Act One: Stage Direction Quotes
English Lit: AQA A Level Death of a Salesman, topic 11.2.5
Act One: The Opening Stage Direction - Quotations
Miller captures the psychological turmoil felt by Willy Loman in the last 24 hours of his life. Here are a few quotations from the stage directions:
Props
- “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.
- The “refrigerator”.
- 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 over the Loman house
- “Towering, angular shapes”.
- “Angry glow of orange”.
- Create a sense of urban oppression.
Act One: The Stage Space and Music - Quotations
Here are a few quotations about the stage space and music in Act One:
A “continuous present”
- The dividing line between past and present dissolves, helping to capture Willy’s feelings of confusion and bewilderment.
“Destroyed the boundaries”
- Miller stressed that memory scenes, which become more frequent as Willy comes closer to collapse, “destroyed the boundaries” between past and present.
"Flute"
- The play opens with the sound of a “flute” - a symbol of nature, freedom and beauty.
“Grass and trees...”
- The flute sings of "grass and trees and the horizon".
- Creates a contrast with the oppressive cityscape which threatens to engulf the Loman household.
- Brings to mind the countryside which Willy so loves.
Test yourself on Act One: Stage Direction Quotes
What prop suggests that consumer goods are now status symbols?
What does the flute sing of at the beginning of Death of a Salesman?