My first example comes at the beginning of ACT 1. The script begins, as you would imagine, with stage directions, key to starting off a play so all of the actors know where to be placed. But Death of a Salesman is different, it has a ‘page and a half’ of stage directions, all in full detail which allows the first scene to gather an audience that automatically understands where, who, and what they are watching. This also gathers emphasis towards the tragic happenings of the play which is overall, the plot.
In this first heap of stage directions all angles are covered, ‘A melody is heard…’, an audio experience is created, this is said to be ‘… telling of grass and trees and the horizon.’ In the first thirty seconds of reading the audience is captivated of a peacefulness which also includes a possible metaphor for a stretching future, the horizon. Then the curtain rises, this is a visual input, the audience is now captivated and drawn into ‘The Salesman’s house’, Miller created anonymity, nobody knows of Willy Loman yet, the stage directions have created suspense and curiosity amongst readers and the audience. The scene is then set for a city landscape with towering, angular shapes behind the house which leads us to believe that the house is placed amongst the suburbs of a thriving city.
When the scene cuts into the interior of the house we are presented with a basic kitchen, it is described as having a table, three chairs and a refrigerator, ‘…no other fixtures are seen.’
After this description, dimension is added. Miller has stated exactly how he wants the set to look like, in such precise detail that it must be nearly impossible to add any variation to that set.
Later in the play Miller’s choice of stage directions proves vital to visualize what exactly is happening, in ACT 2 – at the end of the dialogue with Willy and Howard stage directions are used to show how the set should be transformed to show the new dialogue between Willy and Ben. Again the recurring theme of music is used and this happens during important transitions in time. Miller may have included this to help stop audience members from getting lost in transition.
Following this transition Ben walks on carrying a valise and an umbrella, this describes to the audience his character, even if it is just slightly, by the items he is carrying. His portrayal is that of a successful businessman and he is suited with the props to show he is in process of travelling. Miller includes Ben ‘glancing at his watch’ showing possibly more haste and business – like characteristics of this character, without this visual input it would be nearly impossible to show the subtle differences and the more obvious ones, in the characters of willy and Ben.
It appears that Miller has set out plans of each character’s items very carefully and thought has been made well ahead of the writing taking place. Each prop will have their own place in telling a story and the membership is made to be quite apparent and obvious even if you were asked to guess who they belonged too, in doing this Miller has succeeded in making each character a ‘main’ character because they appear so life – like. The same goes with the sets, each scene that requires a new setting has been gifted with precise instructions and detailed passages of how to achieve this, they stay consistent when returning to the scenes and they also hold place in quick and easy identification of rooms, Miller has provided the readers and audience with the means to enjoy the play because they don’t need to imagine any detail of the play themselves, he has given all the detail and it is down to a reader or an audience member to just piece them together and allows more focus on a story that is being told. It appears also to not only add ease to the digestion of the storyline but helps to keep the gravitas of the sorrowing moments in the play, by adding emotion to the scenes and characters the saddening scenes do not lose any of the seriousness and should appear in the mind of the reader as Miller felt they should.
Need another point and a conclusion.
