How does Miller create dramatic tension between Marco and Eddie at the
end of Act One?
So far in the play Marco and Rodolfo have illegally immigrated to
America, seeking shelter with their cousin Beatrice and her husband
Eddie. Living with them is Catherine, their niece, who falls head over
heels in love with Rodolfo. Eddie is not happy, as he is incredibly
overprotective of Catherine. This overprotectiveness turns to
jealousy, which turns into an obsession. At the end of Act One all
five characters are in the living room, sharing a cosy after dinner
chat.
At this point of “A View From The Bridge” Eddie is feeling intensely
jealous of Rodolfo and he doesn’t really understand why. He talks to
Alfieri about it, yet Alfieri seems to immediately understand what is
going on and just before this scene hints at the bloody outcome of
this tale. Marco, too, recognizes Eddie’s feelings for Catherine,
though he appears to be the only one in the family who sees it.
The premonition in Alfieri’s soliloquy make the audience think. It
makes them ask question like who’s going to die? How are they going to
die? Why are they going to die? The audience want to know the answers
to all of these questions right at the beginning of the play and will
start to guess what will happen, yet they have to pay attention to
understand what is going on and make predictions.
The personalities of the characters greatly affect the tension of this
part of the play. For example, if Marco were not so silent and still,
his threat would not be so obvious. When he “takes a chair, places it
in front of Eddie, and looks down at it” it is a contrast to his
natural behaviour. Eddie, however, still does not get it, as he
believes that the worl...
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...gland, for example, where the sense of community is much
less, the dramatic tension would not exist. In fact the situation
would probably not have arisen at all. Catherine would have had more
freedom, Eddie and Beatrice would have attended marriage counselling
and most likely Marco and Rodolfo could have immigrated legally. The
play would be quite boring.
In conclusion, many things contribute to the tension at the end of Act
One. It would be nearly impossible to have the same sort of tension if
just one aspect of the play was changed. The tension would probably
remain but it would be utterly different. It could be more or less
effective than the way it is now, but I feel it would be more likely
that a master playwright like Arthur Miller would understand what he
was doing, and would try and make the play as dramatic as he could, to
get his point across.
Hamlet makes use of the idea of theatrical performance through characters presenting themselves falsely to others – from Rosencrantz and Guildenstern spying on Hamlet to gain favor with the King, to Hamlet himself playing the part of a madman – and through the play within the play, The Mousetrap. This essay will discuss the ways in which Hamlet explores the idea of theatrical performance, ‘acting’, through analysis of the characters and the ‘roles’ they adopt, specifically that of Hamlet and Claudius. The idea, or the theme of theatrical performance is not an uncommon literary element of Shakespearean works, the most famous of which to encompass this idea being As You Like It. This essay will also briefly explore the ways in which Hamlet reminds its audience of the stark difference between daily life and dramatization of life in the theatre.
When Marco First Appears, Miller Describes Him as a Square-built peasant of thirty-two, suspicious, tender and quiet voiced. In the Light of Marco's Role in the Play, How Helpful Do You Find this Introduction to Him? When considering this question, it is necessary to somewhat challenge it; to whom is Miller's description meant to be helpful? As "A View From the Bridge" is a play, and therefore presented to an audience, we must presume that the description's intended use is to instruct an actor developing his character which is to be conveyed to an audience.
seemed to turn the play into a comedy at times: but some can say that
and the good results that would take place in the event this concept would be heeded. We
and preparations for what is to come in the rest of the play. By just
How does Miller show his ability to build up tension in this extract? (page 50 "How about some grape juice" - page 52 "the court did not know him Annie!) Throughout the play "all my sons" Miller thoroughly expresses his ability to change and strengthen our emotions and develop tension between characters. I found this effect of tension particularly evident in this extract, a discussion between George, Chris and Annie.
In Act One, the social context of the characters are introduced, who come from a working class family who migrated to the United States from Italy. During the beginning of the play sexual tension is created as Miller uses dramatic stage directions to suggest that Catherine and Eddie are like lovers, for example Catherine gets lost in Eddie’s eyes that she doesn’t even realise that she nearly burns herself lighting his cigar. Further tension is created when Catherine tells Beatrice and Edie of her newly found job. Although Beatrice is fully for the prospect of Catherine having a job, Eddie on the other hand is not. Eddie repeatedly tries to put forward that he is the man of the house and doesn’t want his power overruled- especially by a woman. Tension is also created when Eddie emphasizes that Catherine doesn’t need to work because he has always provided the family just fine by stating ‘When have we ever had no food on the table?’ This emphasizes that Eddie is reliable and can do well without anyone else.
changing attitudes toward life and the other characters in the play, particularly the women; and his reflection on the
as a person and the play would have been much more ambiguous as to the
“You’re saying the entire play,” I replied as I came to the realization that he had been serious when he texted me three weeks before and told me he was going to try out for the play. It was sophomore year and I didn’t even know we had a thespian club. Nevertheless, I told him to go for it. And he did. He secured himself a spot in the play and was determined to the best he
In Hamlet's speech to the players he tells them, "Suit the action to the word, the word to the action, with this special observance, that you o'erstep not the modesty of nature; for anything so o'erdone is from the purpose of playing, whose end both at the first, and now, was and is, to hold as 'twere the mirror up to nature, to show virtue her own feature, scorn her own image, and the very age and body of the time his form and pressure." What Hamlet wants is for the actors to be moderate and natural in their depiction of life, not exaggerated, and not dull. The speech shows us the significance of how the fictional reality of art, can bring out the reality that Hamlet seeks in his uncle. He also believes that the theater exists to "hold the mirror up to nature" and hopes that Claudius will see his evil nature reflected in the performance.
Upon hearing this Eddie feels awful and asks why the blue man died instead of
The main reason for doing this could be to relieve the tensions in the play,
...se his is still enjoying the intrigue which he can only understand. To some extent his is playing with his subjects, making them believe that they act of their own violation while manipulating them. He is also testing them, perhaps to determine how worthy they are of their positions. (Act 4 scenes 3-6).
audience and given the qualities of a tragic hero. Throughout the play he is dominated