September 25, 2001
From Shakespeare’ Julius Caesar to Henrik Ibsen’s A Dolls House, problem plays have taken form in character, plot, and even setting. It is not necessary for a problem play to be considered a problem play just because it was not written in the time period of when problem plays were formed. Arthur Miller disproves this theory and successfully wrote a problem play in the modern time period; his play was Death of a Salesman. The timely struggles that characters such as Willy Loman face, eventually lead to a major personal problem that, in this case, leads to death. Problem plays deal directly with social and professional issues. Death of a Salesman is a prime example of a character struggling with social and professional problems.
Problem Plays
Problem plays were first invented at the time of William Shakespeare. His
plays, including All’s Well, Measure for Measure, and Hamlet, are
under the category of “problem plays” (Schanzer, ix). Many authors have written
of Shakespeare and his “problem play.” F.S. Boas was one of these men. He once
wrote, “All these dramas introduce us into highly artificial societies, whose
civilization is ripe unto rottenness…Thus throughout these plays we move along
dim untrodden paths, and at the close our feeling is neither of simply joy nor
pain” (Schanzer, 1). An artificial society is exactly what is created in
Miller’s Death of a Salesman. Problem plays suggest major personal,
social, political or professional issues in which each problem is timely,
realistic and a character experiences these situations in real places and
the problems have real outcomes. The idea of “real-ness” opens the door
to problem plays.
Eager Unhappiness
Miller deals with more than the simplicity of Willy Loman’s eager unhappiness.
It deals ultimately with the so-called American Dream. The extreme power of
mankind to create an image of freedom and self-equality sets this play in
motion. One critic of the play, Craig Garrison, stated in an essay “The play
makes, finally, no judgment on America, although Miller seems always on the
verge of one, of telling us that America is a nightmare, a cause of and a home
for tragedy” (Garrison, “The System”). Making America the nightmare that is the
home for tragedy ultimately puts the American Dream to shame and makes the lives
of people like Willy Loman a dream in itself. Willy continually fantasizes
about the farm in the west. This idea allows Willy to have the freedom of love
and will allow him to break free from the restrictions and inhibitions that he
has working as a salesman. Willy (in one flashback) says to both Biff and
Happy, “You see what I been talking about? The greatest things can happen!”
(Miller, 768). The search for great things: Willy’s goal for the goodness of
his children and himself.
Common Man
Arthur Miller, in 1949 wrote an article in the
Even though Miller’s play was not written in the historical time period of which problem plays were written, it does indeed fit into the category of a problem play. Willy Loman, a man whose dedication to his work and family was once a top priority, shifts to make the world revolve around him. He goes through a major personal and professional problem that he cannot escape. Willy’s depression leads to his self-indulgence and denial, two key aspects to a problem play. Willy, as well, lived a life of restrictions on his work, constantly wanting to be promoted, and seriously thinking that his popularity outnumbered anyone else’s.
Shakespeare
Shakespeare lived between 1564 and 1616, therefore original problem plays were
written during that time period. Controversy surrounded these plays. Julius
Caesar is a perfect example of this, because the characters were forced to
decide whether or not assassination was damnable or praiseworthy (Schanzer,
10). At the time, this controversy was largely viewed as unacceptable. In
Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, written in 1879, controversy also exists,
in that it was unheard of for a woman to leave her husband. The play sparked a
tremendous rise in divorce rates, which were non-existent before the play’s
premier. Death of a Salesman also shows controversy in that Willy Loman
ends his life for the sake of his family, thinking that they will be better
off. Willy states, “Can you imagine that magnificence with twenty thousand
dollars in his pocket?” (Miller, 819). Willy feels his family to be better off
without him, but with his earnings. This controversy ends
Miller’s play.
Miller
Arthur Miller’s play, Death of a Salesman, is a problematic play.
Problem plays suggest a major personal social, or professional problem.
Death of a Salesman has all three. Problem plays also include a person
breaking free from the restrictions that surround their lives. Just like in
A Doll’s House how Nora breaks free, in Death of a Salesman, Willy
breaks free, hence both being problem plays. Ultimately, characters in problem
plays want to break free from the trends of everyday life, and results of that
are either tragedy (death) and/or controversy (divorce). Modern tragedies and
problem plays are similar. Writers may argue that Death of a Salesman is
both a modern tragedy and a problem play. All in all, Miller wrote a drama,
with controversy, with death, with eagerness to break free. Problem plays
include these types of characteristics; therefore, Arthur Miller’s Death of a
Salesman is a problem play even though it was not written in the time frame
of most problem plays.
Works Cited
Garrison, Craig M. The System and the American Dream: Death of a Salesman. From: http://playwrites.net/salesman1.html
Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman. From: Abcarian, Richard and Marvin Klotz, Literature: Reading and Writing the Human Experience. St. Martin’s Press, Inc. 1998.
Miller, Arthur. Tragedy and the Common Man. From: http://deathofasalesman.com/rev-49-nytimes3.htm
Schanzer, Ernest. The Problem Plays of Shakespeare. Schocken Books, NY. 1965.
Copyright 2001