Arthur Miller was one of the most important American playwrights and political and cultural figures of the 20th century. Both Death of a Salesman and The Crucible stand out as his major works: the former is always in performance somewhere in the world and the latter is Miller's most produced play. As major modern American dramas, they are the subject of a huge amount of criticism which can be daunting for students approaching the plays for the first time. This Reader's Guide introduces the major critical debates surrounding the plays and discusses their unique production histories, initial theatre reviews and later adaptations. The main trends of critical inquiry and scholars who have purported them are examined, as are the views of Miller himself, a prolific self-critic.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning tragedy of a salesman’s deferred American dream Ever since it was first performed in 1949, Death of a Salesman has been recognized as a milestone of the American theater. In the person of Willy Loman, the aging, failing salesman who makes his living riding on a smile and a shoeshine, Arthur Miller redefined the tragic hero as a man whose dreams are at once insupportably vast and dangerously insubstantial. He has given us a figure whose name has become a symbol for a kind of majestic grandiosity—and a play that compresses epic extremes of humor and anguish, promise and loss, between the four walls of an American living room. "By common consent, this is one of the finest dramas in the whole range of the American theater." —Brooks Atkinson, The New York Times "So simple, central, and terrible that the run of playwrights would neither care nor dare to attempt it." —Time

THE STORY: As Howard Taubman outlines the play: At the outset Quentin emerges, moves forward and seats himself on the edge of the stage and begins to talk, like a man confiding in a friend. In the background are key figures in his life, and they m

Presents roughly sixty years' worth of Arthur Miller scholarship, offering a range of interpretations and critical responses to the playwright's work.

I. CONFLICT DEFINEDThe theme of a literary work may be defined as the generalization about life based on the results of the conflict in the work. The Tragedy is the most serious form of literature. So 'conflict' is one of the most essential aspects of the work of literature in general and the tragedy in particular.In Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary of Current English 'conflict' is defined as the 'opposition or difference of opinions, desires, etc.' Conflict can be internal or external. This is to say that conflict can be inside the mind of the character concerned, for example, the one between 'duty' and 'desire' in the mind of the character. Similarly there can be difference in the opinions of two different characters.

A Student Handbook to the Plays of Arthur Miller provides the essential guide to Miller's most studied and revived dramas. Authored by a team of leading scholars, it offers students a clear analysis and detailed commentary on five of Miller's plays: All My Sons, Death of a Salesman, The Crucible, A View from the Bridge and Broken Glass. A consistent framework of analysis ensures that whether readers want a summary of the play, a commentary on the themes or characters, or a discussion of the work in performance, they can readily find what they need to develop their understanding and aid their appreciation of Miller's artistry. A chronology of Miller's life and work helps to situate his oeuvre in context and the introduction reinforces this by providing a clear overview of his writing, its recurrent themes and how these are intertwined with his life and times. For each play the author provides a summary of the plot, followed by commentary on the context, themes, characters, structure and language, and the play in production - both on stage and screen adaptations; there are questions for further study and detailed notes on words and phrases in the text. The wealth of authoritative and clear commentary on each play, together with further questions that encourage comparison across Miller's work and related plays by other leading writers, ensures that this is the clearest and fullest guide to Miller's greatest plays.

Arthur Miller was one of the major American dramatists of the twentieth century, clearly ranking with other truly great American playwrights, including Eugene O’Neill, Tennessee Williams, and Edward Albee. The centennial of Miller’s birth in New York City on October 17, 1915 was celebrated around the world with a panoply of staged productions, theatrical events, media documentaries, and academic conferences. Miller earned his reputation during a career of more than seventy years, in which he achieved critical success in the 1940s and 1950s with the dramas All My Sons, Death of a Salesman, The Crucible and A View from the Bridge. He was also notable for his refusal to “name names at his appearance before the House Un-American Activities Committee”, his marriage to the film actress Marilyn Monroe, and his spell as president of the literary organization, International P.E.N. Arthur Miller was not only a literary giant, but also one of the more significant political, cultural, and social figures of his time. He was a man of conviction and integrity who frequently took stands, popular and unpopular, on the ethical issues that engaged societies throughout the world. This collection includes eclectic essays from Miller scholars who provide detailed discussions of text and performance, of Miller as a political and cultural figure, and of his connection to other playwrights. The contributions explore the trajectory of Miller’s career, his most famous and frequently produced works, such as Death of a Salesman and The Crucible, the dramas of his later career, and his fiction. The collection appeals to a broad American and international audience and a cross-section of readers, including undergraduates, graduates, emerging scholars, drama and theatre specialists, as well as theatre-goers who flock to revivals of Miller’s plays.