Miller also uses Alfieri to notify the audience about his and others feelings, ‘every man’s got somebody that he loves, heh? But sometimes…there is too much…too much love for the niece.’ This is where Miller uses Alfieri’s intelligence in emphasizing the fact that Eddie is showing a great deal of affection towards Catherine where it is not needed and he will just end up hurting himself. He conveys this message to Eddie in an unsophisticated comportment by repeating the words ‘too much love’ so Eddie can understand what he is telling him and he informs the audience how Eddie feels about Catherine so we know what he is thinking. The second time he meets Eddie in his office for legal advice ‘when it occurred to me how – almost transfixed I had come to feel.’ This illustrates what his happening in the intellectual mind of Alfieri and enlightens the audience and this creates a dramatic atmosphere.
Alfieri reveals the virtuous in Eddie, ‘my first thought was that he had committed a crime, but soon I saw it was only a passion that had moved into his body, like a stranger.’ Miller uses this simile to demonstrate that there is some moral in Eddie, therefore raising him to the level of a tragic hero unaware of his motives or his destiny, Miller also leaves us with that message ‘something perversely pure calls to me from his memory…’ it reminds the audience that the genre of the play is a Greek tragedy and that the hero always dies. When Alfieri plays the role of the narrator it is like the chorus in a Greek tragedy, which intensifies the dramatic impression.
Miller make use of the part of Alfieri to foretell the future events, ‘now, as the weeks passed, there was a future, there was a trouble that would not go away.’ Here the technique foreshadowing is used; this is a literary device in which an author drops subtle hints about plot developments to come later in his story. Each of these hints widens the range of possible consequences and maintains tension throughout the narrative as these possibilities narrow. This keeps the audience on the edge of there seats and makes them apprehensive, this is another way in which Miller utilizes the character of Alfieri to contribute to the dramatic effect. Again Miller uses Alfieri to apply foreshadowing which heightens the drama and suspense in the play, ‘watched it run its bloody course’ Alfieri feels helpless in the face of Eddie’s desperation. He knows that Eddie is about to destroy himself and, perhaps, those close to him; even at the beginning of the play he tells a premonition to set the foundation for the dramatic atmosphere.
Alfieri adds tempo to the play by setting, ending, changing swiftly to a new date and scene. For example, ‘on the twenty-third of that December…’ and ‘on December twenty-seventh I saw him next…’ this assures that the audience does not become uninterested and keeps the play action packed. Arthur Miller uses this procedure to contribute to the dramatic impression by it getting closer and closer till the suspense is finally revealed this is a more effective way by adding pace to the action as the audience are still engaged in the play.
Alfieri also takes part in the action, ‘this is not god, Marco. You hear? Only god makes justice.’ Even though he is playing the part of the lawyer he is still reminding us about the theme of justice he uses that rhetorical question to emphasize this in the play. This brings us into the scene as Alfieri adds suspense and drama to the play. Miller make use of Alfieri has a character in the play as well and this intensifies the level of the dramatic effect. Furthermore Alfieri uses his intelligence to help Eddie’s problems, ‘I’m telling you what the answer is.’ Again he interacts with us here by heightening the tension; Miller uses Alfieri in the role of the lawyer to bring us into the play, which enhances the dramatic and action packed atmosphere.
There are a variety of language forms in A View from the Bridge. The audience hears the sophisticated, controlled dialogue of Alfieri, the aggressive, uneducated speech of Eddie Carbone, the intelligent, attractive conversations of Rodolpho, the heavy serious tones of Marco, the lively searching words of Catherine and finally the quiet, caring language of Beatrice. Arthur Miller’s dialogue is, in turn, powerful, economical, full of life and dramatic.
The language of Alfieri is meditative and assists the audience to think about the issues which Miller feels are important. His leisurely style draws the audience into his story and helps to maintain a relationship with them throughout the play. In the opening lines he uses the pronoun ‘you’ to indicate that he is talking directly to us. The use of ‘you’ also shows that he is the medium between the audience and the characters. His wry sense of humour at the beginning of Act 1 when he refers to himself as an object of superstition and again at the beginning of Act 2 when he mentions the case of Scotch Whisky ‘from a net while being unloaded’ endears his audience to him. It also shows a detachment from the events taking place which allows the character to take an objective view of the whole proceedings. Because he is also a character in the play he speaks in a different mode when communicating with other characters. He speaks as a lawyer but he also speaks as a friend giving sound advice. Occasionally there is a huge sweep to the language used by Alfieri particularly at the beginning of Act 1 when he says: ‘…every few years there is still a case, and as the parties tell me what the trouble is, the flat air in my office suddenly washes in with the green scent of the sea.’ This narration is of a high intellectual standard as it is very poetic and makes use of imagery in the form of a metaphor.
Eddie’s form of communicating could not be in greater contrast to Alfieri’s, it is monosyllabic, abrupt and unsophisticated. ‘The guy ain’t right… I mean he ain’t right’ this conveys the message that Eddie just mumbles words and does not use full sentences. Instead of using the word is not he uses ‘ain’t’ which demonstrates that he is uneducated. Again in contrast with Alfieri, Eddie can’t express his feelings and he does not want to know about others. Eddie is refusing to respond to his wife’s probing because he does not want to recognize what he feels for Catherine and his lack of affection for Beatrice. He speaks in short bursts which he hopes will prevent further scrutiny by Beatrice. He says, ‘No?’, ‘Yeah’, ‘Why, what worries you got?’ The last example is not an invitation to speak, but a rhetorical question to silence her. When Beatrice continues relentlessly he stops the question with a blunt ‘I don’t want to talk about it’ and later, even more brutally, ‘I can’t talk about it!’ and ‘I got nothin to say about it!’ Miller uses this distinguished difference between the character of Eddie Carbine and Alfieri to contribute to the dramatic effect in the play.
A View from the Bridge relates to Shakespeare’s plays in the way that they use premonitions to tell the audience what is going to happen next, which is an excellent literary technique which creates drama and suspense. In the play Miller conveys the ancient Rome era and Italian culture. Arthur Miller is interested in the psychological view of people and other related issues; he expresses this in the play as he uses Alfieri, ‘I understand. Put it out of your mind. Can you do that?’ and ‘I understand you…’ he tries to get into Marcos head my using that rhetorical question and he uses repetition of the word ‘I understand you’ quite efficiently and this adds to the dramatic atmosphere.
Arthur Miller uses Alfieri in A View from the Bridge for various issues which all enhances the dramatic impression. Firstly he makes thee themes (justice, law, compromise) in the play more explicit to the audience, so they can appreciate the inner parts of the themes; he adds pace to the action and drama, he takes part in the play itself and brings us into the scene; also he informs the audience about his and others feelings. He acts as Miller’s voice in the play (mainly to speak to the audience); acts as the lawyer and the narrator like the chorus in a Greek tragedy; in addition Alfieri foretells the future events of the play, which heightens the drama and suspense; he contrasts with Eddie’s poor communication and confusion and finally he shows the good in Eddie, therefore raising him to the level of a tragic hero unaware of his destiny. In conclusion, I think Arthur Miller has successfully utilised the character of Alfieri to contribute to the dramatic effect of A View from the Bridge.