He subtly creates a climatic and dramatic play with details that may be overlooked if not examined closely enough. While changing Abigail's age may appear to be an insignificant change in The Crucible, Arthur Miller's reasons for making this change shed light on both history and the play. According to William J. McGill Jr., Arthur Miller changed Abigail's age to make a more dramatic story possible. McGill states that "Abigail Williams, the prime mover of the Salem hysteria had been the house servant of the Proctors, developed an adulterous relationship with John Proctor to avoid an 'inartistic danger' of making an entirely innocent character suffer" (259). If John Proctor had an affair with a different person, it would not have been as impactful to the story.
Back in the 1600s Shakespeare wrote plays that would specifically please the Monarch, as there was more pressure to gain acceptance; his comical plays would restore Social Class in the form of marriage. Abigail's Party fails to follow this structure that is used even in modern plays and films, which is why I refer to it as a Social Tragedy, where the social class was broken. Like in Shakespeare's Tragedy 'Romeo and Juliet' the two lovers are married, then torn apart by death as a consequence of a conflicting social class, this can be loosely mirrored in Abigail's Party. A typical example within the play of an unhappy marriage would involve Beverly and Lawrence. Though they are married, which implies a certain amount of love and a strong relationship, they seem to fail at every part of the stereotypical marriage.
Another writer who uses dramatic irony effectively is William Shakespeare. One play in which Shakespeare uses dramatic irony often and to great effect is in Romeo and Juliet. Without the use of dramatic irony, the dramatic end to the play could never have occurred: ‘A pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life; Whose misadventur’d piteous overthrows Doth with their death bury their parents’ strife.’ This example of dramatic irony is taken from the chorus before the start of the play. After hearing the chorus, the audience knows the basic outline of the whole play, whereas the characters are left in the dark. Another example of dramatic irony in Romeo and Juliet is in Act 1 Scene 5 after the Capulet ball, when Juliet says to the nurse: ‘Go ask his name.
How does Priestley use language to show how Shelia changes over the course of the play? In “An Inspector Calls” J.B.Priestley uses sarcasm and contrasting thoughts to present Sheila Birling's change during the play in order to reflect some of his own ideas. Sheila is one of the few characters in the play who changes the most in terms of views on social responsibility. Priestley was writing this play after a great time in change of the class system, after the Second World War, thus Priestley purposefully chose to present Sheila in this way to show the audience that her change should influence them to change their views too. Priestley presents Sheila at the start of the play as an immature girl who follows the tradition of her parents and expectations of daughters of that time.
But how it flashed upon her, if he could do something worthy to have won her – be a hero, her hero—it would be even better if he had done it before asking her; it would be grander. Besides, she believed in the war from the beginning” (Howells 372). At the very beginning one can see Editha’s desire for a hero. In her mind she sees a young man fresh from battle surviving only for her. She maybe imagines
Evaluate the ways in which the playwright of your set text presents important ideas in the play. Can being too prideful be your downfall? Does fate limit your paths? Does fate and free will work hand in hand to make an individual’s destiny? Can those who see really be the blind one?
The play is about Macbeth who is a brave solider and a patriot but he hears some prophecies. These prophecies cause Macbeth to pursue murderous goals her wouldn't have considered before. Macbeth's wife, Lady Macbeth, is the main fuel behind Macbeth's change. She pushes him into doing things and doesn't seem to have a conscience about what she makes her husband do. Shakespeare liked to use the technique of changing his characters in his plays.
Conclusion You should write a paragraph which relates back to the question about the effect of the dramatic devices in Act One on an audience. Some ideas you could comment on are: • how the playwright changes your opinion of the Birlings during Act One; • the methods Priestley uses to interest and involve the audience; • what you think the playwright’s message and why it is still relevant today. GCSE Coursework Unit: Twentieth Century Drama An Inspector Calls. J.B. Priestley. | ‘ I was a story teller … social commentator … humanist philosopher, at least in my own estimation.’ J.B. Priestley.
Both events contained false accusations, wrongly gained power, and a breakout of mass hysteria. Arthur Miller hoped that his novel would reveal the mistakes society was currently making in the 1950’s and allow society to fix them. Rather or not we improved because of him specifically depends on who you ask, but a better question may be, will it happen
Johns 6 Anne Marie Johns Mr. Daniel Boudreau ENG 4U2-03 09 December 2012 King Creon and King Claudius: Laws are Meant to be Broken King Creon and King Claudius both show that they are good villains within their characters of the plays in “Antigone” by Jean Anouilh and “The Tragedy of Hamlet Prince of Denmark” by William Shakespeare. A villain is someone who overshadows the hero, has a negative effect on characters, is intelligent, and knows how to use resources to their advantage. In the play, King Creon and King Claudius are both essentially decent characters despite being villains. They both have nations they have to be responsible for, love their families and also try to be honourable and loyal to their protagonists even if their