A View from The Bridge Essay example -- A View from the Bridge Arthur

A View from The Bridge Discuss the importance of stage directions in Arthur Millers ‘A View From The Bridge’ and what they reveal about the character of Eddie Carbone. Stage directions are very important in drama and this is evident in Arthur Millers ‘A View From the Bridge’. Stage directions give actors and directors character motivation and this allows actors to create believable characters and explain a characters actions and feelings. They also highlight characters emotions that are indirectly portrayed through stage directions instead of directly through dialogue. ‘A View From The Bridge’ has a lot of stage directions, especially when describing the main focus of the play, Eddie Carbone. When describing Eddie, the stage directions are prescriptive, in particular when describing his reactions to certain situations and to other characters. This allows the actor and directors to have a lot of information on how each character should be portrayed. In this play, it is very important for the characters to be portrayed accurately so that the audience can relate to the characters behaviour no matter how irrational; this is why the stage directions are made so prescriptive. Eddie’s character in particular needs to be understood fully so that the audience can understand his emotional reasoning and his obsessive irrational behaviour. Stage directions in ‘View From The Bridge’ often make explicit what is only implicit in the dialogue. This is very true for the character of Eddie. It makes him seem more realistic as in real life people’s actions often contradict their words. The stage directions make Eddie seem like a normal person with conflicting emotions making the audience relate with him more. Th... ...is meant Eddie’s actions had to reveal more about him at time than his dialogue. Even when Eddie finally acts on his love for Catherine, he doesn’t do it through dialogue, he simply kisses her. This simple action tells us more about Eddie’s character at this point than dialogue could. ‘A View From The Bridge’ is similar to a modern version of a Greek tragedy. The central character is led by fate towards a destiny that could not be escaped. Eddie fits into the traditional view of a tragic hero. A strong character who is destroyed by a fatal flaw in his psychological make up. The stage directions are vital parts of the play and without them the play would be in effective and the dialogue would seem somewhat misplaced. This is especially true of Eddie Carbone. He is a man of many layers and they are unravelled primarily through the stage directions.