The structure of the play is quite simple. Miller used the two acts to mark a division in Eddie's story: in the first act, he tries to keep Catherine from falling in love with Rodolpho. In the second, he finds he has failed in this, and first throws Rodolpho out of the house, then tries to have him deported as an illegal immigrant, which provokes the fatal confrontation with Marco, as Eddie tries to recover his name. Within each act are clear episodes, five in each with interludes of comment and narration from Alfieri which mark where each begins and ends. Alfieri’s comments are critical to the dramatic build up of the play, they create anticipation, uncertainty and therefore great interest in what is to follow. The structure of the play is also important to the content of the performance. The events of Act I are mirrored in Act II, although in a more serious manner. For instance, the recital of ‘Paper Doll’ by Rodolfo early in Act I have significance later on, being the record to which the ‘couple’ dances to (in direct defiance of Eddie.)The end of Act one prepares the audience for what is to come in Act 2, At the end of the first Act, Marco is holding a chair over Eddie showing physical defiance, in Act two this is mirrored with mental defiance as Marco is abhorred by Eddie's betrayal. This creates tension and pathos, evoking strong feelings of pity and sorrow within the audience.
In Greek tragedy the chorus (in this case Alfieri) informs the audience of events throughout the performance, narrate off-stage happenings such as "." Alfieri commentates on the characters; tell the audience what to think and even what is going to happen. By giving details of place, date or time, he enables the action to move swiftly from one episode to another, without the characters having to give this information. The ability to control the pace of the play is important and helps create high moments of tension. Towards the end of act one Alfieri states" I could see every step coming….l knew where he was heading for' and so prepares us for the inability of Eddie to let Catherine go. We know from his expressions that something bad is soon to follow.
Miller skillfully mixes information with brief comment, at the start of the play Alfieri says of a similar situation to this “sat there as powerless as I and watched it run its bloody course.” This makes the audience expect a tragic outcome to be resolved in blood. This specific phrase shows that Alfieri is predicting the play or telling the play in a flashback which indicates his importance in it as a narrator. The audience shares this perspective which heightens their sympathy for the other characters of the play as their story is told in what is in a series of flashbacks. Despite Alfieri’s help however, the events that follow are inevitable and so in Alfieri’s introduction there is a sense of theatrical tension. He tells the audience that his practice is “entirely unromantic,” that his clients are prepared to “settle for half,” but the words “and yet…” in the final paragraph prepare us for something different. In a deliberately awkward and twisted sentence he invokes the past to tell us that the story will be tragic -and then introduces Eddie and so expands on the characters of the performance. This suggests that Alfieri knows what is going to happen and so hints that there will be a tragic ending but does not tell the audience enough information to spoil the play.
He immediately creates the atmosphere - the atmosphere of Red Hook where crime was once set into the very fabric of the neighborhood. Red Hook is the “slum” area in New York in which the play is set. The social context of this place is of a poor community as Alfieri describes it as “the slum that faces the bay seaward side of Brooklyn Bridge.” He comments on that the area “lacks elegance and glamour” and uses phrases such as “the petty troubles of the poor of Sicily.” He gives the impression that family honour and respect are important with the Sicilian community and that there is a great distrust of the American law. Miller has underlined the significance of honour and justice by saying ‘’justice is very important here.” As an audience member you realize that this is potentially a key aspect of the play. It subtly creates apprehension about what will inevitably happen. Therefore, Miller has purposely used Alfieri in order to create dramatic irony here where the audience is in possession of more information than other characters on stage. This makes the audience more involved within the production and thus more interested which is the sole aim of all playwrights. Miller slowly engages the audience with Alfieri’s dramatic introduction and makes them feel anxious.
In his second appearance on page 15 he tells the audience that time has passed. He also, in three sentences, gives an ominous edge to this meeting. Miller uses him to give warning to the audience of the problems ahead, “after they ate, the cousins came,” and to link the two different scenes together, therefore to provide a structural function. He expands on the character of Eddie and gives more description to his working life. Moreover, he explains the themes of manliness and the family values of the community as Eddie “bought home his pay” which was considered of a typical male in post-war America. Here our narrator is describing our tragic hero with compassion, so that we regard him in a kinder light when the plot unfolds.
On page 31-35, Alfieri takes part in the drama as a normal character, but does not abandon his chorus role. He introduces Eddie with a brief speech and links up to the next section with another of his soliloquies. His certainty of disaster communicates itself to the audience. "his eyes were like tunnels; my first thought was that he had committed a crime, but soon I saw it was only a passion that had moved to his body".
We now know that Eddie is tormented by his love for Catherine, a love which is more than a father's love for his daughter. The exchange that then takes place between the two characters discusses the inadequacy of the law to meet everyone's needs…..in particular Eddies need to keep Catherine from marrying Marco.
Consequently, Miller’s message is conveyed through the engaged narrator as he explains that the law is inadequate to meet everyone’s needs: “There’s only one legal question here. Otherwise, there’s nothing else.” When we analyse Eddie’s response to the “only one” legal question we see that he does not finish his sentence, “I mean there must be some kinda law which -” and “It’s breakin’ ma heart, y’know. I -.” Here Miller expands on the themes of the play - law, justice, paternalism and manliness.
Alfieri is a dramatic device in this scene because he heightens the tragedy and the theme of fate (even though he is powerless to prevent the tragic outcome) which creates tension and suspense because the audience anticipates what will occur in the subsequent scenes: “I could see every step coming, step after step.” It depends on the audience’s knowledge that these things will happen and that witnessing them becomes a purging of the emotions, almost like a ceremony. Alfieri uses a dramatic convention to do this by ‘foreshadowing’ where he uses verbal hints that suggest what is to come later.
Alfieri’s epitaph on page 63 brings a close to his dramatic story. He gives his personal account to the viewers as “he turned out to the audience” from a crowd extracting himself from the poignant ending which may suggest, through movement, that he is closer to the audience than the characters on stage. Within this epilogue, it is Eddie who is portrayed to be the hero as his “memory” may not be good but this is a man that was “purely” himself throughout, as he did what was best.
By depicting Italian and Sicilian immigrants, Miller is able to use the characters language to build their personalities and effect bridges between the audience and different characters. Only Alfieri, is an articulate, educated speaker of American English: for this reason he can explain Eddie's actions to us, but not to Eddie, who does not really speak his language.
Alfieri acts as a foil in the play because his education, wealth and prosperity makes obvious the informal, conversational dialogue and struggle of the longshoremen. Foil is a dramatic technique purposely used by a dramatist where a character’s behaviour and values contrast with those of another character in order to “highlight the distinctive temperament of that individual.” Eddie uses a naturalistic Brooklyn slang (“quicker” for “more quickly”, “stole” for “stolen” and so on). His speech is simple, but at the start of the play is more colourful, as he tells Catherine she is “walkin' wavy” and as he calls her “Madonna.” Alfieri's speech is in comparison highly figurative "something perversely pure calls to me from its memory…love him more than all my sensible clients." It appeals to the imagination and provides a new way of looking at an idea.
The stage setting through out the play is the living room and the street outside and we have mentioned the symbolism this represents. By just having one location for the play action, lighting, props and most importantly the actors’ physical gestures and voice changes become important instruments in creating tension, anxiety and drama in the play.
Of all of these action is most important in this play. Because of Eddie's and Marco's limitations as speakers, and because some matters cannot be openly discussed, ideas are often shown in gesture and action. Sometimes this is apparently minor detail, but at times it is highly symbolic. When we see Catherine serve food (page 11) or offer Eddie a beer (page 5) or light a cigar for him (page 15), when we hear of how she sits on the bath as he shaves and walks around in her slip, we are being told about their relationship. Without being lovers, they have the kind of intimacy only lovers should have.
Lighting is also important as characters can remain on stage by just placing them in darkness and lighting another area. This is done most noticeably for all of Alfieri’s speeches. In episode eight of the second act Alfieri counsels Eddie to no avail. Alfieri does not repeat his earlier comment on the only law which can help Eddie, but sees that desperation will lead him to betray Marco and Rodolpho, and repeatedly warns him against it. The “darkness” into which he follows Eddie may symbolize Eddie's being in the dark morally and psychologically. The glowing of the phone booth clearly indicates in visual theatrical terms how the idea first occurs to Eddie, then becomes irresistible: he will betray his country men.
One could also argue that Alfieri represents the voice of reason and therefore the light in Eddies life, if only he followed it.
To conclude Miller uses Alfieri, to explain the themes of justice, the law, loyalty and tragedy; to ensure the audiences understanding and their enjoyment of the play, and to act as a dramatic device which is seen as his role within the ‘A View From The Bridge. Arthur Miller has not drawn Alfieri as a ‘full’ character even though there are times when we sympathize for his predicament of being powerless to stop the events in the tragedy. Alfieri’s role is to oversee the action and remains objective throughout. The audience can see, at the end of the play, that Alfieri does have sympathy for Eddie and even soon admiration for him because “he has allowed himself to be wholly known.” And there finally, we have Alfieri’s most important role. He offers the audience universal concepts to think about as they leave the theatre.
