Introduction: Arthur Miller (1915-2005) has used various Dramatic techniques of Death of a Salesman published in 1949. In the Drama, his techniques are a portion of several techniques such as realism, irony, naturalism, expressionism which are simultaneously conducted towards enhancing the tragic effect of the play.
Dramatic techniques of Death of a Salesman
Realism
Realism tries to hit off without idealization or romantic subjectivity. It concentrates on middle- class life and criticizes social conditions. Realism is exceptionally dominant in the Play. Willy is a middle-class Salesman. The real problem of the drama is that the middle -class people suffer from a lack of money.
The most realistic part of the drama is immolation. Willy wants that his sons will get a better career than he. That is why he has taken the decision that he will commit suicide. because after his death, his family will be given 20000 dollars from the insurance company which will help his sons to start a business. They will be successful in the future. It is realism because every father wants success for his children. So, it is the reality of life that most of the procreators will do the abandonment of theirs live for their children.
“I realized what a ridiculous lie my whole life has been.”
Naturalism
Naturalism comes to light from realism which is the theory of Darwin. According to Darwin, Nature is the best way of learning and gaining. In naturalism, the instructed factor determines the production of a man’s life like a social situation. Willy Loman is trying to persuade both of the American Dream and the American empiricist method. He has done the best service of the Wagner Company throughout his life. He is now an old man. He doesn’t get a fixed salary from the company but gets only commission on product selling. Characteristics of naturalism are to attempt to get on to and interpret the causes of certain events and actions. The Death of Salesman focuses on what is currently going on in Willy’s life and then provides possible explanations for these happening through memories of flashbacks. So, the fact is that with the passage of time, human beings lose their position and status because every man has his own time.
Notes of Death of a Salesman
Expressionism is a style of painting, music or drama in which the artist or writer tries to express the inner world of emotion rather than the external reality. It is one of the important characteristic dramatic techniques applied by Arthur Miller in “Death of a Salesman.” Expressionism is a modernist movement in drama and theatre that developed in the early decades of the 20th century and later in the United States. It is a style of playwriting and stage presentation that emphasizes the psychological subject matter of a play. The features of expressionistic plays are:
In the play “Death of a Salesman, we get all the features of expressionism. Thus, expressionism has been one of the vital techniques of Arthur Miller.
Unrealistic setting
As to an unrealistic setting, we must look at the supernatural elements of the play. Arthur Miller has used an unrealistic setting by dint of supernaturalism. Willy talks to his dead brother Ben. But, Ben has died long ago. And he would live in Africa. The dramatist has shown hallucinations by Willy and his elder brother. It is an unrealistic setting of the drama that indicates the baffling psychological issues of the protagonist.
Symbolism
The symbol is one of the dramatic techniques of Arthur Miller. In the play, Miller has used symbols such as the American Dream, and so on. Willy Loman is the hero of the drama. He has the dream to persuade that is the American Dream which is the emblem of success, prestige, and pelf and power. Almost all the characters of the play have symbolic significance. Linda symbolizes tame and peaceful housewives. Willy’s sons are the token of failure. We have also seen that Ben, Charley, and Bernard are successful men in the drama. However, according to Willy Loman, Dave Singleman is the paradigm of success.
Dramatic irony
Dramatic irony is a must for a tragedian and Arthur Miller is no exception to this trend. Dramatic irony means use of such incidents that produce consequences and the audience knows about the results of that incidents but it is unknown to the character. The most acute dramatic irony of the play is that when Willy comes to his boss for a fixed salary.
Conclusion: From the light of the above discussion, we can conclude Arthur Miller’s dramatic and artic techniques make him one of the leading playwrights of English literature. In the play, Arthur Miller blends realism, naturalism, and expressionism. He combines the objective reality of social aspects with the subjective reality of Willy’s predicament.
