Shirley Valentine.
Shirley Valentine Essay Originally 'Shirley Valentine' was a sensational monologue performed by Pauline Collins. Willy Russell wrote it as a screenplay about a tedious and lone some middle-aged woman's story who is trapped in her marriage. She has the utter extravagant opportunity to escape from this miserable life of hers to go and search for the real 'Shirley Valentine'. During this journey we are shown the different stages of her life as she sees them. Russell has used devices such as flashbacks and voiceovers to make the screen play more interesting for the audience to understand. These devices play a big role in the structure of the play. This essay illuminates Shirley's transformation and how the formation of the play shows this. Russell has used a wide range of cinematic devices. This allows the audience to understand Shirley in a more better interesting and effective way. We are shown credits before the start. They overlay pictures of more domestic activities which any typical house wife would have to do. For example gardening and cleaning. We also hear a soundtrack which gives a negative feeling because of it's sympathetic mood. This gives us a clue about the film and also introduces the idea of regret. The lyrics describe some one who is not appeased and satisfied. This would make us think that the movie is about Shirley and her unsatisfied life. The film opens
Shirley Valentine
"Shirley Valentine" English Coursework Willy Russell's Shirley Valentine is a romantic comedy, set in Liverpool, about a woman called (Surprisingly) Shirley Bradshaw. She is married to a man called Joe. When Joe and Shirley were married, they loved each other passionately, but as the years went on her life became a routine of washing up plates, glasses and dishes and making meals for her husband. She has resorted to talking to the kitchen wall because she is bored and has no one to socialize with. Shirley though, can never remember the exact point in which her amorous marriage turned into a horrible nightmare. Her marriage becomes so routine that Joe eats particular meals on particular days and if he does not get them on the right allocated days he has a tantrum! The play is influenced by kitchen sink drama, which was around during the late 1950 to 1960.It was a straight realism with a focus on working- class life, social problem relationships. Many kitchen sink dramas didn't have a pessimistic atmosphere that pervades the play with characters trapped in realistic social situation. The title sequence and opening scenes help to establish Shirley's character, by demonstrating atmosphere background and expressions. Moreover, there is a lot we can deduce from images. Firstly there are sketches in the opening of the film which instinctively grabs the audience's attention
Shirley Valentine
SHIRLEY VALENTINE HOW DO THE DRAMATIC TECHNIQUES USED IN THE PLAY HELP THE AUDIENCE TO UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF SHIRLEY'S TRANSFORMATION? The play, 'Shirley Valentine', written by Willy Russell tells the story of Shirley Valentine's life, showing her character transformation from Shirley Bradshaw to Shirley Valentine, it is a play about a stifled middle-aged woman who finds relief abroad from her tedious, routine lifestyle in Liverpool. The dramatic techniques used by Will Russell in the play help the audience comprehend the importance of Shirley's transformation. In this circumstance, it's Shirley Valentine and her life. Other dramatic devices used are, voice over, flashbacks, dramatic monologue, pathetic fallacy as well as others. These devices help us to understand Shirley's character and with this it easier to understand how Shirley has changed Willy Russell's authorial context is seen through the character of 'Shirley Valentine' and his past experiences of him growing up in a feminine household has influenced this play by being the basis of Shirley's aspects on life. The social historical context is also from Russell, Russell coming from a working class background and him being 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 womens life .He started to attend night class on drama and this
shirley valentine
How does Willy Russell invite the audience to sympathise with Shirley Valentine? 'Shirley Valentine' by Willy Russell is about a lower class woman who lost her fun loving self when she got married and found that no one really loves her. Throughout the screenplay she is on a metaphorical journey to find love again and in doing so, finding herself. He attempts to encourage us to sympathise with Shirley throughout the screenplay; he uses a variety of devices which help us to sympathise such as the use of flashbacks - so we understand about her past, the setting, his use of language, her actions, the way the monologue is used, the music and others. These techniques will be discussed in detail throughout this essay and other ideas such as reasons as to why he wrote this screen play was written. The setting of 'Shirley Valentine' is in Liverpool, a poor industrial area in Britain, this starts to make us sympathise with Shirley because we can see from that, that she must be having a hard life. Russell was born near Liverpool and was brought up with a family which held a tradition of storytelling. This shows that from a young age, he was able to create stories easily. Russell left school when he was only fifteen and had only been able to achieve one 'O level'; he was not a very academic person, just like Shirley. He later, influenced by his mother, became a women's hairdresser and