Overview
Synopsis
Death of a Salesman chronicles the last days in the life of Willy Loman, a man who has spent more than three decades in sales and now, in his early sixties, finds his numbers—and his mind—slipping. Biff, his 34-year-old son, is out of work and running out of options. Happy, two years younger, compulsively exaggerates his own accomplishments. Willy’s devoted wife, Linda, supports him unconditionally, but her constant encouragement cannot keep him moored to reality. Willy is literally haunted by the past, and visions of happier days and lost opportunities continually intrude as he struggles to make sense of the present moment. At heart, this is the story of the members of this American family’s love for each other, and Willy’s corrosive love for the American Dream.
Show Information
- Book
- Arthur Miller
- Category
- Play
- Age Guidance
- Youth (Y)/General Audiences (G)
- Number of Acts
- 2
- First Produced
- 1949
- Genres
- Drama
- Settings
- Unit/Single Set
- Time & Place
- 1930s, 1940s, new york
- Cast Size
- medium
- Orchestra Size
- None
- Dancing
- None
- Licensor
- Dramatists Play Service
- Ideal For
- College/University, Community Theatre, Ensemble Cast, High School, Professional Theatre, Mostly Male Cast, Regional Theatre, Star Vehicle Male, Includes Mature Adult, Young Adult, Adult Characters, Medium Cast
Context
In the tradition of Henrik Ibsen and Clifford Odets, Arthur Miller sought to be a voice of conscience as well as a consummate dramatist. Death of a Salesman, Miller’s masterpiece, links free-market capitalism to the devaluing of the American worker and, ultimately, the disintegration of the American family. A culture which values the acquisition of boundless wealth over all things will become, the playwright implies, a culture at odds with honesty, integrity, and even love.
Five actors
to read the context for Death of a Salesman and to unlock other amazing theatre resources!Plot
ACT I
A “small and fine” melody, “telling of grass and trees and the horizon” is heard upon a flute. Willy Loman, two large sample cases in hand, arrives home early from a business trip. His wife Linda stirs from bed, puts on a robe, and comes down to speak to him. Willy was feeling exhausted and disoriented on the road, and he had to turn back just past Yonkers and return to New York. (“I’m tellin’ ya, I absolutely forgot I was driving. If I’d’ve gone the other way over the white
Characters
| Name | Part Size | Gender | Vocal Part |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Lead |
Male |
Spoken |
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|
Lead |
Female |
Spoken |
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|
Lead |
Male |
Spoken |
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|
Lead |
Male |
Spoken |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Spoken |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Spoken |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Spoken |
|
|
Featured |
Female |
Spoken |
|
|
Featured |
Female |
Spoken |
|
|
Featured |
Male |
Silent |
|
|
Featured |
Male |
Spoken |
|
|
Featured |
Female |
Spoken |
|
|
Featured |
Male |
Spoken |
|
|
Featured |
Female |
Spoken |
Songs
A song with an asterisk (*) before the title indicates a dance number; a character listed in a song with an asterisk (*) by the character's name indicates that the character exclusively serves as a dancer in this song, which is sung by other characters.
Monologues
Scenes
Key Terms
A theme in theatre representing hope, success, and its disillusionment, particularly in realist and symbolist plays.
An economic system often critiqued in epic and protest theatre, examining exploitation, class, and power structures.
Innovative performance styles that challenge traditional theatre conventions.
A theatrical style that distorts reality to convey inner emotional experience, popular in early 20th-century drama.
A dramatic device that transports the narrative to an earlier time to provide background or context.
A historic economic crisis dramatized in plays to explore poverty, resilience, and social upheaval.
A musical or dramatic work honoring the dead, often evoking mourning or closure in operatic and theatrical contexts.
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Themes, Symbols & Motifs
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Quote Analysis
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