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

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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How do the dramatic techniques use in the play help the audience to understand the importance of Shirley's transformation? You should refer to the significance of the play's social and historical (settings, attitudes to women

SHIRLEY VALENTINE TASK: HOW DO THE DRAMATIC TECHNIQUES USE IN THE PLAY HELP THE AUDIENCE TO UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF SHIRLEY'S TRANSFORMATION? YOU SHOULD REFER TO THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PLAY'S SOCIAL AND HISTORICAL (SETTINGS, ATTITUDES TO WOMEN, ATTITUDES TO MARRIAGE, EXPECTATIONS OF LIFE, ETC) CONTEXT AND THE LITERARY CONTEXT (KITCHEN-SINK DRAMA, COMEDY, TRAGEDY, DRAMA, ETC). The play 'Shirley Valentine' was written by Willy Russell. Russell was born in 1976, near Liverpool. He left school when he was fifteen and did a variety of jobs before becoming a writer. Originally he used to be a songwriter, performing in his late teens. By the time he was twenty he decided to become a playwright rather than his desired option of teaching. In his first eighteen months schools loved his work and he decided that he was successful enough to do it fulltime. "Shirley Valentine", is the story of a middle age woman living in Liverpool and her change in life. Russell explores the usage of different dramatic techniques to tell a complex story. We the audience are in contact with Shirley from the beginning, because she talks to the camera. This forms a friendship between Shirley and the audience. We become her confidante. Other dramatic techniques used by the playwright are the use of Flashbacks and Voiceovers. In flashbacks Shirley would be doing something and would drift off talking

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Economic comparisons of First world countries and their GDP.

3. I would classify Italy as a first world country because of it's fairly high GNP. Greece would be a developing nation because of it's fairly high IMR and low GNP. 4. Social - In both Greece and Italy there is an importance and tradition up held with family. In Italy, for example, the family comes first. Historically families have ruled over Italy such as the Sforzas of Milan and the Gonzagas of Mantua. Even today, escpecially in Sicily and Palermo, feuds between families arupt and break into fights, hence the Mafia was formed which is controlled by superior families. Although, in Italy, modern life is starting to break up the family trait, it is still a great pleasure to congregate with other family relations for a large meal. Just like the Italians, Greeks also eat with their familes, usually extended by grandparents living with them. Yet in Greece they tend to eat their lunch later than they do in Italy. In Greece a typical day would include waking up at 6:30, working / going to school from 8:00 until 2:30 when the family returns home to have lunch ( the main meal) together. Lunch finishes at 3:30 and then its time for at snooze until 5:00. At 5:30 Dad returns to work until 10:00. Whilst dad is working mother and children relax by watching television until 10:00 when father returns and dinner is had. After dinner the family relaxes until 11:00 when its time for bed.

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  • Level: GCSE
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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.

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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How Shirley changes in coarse of the play, and how the play is organized to show the importance of these changes?

Essay- How Shirley changes in coarse of the play, and how the play is organized to show the importance of these changes? The screenplay "Shirley Valentine" is written by Willy Russell and is set in Liverpool and Greece. It tells the story of a middle aged women who is sadly reflecting on her life as the bored and fed up housewife, and the various opportunities she let go when she was growing up as a teenager in Liverpool. It is mainly about how Shirley feels about her life and how she feels about her married life, how it is so boring and monotonous. We see in flashbacks what her life was like before marriage and at the start of marriage. She had a dream to travel around the world as an airhostess and so she regrets giving up her education. Later as she gets the bravery she takes her chance to go to Greece and she builds up her self-esteem. She takes the opportunity to go and change her life. In this essay I'm going to write about how Shirley changes in coarse of play and how the structure shows the importance of these changes. Shirley was a very lonely women, I noticed that as soon as I read the first page... "Hello wall", this showed me that she didn't have any one around her to talk to or no one to turn to; Shirley was alone. I think that was an important line to start the play with because it gave me a hint about Shirley's life, it also kept me in suspense about what

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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

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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

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How does Shirley change in the course of the play and how is the play organised to show the importance of these changes.

HOW DOES SHIRLEY CHANGE IN THE COURSE OF THE PLAY AND HOW IS THE PLAY ORGANISED TO SHOW THE IMPORTANCE OF THESE CHANGES. BY DHARMESH BHUDIA "Shirley Valentine" was primarily written as a monologue to express the emotions of a bored middle-aged housewife. The monologue was originally performed by the actress Pauline Collins. The monologue was adapted by Willy Russell and converted into a screenplay. Willy Russell kept most of the original devices such as the voiceovers and the flashbacks to narrate the story. Furthermore he added other character to the screenplay. Willy Russell was born in Liverpool in 1974 and left school at the age of fifteen. The play had some resemblance on Russell's childhood and the surroundings he was brought up in. "Shirley Valentine" is the journey of a tedious middle-aged housewife who try's to break away from her inescapable routine, lifeless marriage. She is trying to find her true self. She is searching for 'Shirley Valentine'. The purpose of this essay is to analyse the changes that Shirley goes through in the course of the play and how Willy Russell illustrates the importance of these changes. Willy Russell perceptively uses cinematic device to help the audience understand what Shirley is going through and to help us as the audience and reader to sympathise with her. Using techniques such as flashbacks and conversing to the audience makes us

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How does the dramatic technique used in the play help the audience to understand the importance of Shirleys transformation?

How does the dramatic technique used in the play help the audience to understand the importance of Shirley's transformation? Shirley Bradshaw the main character in the play is a housewife in a working class environment. Unable to stand the monotonous lifestyle she is forced to live in she embarks on a journey to rediscover herself. She does this by going to Greece, searching for a new life and adventure. Willy Russell uses dramatic techniques to symbolise the importance of Shirley's transformation. He uses devices such as voiceovers, flashbacks, dramatic monologue and humour these help portray Shirley's opinions, beliefs and it also helps by finding her aspiration. By the end of the screen play the audience will see Shirley as a woman who has fulfilled her dreams and achievement as she no longer will be the depressed dutiful house wife. Similarly Willy Russell was born into a working class family like Shirley. He was born in Liverpool in the year 1974. He left school at the age of fifteen much like the character of Shirley, who also left school early because she had no hopes in her academic career. This may have been due to stereotypical views that came with living in Liverpool in the 1960s especially for working class people. Another reason can be that students from working class families were not encouraged to pursue their academic careers. Russell had an opportunity to

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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,

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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