AView from the Bridge

The play is a set text at GCSE and A level: GCSE Drama (AQA), GCSE English Literature (WJEC), & AS/A level Drama (AQA)An expertly edited edition of Miller's hit-play, featuring a commentary and notes on the plot, context, themes, characters, language and genre of the workMiller is one of the great US dramatists of the 20th century whose work is studied and frequently performed by student groups and revived professionallyMiller received every major award in his field, including three Tony Awards, the Pulitzer Prize, an Emmy Award and a John F. Kennedy Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1984Arthur Miller (1915-2005) was arguably the most important playwright of the twentieth century whose oeuvre includes novels, screenplays, essays and an autobiography. Six volumes of his plays and a volume of his theatre essays are published by Methuen Drama. Steve Marino is Professor of English at Saint Francis College, Brooklyn, N.Y, and President of the Arthur Miller Society.This Student Edition of A View from the Bridge is perfect for students of literature and drama and offers an unrivalled guide to Miller's play. It features an extensive introduction by Steve Marino which includes: a chronology of Miller's life and times; a summary of the plot and commentary on the characters, themes, language, context and production history of the play. Together with over twenty questions for further study and detailed notes on words and phrases from the text, this is the definitive edition of the play.

Set among Italian-Americans on the Brooklyn waterfront, A View from the Bridge is the story of longshoreman Eddie Carbone. When his wife's cousins arrive as illegal immigrants from Italy, he is honoured to take them into his house. But when his niece begins to fall in love with one of them Eddie grows increasingly suspicious, eventually precipitating his violation of the moral and cultural codes of his community and leading to the play's tragic finale. With its examination of the themes of sexuality, responsibility, betrayal and vengeance, the play is vintage Miller and a modern classic.

'The uniform structure and consistent approach eveident in these [first] four volumes make them readable and accessible to students and scholars alike and guarantee that these editions will certainly persist as invaluable tools for those who both enjoy Miller as a dramatist and study him as a significant social and American spokesperson.''The fascination of A View from the Bridge lies in its terrific psycho-dramatics and psycho-dynamics, its cult of the theatre of embarrassment.''A fine play, in which Miller shows us that an emotionally inarticulate longshoreman can be a tragic hero.''What lifts this play from being melodrama...is the ancient form of tragedy, the relentless twisting of the rope, the reduction of options, the closing of doors, the receeding of hope until the release of the final catharsis. And Miller's language, which is flexible and sinewy enough to shine through the slackest jaw... This is one of the handful of great American dramas. It is a brilliant and majestic play.''This is one of the great plays. The title alone has a strange magic. Its poise, its banality, its suggestiveness.''In A View from the Bridge, [Miller] created one of the greatest roles in modern theatre, Eddie Carbone, a rough but decent Brooklyn longshoreman who betrays his principles because of the almost incestuous love he feels for his orphaned niece.''...the sheer grip of this great drama on audiences shows how successful Miller was, both in honouring a certain time and place in American history, and in transcending it, to create a tragedy of almost unlimited weight and resonance.'"Must-haves for any students exploring these modern classics, or indeed anyone teaching Literature or Drama." - Teach Secondary Methuen Drama Student Editions are expertly annotated texts of modern and classic plays designed for students' study. Each one offers the complete text of the play as well as contemporary commentary, written by experts in the field, that provides students with an in-depth look into the background, themes and history of the play. They include: - An introduction giving a complete background to the play and a discussion of the social, political, cultural and economic context in which the play was originally conceived and created. - A chronology of the playwright's life and work, and review of the play's production history. - Questions for further study and preparation for examinations along with suggestions for primary and secondary materials for further study.