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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 5 page paper which examines how symbolism is used as a literary device throughout the play, and includes criticism from, among others, the playwright and the play’s original director, Elia Kazan. Bibliography lists 8 sources.
Page Count:
5 pages (~225 words per page)
File: TG15_TGsymdos.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
- June 2001 -- properly! During the late 1940s, there was a resurgence in the
literary genre known as realism, which had begun in the previous century as a reaction against the hugely popular romanticism. Nevertheless, the literary device of symbolism, so commonly used
by the romantics was also incorporated into realist works. Danish playwright Henrik Ibsen was the master of realistic symbolism, and in his 1949 masterpiece, Death of a Salesman, Arthur
Miller proved himself a most learned student. Death of a Salesman ranks among the most analyzed of American plays, for it is a perfect balance between plot and characterization,
with the deft employment of symbolism elevating the play from ordinary to extraordinary. Symbolism is ever-present, from the title, to
the protagonists name, to the ensuing action. Death of a Salesman informs the audience and the readers from the very beginning of something that they would ordinarily have to
wait until the plays climax to find out - that the leading character is going to die. The productions first director, Elia Kazan, noted in his autobiography, "The viewer
is made immediately aware, first by the title, then by Willys revealing that he found himself driving off the road, that we are gathered together to watch the course of
a suicide. That promise of terror and tragedy lies under each scene in the action that follows and makes the tension continuous" (359). The tension is heightened by
Millers use of symbolism. The plays title, while also being informative, represents not only the death of a salesman, but of all his hopes and dreams. The
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