Extended Critique & Staging Rationale
Chosen Play: Death of a Salesman
Author of Play: Arthur Miller
Edition of Play: Penguin Modern Classics, First Published 1949
Critique written by: Eva Lucey T00151444
Module: Ideas, Representation & Society
Lecturer: Ashley Gaskin
Word Count (Excluding Headings, Quotes, Referencing & Re-written script): Part I; 1244
words Part II; 889 words Total; 2133 words
Part I; Extended Critique
Introduction:
I decided to base by extended critique on Arthur Miller’s, Death of a Salesman. The main reason
I chose to study this play more intensely was due to the fact that I found it interesting to read and
because I liked the range of themes and topics that Miller addresses throughout the two acts.
Summary of the Play:
 Plot
Death of a Salesman is based on the life of Willy Loman, an elderly salesman, his wife Linda
and two sons Biff and Happy. Willy is a confused and erratic character, who seems to be tired
and weary of life. He is a man who is burdened with years of regret and as a result it has made
him bitter and hostile. He had dreams in life that he never pursued and now we see him trying to
fulfil his dreams and live through his two sons, Biff and Happy. Willy’s life is ruled by guilt and
this guilt has completely overpowered his ability to love. In the play we see that Willy has a very
damaged and complicated relationship with his eldest son Biff. Willy’s yearning for his son Biff
to succeed in life is somehow a dysfunctional and strange display of his affection and care. Willy
and Biff’s relationship deteriorates even further when Biff discovers that his father is having an
affair with another woman. Even though they attempt a reconciliation, Willy and Biff continue to
argue and unfortunately do not resolve their differences. Tragically, Willy decides to kill himself
at the end of the play, in a car accident. Regrets seem to play a large part in this play. Miller’s
belief was that “Maybe all one can do is hope to end up with the right regrets”. 1
 Characters
1

Willy Loman: The Central character. An unconfident and elderly Salesman. Has
become quite erratic and confused with his years. The American Dream seems to be a
large factor in Willy’s life and beliefs. He strives for a life of wealth, respect,
prosperity and success. He is missing out on the more important things in life, such
as, living and enjoying life itself, family, friends and love.

Linda Loman: Loyal, Respectful, Loving and affectionate to her husband Willy.
Always concerned for her husbands and sons’ well-being. She loves Willy and stands
by him through thick and thin.

Biff Loman: Willy and Linda’s eldest son. Biff would like to live a simple life and it
is clear that material wealth means very little to him. Acknowledges his failures in
http://www.notable-quotes.com/m/miller_arthur.html Notable Quotes
life and is not afraid to follow his dreams. Biff believes he cannot start to live his life
the way he wants to as long as Willy is around.

Happy Loman: As the younger son, he has lived in Biff’s shadow for many years.
Has an ambition to succeed in a professional career. He possesses all the traits his
father admires in a man.

Charley: Willy and Linda’s neighbour who owns a successful business. Willy is
envious of Charley’s life and success.

Bernard: Bernard is Charley’s son and is also a prosperous lawyer. Great friends
with Biff and Happy. Admires Biff greatly.

The woman: The woman that Willy begins an affair with. She admires Willy, shows
him affection and as a result boosts his ego and self-esteem.

Uncle Ben: Willy’s older brother. Found diamond mines in Africa and was a wealthy
man at a young age. Died before the time in which the play is set put appears in
Willy’s illusions.

Howard Wagner: Son of Frank Wagner, Willy’s previous boss. Howard sacks Willy
for his crazy behaviour.

Jenny: Charley’s secretary

Stanley: Waiter at the restaurant where Willy meets Biff and Happy. Helps Willy
home.

Miss Forsythe & Lette: Two women that Biff and Happy meet.
 Themes

American Dream: Money, prosperity, wealth and success are continuing topics
throughout the play.

Regret: We see the character being a symbol of regret in the entire play.

Infidelity: Willy has an affair with another woman.

Loyalty: Linda stands by her husband Willy through everything and supports him.
 Settings

Willy Loman’s house and yard

Different places he visits in New York and Boston
Copy of the play I studied:
Arthur Miller, Death of a Salesman, Penguin Modern Classics, First Published 1949,
ISBN 978-0-141-18274-2
Review of Death of a Salesman:
 Arthur Miller’s Background
Personally, I believe that a lot of Miller’s work may have come from his personal experiences
and background. We see some mirror images between Miller himself and his life with the story
of Death of a Salesman. Miller’s father was a manufacturer of clothes which may be where
Miller got his inspiration in allowing Willy Loman to be a salesman. The play is set in Brooklyn
which is where the Miller family lived. Miller himself married his first wife and had two
children, previous to writing Death of a Salesman, which is similar to the family structure of the
Lomans. The American Dream was a large aspect to the play and the character of Willy Loman.
I think this had a large impact on Miller and his work due to the fact that he grew up in the
1930’s and 1940’s when the American Dream was most prominent. With Death of a Salesman in
1949, Miller improved his style and ability as a writer and critics praised him. He became one of
the greatest twentieth‐century American dramatists. Death of a Salesman won a Pulitzer Prize.
 Inspiration for Death of a Salesman
Arthur Miller began writing Death of a Salesman aged seventeen while working for his father.
After finishing the play, he wrote an epilogue on the script saying that the man on whom the
story is based had thrown himself under a subway train. Years later, Miller's mother found the
script in a drawer. In Timebends, Miller’s autobiography, he wrote of how he found inspiration
for Death of a Salesman in his own life. Miller based Willy Loman mainly on his own uncle. The
Loman family was created largely on Miller’s uncle and his family. 2 Personally, I think that
Arthur Miller gathered his evidence and researched his topic by watching those around him and
studying their characteristics and behaviour.
2
http://www.tobysimkin.com/Library/show_DOAS/student-inspiration.htm Student Guide, Written and Designed
by David Biele, Arts in Education Consultant, Miller's Inspirations for Salesman.
 Personal opinions on Arthur Miller’s work in Death of a Salesman
Personally, I really enjoyed reading Miller’s work. Even though, Death of a Salesman was
written in 1949, it is still easily read and understood today. Having read many plays this summer
from various authors; Miller was the one who stood out to me most. I am hoping that once I have
completed my extended critique on Miller’s Death of a Salesman as well as my recorded scene
from the play, I will have a better understanding of Miller and his work. In my opinion, he is an
extremely accessible author. Miller is well known for writing about the notion of ‘self’ in his
works and this is particularly seen in Death of a Salesman, with the character of Willy Loman.
This aspect of his writing, allows me to relate to Miller’s work. The notion of ‘self’ is connected
to each and every human being. There are times in our lives where we think about where we are
at in life, our hopes for the future and even contemplate our regrets. I doubt that there is one
person in the world who does not have regrets. In my view everyone makes mistakes and has
some regrets; whether it is about things that we should have said or done. I know I think about
how I have done things and wonder if I had done things differently, would my circumstances and
the way I live my life be very different. To me, if you did not have regrets of some sort, it would
be unnatural. This is the main reason why I think Miller’s Death of a Salesman will be as
relevant in years to come as it is now.
Part II; Staging Rationale
Chosen Scene:
The scene I chose to do my radio recorded enactment on is in Act II. The scene that I wish to
focus on is the part in which we see that Willy is having an affair and Biff discovers it. My
reasoning for choosing this particular scene is because I think that it is the most important in the
play. It shows Willy at the lowest time in his life, how he betrays his family, what he has become
as a person and how it destroys his relationship with his eldest son forever. To me, it is the
saddest part of this play. Not only does it allow Willy to see what he has done but it is pure
heartbreak for Biff to find him with this other woman. I really pitied Biff when I read this scene.
This scene is the one which stood out most to me when I finished reading Death of a Salesman.
Main Idea for my scene:
The scene I have chosen, I have studied in detail. The main part of the scene that I want to focus
on runs from page 90 to page 95 in my book. Certain lines in this section I thought suited the
way I wanted to write my script. So I took various sentences from the characters and changed
them to how I wanted my script to go. The main difference between my script and the original
Death of a Salesman is the fact that I changed gender roles. Willy is now played by a woman; the
woman whom Willy has an affair with is now a man and the character of Biff, I have swapped
for a girl. My main reasoning for this came from reading Caryl Churchill’s Cloud 9. I found
Churchill swapping the gender roles in her play, fascinating. It was a really simple but effective
way of delivering her work and differentiating her style of writing from others. This aspect of her
work really stood out to me.
Recording My Scene:
 Ideas
I brainstormed on the ways in which I could present my script, mainly by video recording it
or recording it for radio. In the end, I decided to record my piece for radio
 Radio
As I am recording the script for radio, I will have to take many factors into account.

Equipment Required: H2 Recorder, Pop Shield, Batteries, Headphones, Audacity
Editing Software.

Voice Actors: I will need three people to voice my script; two female voices and one
male. I will do one female voice myself so all I need to do, is find two more people.

Sound Effects: I will need a range of sound effects for throughout my scene, such as;
someone knocking at a door and a door slamming shut. I may use sound effects for
these or just record these on the H2 Recorder.

Opening & Closing Music: I will use intro and outro music just to have a clear
beginning and ending to my script.
 Video
If I was to record my scene on camera, these would be the factors taken into account.
Ideas & People for Production

One male & Two females

Setting: Hotel or Bedroom

Lighting: Various Lighting Techniques

Filmed on a camcorder
Lighting

Spot Light

Chandelier

Low Strip Lights

Lamps
Camera Angles

Low angle shots

High angle shots

Eye level shots

Sideways angle
 Plans for my Scene Recording
The first thing that had to be done was to secure voice actors for my scene. I offered the
part to two of my friends and they kindly accepted. I am using my own voice for one of
the characters in the script. The entire scene will be recorded on a H2 Recorder. I hope to
book out one of the quiet rooms within the college library in order to have as little
disturbance as possible with the recordings. I will do many recordings of the scene and
then I will transfer my recordings from the H2 onto my external hard drive. I plan on then
editing my recordings with Audacity editing software.
 Music & Sound in my Scene
My plan is to have Introductory and concluding music for my scene. I decided on this in
order to have a defined beginning and ending to it as well as adding a dramatic
atmosphere. The music that I have decided to use is a piece called ‘Cut’ by a female artist
named Plumb. I am planning on only using the instrumental pieces of the song and I
think it will fit very well with my scene. I will also add sound effects to my recording
with the hope that it will be dramatic and realistic.
 Editing my Script
As the scene I chose from Death of a Salesman was the one that stood out to me most, I
immediately knew the way I wanted to re-script it. After reading Cloud 9, Churchill’s
style influenced how I wanted to put a twist on the scene. I chose what I thought were the
most important lines and re-wrote them to the way I would say them. I also changed the
character’s genders. Once I did a few edits of this, I finally ended up with the scene I
wanted. I am really happy with the way my script turned out and I hope once I have
finished recording and editing it, that it will be a success.
My Revised Script
*Willy is now a woman – Willow; The Woman is now a man – The Man; Biff is now a
woman – Biff (name being kept)
Introductory Music…..
SFX: Knocking at door
Willow: Sssssh…..Stop laughing…..be quiet! Listen…
The Man: Just answer the door. With that knocking, they’ll wake the building
Willow: Who could it be? I’m not expecting anyone
The Man: Ignore them then & have another drink….You need to relax you know
Willow: I could hurt so many people with this affair but I’m just so lonely
The Man: Why are you so sad? You know there’s no need to be lonely, you’ve got me
Willow: Frustrated….Why won’t they stop knocking?!
The Man: Answer it…..It’s starting to get on my nerves!
Willow: Fine….Go into the bathroom & stay there until the coast is clear. I’m not supposed
to have company
The Man: Ok…ok
Willow: I’m coming….
SFX: Knocks on door, Opens door, Daughter Biff is there
Biff: Why didn’t you answer the door?
Willow: Surprised Oh! What are you doing here?
Biff: Why didn’t you answer? I’ve been knocking for ages & why’s your phone off? I tried
calling
Willow: I just heard you, I was sleeping. What’s wrong? Is everything ok?
Biff: It’s grand yeah…It’s just….
The Man coughs
Biff: Suspiciously Is there someone in there?
Willow: No…no…It’s next door, they’re so noisy! Nervous laugh
Biff: Somebody is in your bathroom!
Willow: It’s next door honey; they’re having some kind of a party
The Man: Darling, I……oh
Willow: Ammm….ok, thanks a million. This is Mr Jones, he was fixing my shower
Biff: Sarcastic & Bitter Mr Jones, who calls you darling, was fixing the shower in your
bathroom….right…I thought there was no one in there?!
The Man: Look, I’m just going to go….I’ll see ya
Willow: Right….thanks again
Silence
Biff: Starts to cry …..Mum?
Willow: Oh honey…
Biff: Mum….why?
Willow: Love, come here
Biff: No! Don’t come near me…Don’t touch me, you liar! What about us? What about
Dad?...
Willow: He’s nothing to me love, he means nothing. I was just so lonely, so lonely
Biff: Angrily I will never forgive you for this….never!
Willow: Love, wait….Don’t go…
SFX: Door Slams
Concluding Music……
Overall, I hope to successfully plan, script and edit this scene and in the end make a well
put together piece suitable for radio broadcast.
References
 http://www.notable-quotes.com/m/miller_arthur.html Notable Quotes
 http://www.tobysimkin.com/Library/show_DOAS/student-inspiration.html Student
Guide, Written and Designed by David Biele, Arts in Education Consultant, Miller's
Inspirations for Salesman
Extended Critique & Staging Rationale
Eva Lucey T00151444