5. The Climax of the Play

About this Lecture

Lecture

In this module, we read through the climactic scene of the play in which Biff walks in on his father having an affair. In particular, we think about: (i) the relationship between Biff and his father; (ii) the presentation of emotional vulnerability in the theatre of the 1950s and 1960s; and (iii) the motif in the play of lives being ruined.

Course

In this course, Professor Grace Ioppolo (University of Reading) explores Arthur Miller’s masterpiece, ‘Death of a Salesman’. We begin by thinking about the historical context in which the play was written, focusing in particular on the development of American theatre between the 1930s and 1950s. After that, we think about the opening of the play, the character of Willy Loman and the themes of capitalism and the American Dream. In the third module, we explore the relationship between Willy and his two sons, Biff and Happy, before turning in the fourth module to the treatment of women in the play. In the fifth module, we focus on the climactic scene of the play – the scene in which Biff walks in on his father with another women – before moving on in the sixth module to consider the play’s ending. Who is to blame for everything that has happened? Has anyone learned anything?

Note: We use the Penguin Modern Classics edition of play (ISBN: 978-0-141-18274-2). Students using a different edition of the play may encounter slight differences in both the text and the page numbering.

Lecturer

Grace Ioppolo is Professor of English at the University of Reading. Her teaching focuses mostly on Shakespeare and his contemporary dramatists, although she also has an interest in American drama of the 20th century. Her recent publications include the Norton Critical Edition of King Lear (2015) and A Midsummer Night's Dream (2018)