy’s abandonment by his own father.
Insecurity
Insecurity
- Although Willy romanticises his father as an icon of enterprise and self-reliance, the flute may also serve as an unconscious reminder of the lack of parental love or guidance experienced by him in his formative years, an absence which leads to his present-day doubts and insecurities where Willy still feels “kind of temporary” about himself.
1Introduction
1.1Introductions
2Act One
3Act Two
4Extended Passage Analysis
5Character Profiles
5.1Willy & Linda Loman
5.2Biff & Happy Loman
5.3Other Characters
6Key Themes
7Writing Techniques
7.1Structure
7.3Expressionism
8Historical Context
8.1Historical Context
9Literary Context
9.1Tragedy
10Critical Debates
10.1Introduction
10.2The Marxist Reading
10.3The Feminist Reading
10.4The Eco-Critical Reading
10.5Other Debates
Jump to other topics
1Introduction
1.1Introductions
2Act One
3Act Two
4Extended Passage Analysis
5Character Profiles
5.1Willy & Linda Loman
5.2Biff & Happy Loman
5.3Other Characters
6Key Themes
7Writing Techniques
7.1Structure
7.3Expressionism
8Historical Context
8.1Historical Context
9Literary Context
9.1Tragedy
10Critical Debates
10.1Introduction
10.2The Marxist Reading
10.3The Feminist Reading
10.4The Eco-Critical Reading
10.5Other Debates
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