Essays on Theatre

Peter Shaffer was inspired to write Equus by the chance remark of a friend at the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). The friend recounted to Shaffer a news story about a British youth who blinded twenty-six horses in a stable, seemingly without cause. Shaffer never confirmed …

Summary: Dysart and Alan are in the office of Dysart, however they are pretending to be at the stables. Dysart asks questions to Alan and Alan answers all of them. Alan tells about his ritual in the stable. He does this ritual every time before …

In ‘Death of a Salesman’ written by Arthur Miller, Bernard is shown as a tremendously memorable character. Throughout the play, his contradictions to Biff, poor judgments of him and his parent- like personality are well presented. By using the character, Miller tries to convey the …

The Glass Menagerie By Tennesse Williams About the Author Tennessee Williams based “The Glass Menagerie” on “Portrait of a Girl in Glass,” a short story he wrote in 1943 and published in 1948. Both works drew upon Williams’s own experiences. When he was growing up, …

There are many factors which can contribute to the pervading atmosphere of any play. But in this play there are peculiar, original ways in which Williams’s goes about this. The Glass Menagerie would seem like a harder play to create a dense atmosphere for because …

A Biographical Analysis of The Glass Menagerie and Tennessee Williams It’s apparent in the play and the life of Tennessee Williams that he was, in fact, writing about himself and his family when he wrote The Glass Menagerie. The Glass Menagerie was the first success …

Tom’s double role in The Glass Menagerie—as a character whose recollections the play documents and as a character who acts within those recollections—underlines the play’s tension between objectively presented dramatic truth and memory’s distortion of truth. Unlike the other characters, Tom sometimes addresses the audience …

The American Dream is the idea that with hard work and perseverance, anyone can succeed in America, the land of opportunity.  However, as time went by, the idea of the American Dream came to mean working to buy material possessions, and no matter how hard …

Laura Wingfield is, in many ways, the pivotal character of the play.  She is the central figure upon which the thematic nuances of fragility and misconception play out.  In fact, Laura is the character about which all the characters possess some misconception.  On the whole, …

While Janie and Blanche have their similarities, they are also very different. Blanche is born white and affluent; Janie is born black and poor. Blanche grows up on an old plantation in Mississippi, and Janie is raised in Florida by her grandmother, who has a …

Willy as Tragic Hero in Death Of A Salesman Willy Loman is indeed a pathetic and tragic hero of Death of a Salesman. His problems stem from his own delusions, the American Dream turning sour, and misunderstanding his job and family. All of this tells …

Dramatic impetus is defined as an impelling movement or force within a play. In A View from the Bridge it is dependant on conflicts between opposing sets of values in areas such as relationships, gender, age and the community. The main character we are opposed …

The road to self-actualization is one filled with forks. One must constantly make decisions that affect character and one’s ultimate destination in life. Some travel this road very consciously, making informed and well thought out decisions that they hope will lead them in the right …

The “American dream” is the American idea of prosperity and success to any and all people, regardless of circumstances of birth or social class. All men are created equal, and therefor deserve equal rights to make a living and become successful in terms of wealth, …

Tom can be described as a tortured soul, living with his mother and bachelors sister in a cramped apartment in SST Louis. From a young age, Tom is forced into the role of being the man of the house as his father abandons the family. …

On paper, Peter Shaffer’s Equus is extraordinarily vivid piece of literature. Onstage, it is a visually engaging masterpiece, where the complexity of breathing life into characters and settings by the perfected interplay between actors and the stage is an enthralling and emotional experience for all …

The function that Laura played in The Glass Menagerie can non be overlooked as it contributed to the development of the overall subject of the book. The drama is based on the battles that worlds face in accepting world as this is the major subject …

Chosen Plays: Death of a Salesman and Oedipus Rex This essay will not be focusing on the entire play but three dramatic devices use by the two playwrights and in terms of the audience response. Arthur Miller is known as one of the best writers …

Throughout the constant journey of life you are often under pressure. There is pressure to satisfy, pressure you put on yourself and the pressure that other people put on you. Throughout the play Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller and the short story “Brother …

“Death of a Salesman”, by Arthur Miller, is the perfect play for you to revitalize your career, as it contains an outstanding and memorable character that is understandable and somewhat realistic the audience. There are also several themes thoughout the play that the audience can …

Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller (1915-2005) Explore the ways in which Miller constructs the identity of Willy Loman and what is suggested by his interactions with his work and his wife in this extract. Thesis Statement:In the passage, Miller criticises society for being …

A persons life isn’t always what it’s expected to be. Every ones lives tell a completely different story, whether it’s sad or it’s joyful. Tennessee Williams shows a great example of three peoples lives in his play “The Glass Menagerie”. In The Glass Menagerie, Tennessee …

“Both Albee and Williams use their male characters to explore a link between virility and status in both ‘A Streetcar named Desire’ and ‘Who’s afraid of Virginia Woolf’. ” Showing appreciation of context and with close analysis of structure, form and language, consider to what …

Langston Hughes’s poem “Dream Deferred” is basically about what happens to dreams when they are put on hold. Hughes probably intended for the poem to focus on the dreams of African-Americans because he originally entitled the poem “Harlem,” which is the capital of African American …

The Glass Menagerie- By: Tennessee Williams Setting- After the Great Depression, before World War II; 1937 In SST. Louis, Missouri The Way Tennessee Williams broke away from straight realist staging: 1 . Had his major character also be the narrator (Tom Winnfield) 2. Incorporated a …

The Glass Menagerie- By: Tennessee Williams Setting- After the Great Depression, before World War II; 1937 In SST. Louis, Missouri The Way Tennessee Williams broke away from straight realist staging: 1 . Had his major character also be the narrator (Tom Winnfield) 2. Incorporated a …

The beginning of any play is vital to the storyline, as it gives an audience or reader initial opinions on the characters’ personalities; it also gives information on the setting and atmosphere surrounding the play. ‘Death of a Salesman’ begins with very precisely detailed stage …

Asher Miller was one of the greatest playwrights and essayists of the 20th century. He won numerous awards for his writing including the Tony Award for best play and Pulitzer Prize for drama. He lived a long fruitful life and provided a total of seven …

Alejandro Ricardo Reaction Paper THE2000 Death of a Salesman To watch Death of a Salesman on a live Theatre was like seeing a reflection of the book with its characters coming to life. The incredible cast made sure to put personal life aside to perform …

‘A View From The Bridge’ is a play that was first staged in 1955. It was written by Arthur Miller. Arthur Miller was born into a Jewish family in New York in 1915, whose grandparents had come to America from Poland. When the family business …