How does Willy Russell make the audience sympathise with Shirley Valentine?
How does Willy Russell make the audience sympathise with Shirley Valentine? In this essay I will be exploring how Willy Russell, the author of the play 'Shirley Valentine', makes us sympathise with his main characters. Russell himself comes from a working class background and was born in Liverpool which is where half the play was set. He started of as a hairdresser and from here he got an insight into women's life .He started to attend night class on drama and this is where he picked up his love for script writing. After this he began to write comical songs and then he began to write scripts. His first play 'Blind Scouse' was premiered at Edinburgh festival and then in 1990 he wrote 'Shirley Valentine'. Kitchen sink drama deals with working class people and their everyday lives, and this is related with Shirley as this play deals with her everyday life. Kitchen sink drama relates with 'Shirley Valentine' in many aspects and this play may be influenced by kitchen sink drama. Therefore, Russell's past experiences of him growing up in a feminine household has influenced this play by being the basis of Shirley's aspects on life. It also concerns working class lives, social problems and relationships. Willy Russell invite us to feel sympathy for Shirley by portraying her as a person with many hopes and need unrealised. For instance, how she is treated by her husband almost
Dicussing 'Shirley Valentine' by Willy Russell.
Shirley Valentine In 'Shirley Valentine' Willy Russell presents the transformation of a stifled middle-aged women. The dramatic techniques used in play help the audience to understand the importance of Shirley's transformation were monologues, flashbacks and voiceovers. At the end of the play the audience would be pleased for Shirley for the reason that she has changed so much and she is very happy because she can make a start to her life. The play, Shirley valentine was written by Willy Russell. His life experiences influenced through the play. He couldn't work in many places because he wasn't a qualified person. As Shirley was a housewife she couldn't work anywhere. Willy Russell bring into being play writing and he enjoyed it. Shirley went Greece and found a job they're which she loves doing. Willy Russell worked in a Saloon so he would have in sighting about the lives of women. This play is influenced by kitchen sink drama, this play is about Shirley who is an example of a stereo typical house wife, working class woman, she does things like shopping, cleaning, cooking and taking care of the children and so on. Shirley is also an example of a pessimistic woman who is constantly thinking that disappointing things are going to occur. Russell Satirise feminism in the play through Jane's attitude, saying men are only after one thing, which is sex, "Jane - All men are
Shirley Valentine-how does Russel encourage the audience to feel sympathy for Shirley?
How does Russell encourage the audience to feel sympathy for Shirley? Willy Russell is the playwright of "Shirley Valentine". Shirley is a disheartened and lonesome middle-aged women going through a period of slow awakening, and along the way having to look after her rather insular and unappreciative husband. We see how people around Shirley treated her differently. Russell uses various dramatic devices, such as flashbacks, dramatic monologue and voiceover. These devices help us to encourage the audience to feel sympathy for Shirley. Willy Russell, an acknowledged playwright, has written several plays, one of them is "Shirley Valentine". He was born in Liverpool, which is the same place where Shirley is lived. Willy Russell left school at the age of 15, which gives him an idea of life without educational qualifications. Throughout six years of his career he was the owner of a hair salon, which tremendously influenced the play; For instance, he was constantly around 'working class women', which gave him a natural instinct of how these ladies were day in day out and how would they feel working in this condition. Therefore, Russell's past experiences of him growing up in a feminine household has influenced this play by being the basis of Shirley's aspects on life. Unfortunately, he only managed to obtain one O level in English. This demonstrated that he had lack of education,
How does Willy Russell use dramatic devices to explore the issues and themes of Shirley Valentine?
Rebecca Witterick How does Willy Russell use dramatic devices to explore the issues and themes of Shirley Valentine? Willy Russell uses many different dramatic devices to explore the issues and themes of the play 'Shirley Valentine'. One of the main themes is change, Russell explores and portrays this issue using several dramatic techniques, particularly flashbacks, stereotypes and contrast. In the opening scenes of the play, Shirley is a stereotypical housewife. Her daily routine is cooking and running after her husband, Joe. Like most of the important characters in 'Shirley Valentine' Joe is also a stereotype. He is a chauvinistic male who expects his wife to be there to serve and respect him. His old-fashioned ways make him believe that he is the breadwinner, therefore, when he comes home in the evening, Shirley should treat him with superior respect. Shirley is also expected to be a servant for her spoilt daughter Millandra, a stereotype who does not respect or care for her mother. Jane is Shirley's best friend, who became the stereotypical feminist after her husband left her. Being a man-loathing feminist, however is simply a facade for Jane to hide behind. This enlightens the audience on how some people may use stereotypes to protect their real identity and personality in order to prevent getting hurt, like Jane had been before. Marjorie's stereotype changes.
Shirley Valentine - How does Shirley change in the course of the play, and how is the play organised to show the importance of these changes?
Shirley Valentine- Coursework How does Shirley change in the course of the play, and how is the play organised to show the importance of these changes? The talented Liverpool play writer Willy Russell wrote Shirley Valentine the popular contemporary play. Shirley Valentine was originally a dramatic solo monologue performed by Pauline Collins and uses many of the devices form the solo version. This essay analyses the changes in the life of the central female character. You see a frustrated, stereo typical, middle-aged woman who is emancipated from the kitchen sink and determined to achieve the childhood dreams she didn't fulfil in the early part of her life. In this voyage we see Shirley's life as she sees it and follow her story as she tells it. The author focuses on her past, present and future and in doing so, explores her relationship with other characters and the situations using devices such as flashback, which ultimately lead to her changes. Willy Russell's use of cinematic devices give the audience insight into Shirley's mind and her feelings. Other devices used are different types of comedy e.g. irony. Voice-overs are also types of devices Willy Russell uses where by characters talk over another scene or over lay it. Voice-overs and voice to camera are used since everything Shirley says is being reported. What she reports is the truth, but not the literal truth.
Shirley Valentine
The play Shirley Valentine was set in the 80's. The main character is a woman named Shirley Valentine. She is a housewife that lives in Liverpool. She gets married; this marriage turns bad over the years. Shirley seeks a better life and goes to Greece. She has an affair and Joe comes over to speak to Shirley. My scene is at the end of the play. It is set by the sea, outside Costas's taverna. My extra scene is about Joe speaking to Shirley, explaining that he has changed. Shirley says something that sparks Joe off. Joe gets in a rage, Shirley is angry and storms off. Joe is left crying on the table. In my extra scenes, the themes from earlier in the play that I am focusing are, 'marriage', 'the grass is greener syndrome' and 'the way in which men communicate'. These are relevant to my scene because the whole scene is about Shirley and Joe's marriage. The theme 'marriage' and 'the way in which men communicate' are demonstrated in the play when Shirley and Joe's marriage starts off as a good marriage where they are both pleasant to each other and Joe is speaking in a admirable way. This is demonstrated in the play when Shirley has a flashback of her early marriage years, when she and Joe are decorating the house and they end up in the bath together. Joe says: "I love you . . . Shirley Valentine." (16) This shows that Joe was kind and loving towards Shirley at the beginning
Shirley Valentine
Shirley Valentine coursework Coursework Question How do the dramatic techniques used in the play help the audience to understand the importance of Shirley's transformation? In the play written by Willy Russell 'Shirley Valentine', Shirley transforms from a quiet middle aged woman to a confident and changed woman. She transformed from a housewife doing domestic chores all day to a confident, relaxed and more appealing woman. Russell uses dramatic techniques to show these changes: flashbacks show recent events of her life, and voice overs allows us to hear her true feelings, by this we are invited to her own world, where she thinks what she likes. The audience will see Shirley in different points of views, this will happen because of the voice over and the flashbacks, which help us, to see more of life and what she has been through. The use of dramatic monologue/direct address to the audience, helps the audience understand her opinions and feelings, as if they are with Shirley through out the play. The dramatic monologue helps the audience with the voice overs and flashbacks, and helps us to understand Shirley's true thoughts and feelings. The play was written by Willy Russell; he was born in 1947 and raised in Liverpool. Russell was brought up in a working class family. He writes about his early adult experiences, by working as a ladies hair dresser and always hearing
shirley valentine
How does Russell encourage the audience to feel sympathy for Shirley Valentine? Shirley Valentine How does Willy Russell use dramatic devices to allow the audience to see many different sides of Shirley Valentine's personality? Willy Russell is the playwright of Shirley Valentine. The play develops around one central character, Shirley, a housewife from Liverpool. The audience first meet Shirley sadly reflecting on her life. The play shows how the leading character changes dramatically throughout the course of the play. The first half of the play sees Shirley as a lonely but cynical, dependent human being. As the play progresses, the audience hears about Shirley's dream. Shortly after her dream becomes reality. In the second half of the play, Shirley finds herself on a Greek island, away from her husband, Joe. Shirley's character begins to change as she meets Costas. She becomes independent and confident. In this essay I will answer the question by using quotations to back up my ideas, analysing the language that is used, commenting on the Shirley Valentine and the themes of the screenplay also linking the context to my ideas throughout my essay. The author of Shirley Valentine, Willy Russell was born in Whiston, Liverpool. He left school at the age of 16 (similar to Shirley) with 1 'o' level. He went into hairdressing but always dreamed of being a writer.
Shirley Valentine
Shirley Valentine It is a fairly common prediction that everyone in our society goes through what is called a "midlife crises". A time of re-evaluation of the life one has led and a rebellion or abrupt change in life. To compensate for the banality of one's existence one takes a divergent step out of their paradigm and try something new in order to recapture their fleeting youth. We have been given two versions of this idea from a male and female perspective in two different movies. "American Beauty" focuses on a male character to address his midlife crises while "Shirley Valentine" focuses on a female character to address her midlife crises. Though they both address the same theme or idea it is attempted in very different ways. "American Beauty" is a socially conscious drama that hopes to sober us from meaningless materialism and to tap us back into the small beautiful things that we are likely to forget in life. "Shirley Valentine" provides us with a comedic look into the main character's life as she takes the frightening step out of the life that she allowed herself to fall into. These two movies stress essentially the same point though they work from opposite ends of the spectrum to achieve the goal of entertaining you while you are reacquainted with the beauty of life. We are given main characters in each of the movies that find themselves in lives that they are not
Shirley Valentine. How does Russell invite the audience to sympathise with Shirley?
Shirley Valentine Essay How does Russell invite the audience to sympathise with Shirley? This essay will examine how Willy Russell uses a variety of devices to make the audience sympathise with Shirley Valentine. Shirley Valentine is about a middle aged housewife who is fed up with her life and finds herself talking to the wall while she prepares her husband's chips 'n' egg. But when her best friend wins an all-expenses-paid vacation to Greece for two, Shirley begins to see the world, and herself, in a different light. Flashbacks, monologues and voice-overs are all used to make the audience empathise with Shirley and think she is the heroine of the play as she changes for the better. Willy Russell wrote Shirley Valentine and was influenced by his experiences of middle aged women. He was born in Whiston, which is approximately 8 miles away from Liverpool in 1947. Willy Russell left school at fifteen with only 1 O-level this is similar with Shirley. When he left school he first became a ladies hairdresser. He worked there for six years and he said this helped him become "a good listener". His job as a women's hairdresser helped him to write Shirley Valentine as he based the character on the lives of other middle-aged women with similar lives. Kitchen sink drama influenced the play as it focuses on working class life and social realism. This type of drama emerged in the