yii yann Posted April 30, 2013 Report Share Posted April 30, 2013 Hello people, So we're a couple of days away from paper 2 of english literature. I have also just found out, that you're meant to compare the dramatic techniques (like sound, light, dramatic irony, how sympathy is created, etc..) a lot, as opposed to anything else. Let's pool our resources regarding the plays in the title? In effect, we are sharing answers, as they are bound to ask about dramatic techniques.What're the links you guys feel exist between Streetcare, death of a salesman and medea? I'll be adding some stuff later too! (As soon as I try to do some revision on the books Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brodia18 Posted April 30, 2013 Report Share Posted April 30, 2013 If anyone has anything on Death of a Salesman, Glengarry Glenn Ross and The Glass Menagerie, I would LOVE any help at all!! I hate that there are no past papers we can look at for this exam, does anyone know where one could find a sample paper? Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Award Winning Boss Posted April 30, 2013 Report Share Posted April 30, 2013 Blanche and Willy are both crazy chicken sticks that don't know how to live in the present. I have proof.In scene 9 Blanche says to Mitch "I like big men and I cannot tell a lie" HOWEVER we can see in scene 6 she tells Eunice that she's 'always appreciated a small man that makes big strides in their life'. She's a bit of a coconut really. Firstly she wants security and then she wants sex then she wants paper lanterns then she starts talking to herself, then she uses really long sentences to show that she is an English teacher because we all know that not even Poe could do her justice in bed. If I recall correctly, the 17 year old in scene 2 had to run away from Blanche after she made some extremely sexual advances on him. I found that scene hilarious.Willy Loman is a bit of a low man (geddit?!?!?!?! oh Miller, you so smart) but he tries to become a successful man again by planting his seeds in Linda. BUT NOTHING GROWS HERE ANYMORE MATE I think it's because the woods burnt away like 50 years ago... 3 years after Happy was born. Miller utilises flashbacks to fill in the gaps of Willy's life whereas Williams uses monolouges and vivid sex scenes to let us know more about Blanche. For example, when she took blows to her face and body she lost excitement in her life but in scene 12 she's wearing scuffed slippers which let's us know she doesn't clean her clothes properly. And guess what.. neither does Linda. She's always sewing stuff because she's gained loads of weight.Mate, the links are all there. The plays are so similar that it's almost like they were written by the same person! 2 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IBisfunjustkidding Posted April 30, 2013 Report Share Posted April 30, 2013 Does anyone think that there are similarities between The Crucible, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and A Man for All Seasons? Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
yii yann Posted April 30, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 30, 2013 @Award winning boss: If only I could write that for my exam! What about the use of music? I've noticed that the "Blue piano" often has sexual overtones, similar to the use of the raw, sensuous music that accompanies The Woman. Also, what do you guys think of the idea that the music heard by Blanche is very similar to the time shifts experienced by Willy - they both serve to as devices for characterization, often evoke sympathy, and the Varsouviana tends to "bring" Blanche back to the past, similar to the time shift that Willy has. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aditya Chawla Posted April 30, 2013 Report Share Posted April 30, 2013 (edited) Perhaps you could talk about the physical stage itself, the references of Willy feeling "boxed in," and the small confined space of the Kowalski home? Edited April 30, 2013 by Aditya Chawla Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
yii yann Posted April 30, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 30, 2013 Oh that's a good idea. It'd be a good link to the whole old vs new America theme! Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamal102 Posted May 1, 2013 Report Share Posted May 1, 2013 Hey Awarding Winning Boss. Do you have any more links between the two plays .? Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Fiorella Posted May 1, 2013 Report Share Posted May 1, 2013 I'm doing "Things fall apart", "The Sun also rises" and "The Awakening" as my novels for this so if anyone wants to swap/discuss ideas message me! Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hens48 Posted May 1, 2013 Report Share Posted May 1, 2013 Willy Loman is a bit of a low man (geddit?!?!?!?! oh Miller, you so smart)Interestingly, Miller actually said that the name 'Loman' was of no significance other than the name itself, he claimed that the 'Low Man' interpretation was just a coincidence! Whether this is true is another matter!When comparing Glengarry and DoaS, think about the characters (similarities and differences between Willy and the Salesmen, especially Levene).Also think about how their attitudes towards their jobs have changed through the period between the two plays, what does that say about the state of the American Dream? (IMO, it's not too good).Another interesting point is how does each play subvert the Aristotelian/ modern conventions of tragedy and how does this affect the audience.Good luck for tomorrow and Friday! Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yahooo! Posted May 1, 2013 Report Share Posted May 1, 2013 I'm doing Equus, Our Country's Good and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, any help will be amazing. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Award Winning Boss Posted May 1, 2013 Report Share Posted May 1, 2013 @Award winning boss: If only I could write that for my exam! What about the use of music? I've noticed that the "Blue piano" often has sexual overtones, similar to the use of the raw, sensuous music that accompanies The Woman. Also, what do you guys think of the idea that the music heard by Blanche is very similar to the time shifts experienced by Willy - they both serve to as devices for characterization, often evoke sympathy, and the Varsouviana tends to "bring" Blanche back to the past, similar to the time shift that Willy has.You're on the right track there. In the opening, the secondary text says that it 'expresses the spirit of life that goes on there'. Now that can be taken in a number of ways at first glance but as you said it is quite strongly attached to Blanche's destruction and predatory actions. For example is scene 7 where Stanley is revealing everything about Blanche to Stella, towards the end of the scene it goes into a 'hectic breakdown' and it scene 10 it 'drums louder' and the sound of the locomotive is heard which means that Blanche's destruction is becoming more evident with animosity Stanley has towards her. Basically, the use of the music is quite effective and interesting.The Varsouviana reminds me a lot about Willy's Flashbacks but while in SND it represents some form of truth, the flashbacks for Willy is to take Willy away from the truth since he never wants to face it.If that made little sense, sorry.Perhaps you could talk about the physical stage itself, the references of Willy feeling "boxed in," and the small confined space of the Kowalski home? You could, yes. The fact that they never change setting in the play is a point to raise but I'd be more inclined to talk about the streetcar named desire and her journey to elysian fields. If it helps, in DOS the original play was going to be called 'inside his head'. Oh and the characters can walk through walls, it makes DOS much more expressionistic than SND.Hey Awarding Winning Boss. Do you have any more links between the two plays .?I do. But that post was a joke. Hopefully you realised that, if not straight away, when I said there was a scene 12 in Streetcar. There isn't.Interestingly, Miller actually said that the name 'Loman' was of no significance other than the name itself, he claimed that the 'Low Man' interpretation was just a coincidence! Whether this is true is another matter!When comparing Glengarry and DoaS, think about the characters (similarities and differences between Willy and the Salesmen, especially Levene).Also think about how their attitudes towards their jobs have changed through the period between the two plays, what does that say about the state of the American Dream? (IMO, it's not too good).Another interesting point is how does each play subvert the Aristotelian/ modern conventions of tragedy and how does this affect the audience.Good luck for tomorrow and Friday!Nah, I think it was a coincidence. I doubt he'd lie about making it up. I've heard the same thing too. But it doesn't really matter, you'd still mention the significance of the names if you're asked to comment on the presentation of the characters.DoS is a pretty big critique of the American Dream. It was actually banned due to communist scares. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
yii yann Posted May 1, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 1, 2013 Yeah guys i've got the Viking edition of DoaS, and there's an essay here where he explicitly states the Loman thing is of insignificance. The new syllabus says the questions for the drama section will be much more "convention based". The most obvious convention I can think of is Dramatic Irony. Streetcar - Blanche's monologue when she and Stella doesn't know Stanley can hear, and Blanche's whole "Barnum and Bailey" scene. Any other examples for streetcar's dramatic irony? DoaS - Linda's obliviousness to The Woman, and I can't think of anything else Any ideas? Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aditya Chawla Posted May 1, 2013 Report Share Posted May 1, 2013 (edited) Yeah guys i've got the Viking edition of DoaS, and there's an essay here where he explicitly states the Loman thing is of insignificance. The new syllabus says the questions for the drama section will be much more "convention based". The most obvious convention I can think of is Dramatic Irony. Streetcar - Blanche's monologue when she and Stella doesn't know Stanley can hear, and Blanche's whole "Barnum and Bailey" scene. Any other examples for streetcar's dramatic irony? DoaS - Linda's obliviousness to The Woman, and I can't think of anything else Any ideas? In DoaS, the scene where Ben enters when Willy and Charley are playing cards is another example of dramatic irony. Also, in the restaurant scene, Happy tells Ms. Forsynthe that Biff is a player in the New York Giants. Edited May 1, 2013 by Aditya Chawla Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BJD Posted May 1, 2013 Report Share Posted May 1, 2013 The flute in DoaS and the Varsouviana play a similar role such that they are employed to be both non diegetic and diagetic as only Willy and Blanche can hear those sounds. The impact they have is that they show the progression of the protagonists' mental instability and they can often mark as structural divisions between past and present for DoaS Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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