shirley valetine

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Shirley Valentine                                                                                   Kiran Toor 10S

How does Russell invite the audience to sympathise with Shirley?

In the play [“Shirley Valentine”] feeling sympathy for Shirley is a regular occurrence, Shirley Valentine is a character who was endlessly trapped and is taken for granted, but then rediscovers herself. Shirley mourns for the lost possibilities of her ''unused life,''.

Shirley Valentine was written in the 1980s, as a kitchen sink drama, by a play writer named Willy Russell. He presents a basic ordinary woman’s working life, with unhappiness, regret, humour and at twist. This essay will be analysing the effects of the character, action; dramatic devices: languages, ideas, themes, and show how the audience is invited to sympathise with Shirley.

I find Shirley to be humorous and a gentle person, looking for an easier, comfortable, relaxed life with a hint of spice!

In the opening lyrics Russell cleverly combines words of sorrow and sympathy towards Shirley. Some of these are “Shirley Valentine just wasn’t there any more, a girl was born to fly: all her dreams, dreams are broken.” This introduction of influencing words already paints a picture in the mind about the character before she is introduced, hence triggering impressions into setting the frame of mind to a sympathetic mode.

 Shirley is portrayed as a sad house bound woman, forgotten, not appreciated nonexistent (not liteary) [“anymore”] and a woman with a loss of identity.

 “A girl is born to fly;” This is shown as a metaphor, as she is supposed to be free but is trapped.

The lyrics in the film prepare and give us many clues to what the film is going to be about and how the character is. The sounds we have are beautifully sung but with a twist, as it is infused with the characters sorrows and boring lifestyle. Again it shows us how people feel towards her, what she thinks of herself and what she thinks, other people feel about her, “Shirley Valentine just wasn’t there any more, a girl was born to fly: all her dreams, dreams are broken”. The connotations shown in these lyrics are that, nobody appreciates her, “just wasn’t there anymore”, another meaning of this is that she has changed, disappeared, dreams have been crushed and personality change.

The author uses conventions, for dramatic effects as the uses of colours influences how we are supposed to feel. Blue, is used throughout these sketches, and verifies, sadness, repetitive and dullness. Another convention used is the way the film is put together, the sketches fade into real life, establishing the fact that what was shown, in the overall boring and dull life, in these sketches are in fact a real woman’s life, inviting us to sympathise for that certain character, who’s life is revealed to us.

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 The pictures shown to the audience are in fact sketches of the character in domestic life, cleaning, cooking and mostly doing household chores in these sketches, plus the fact that she has a face always turned away shows us a sign of what I think is shame and that it is not what she wanted in her life to be like.

The way the author further invites the audience to sympathise with Shirley Valentine is though character and action, by cunningly using the characters to influence how we feel towards certain characters feelings or lifestyle. ...

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