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Reinterpreting the Plays of Arthur Miller: An Approach Using Cultural Semiotics and New Historicism
| Author: | Polster, Joshua | |
| Year: | 2010 | |
| Pages: | 204 | |
| ISBN: | 0-7734-1365-0 978-0-7734-1365-8 | |
| Price: | $179.95 | |
This study uncovers untapped symbolic layers in some of Miller’s best-known plays by linking them to famed media events or social concerns of the period of each play’s initial production.
Reviews
"It is fascinating to explore with Polster the cultural anxieties which prompt both All My Sons and the legends of Howard Hughes, or the anguish of The Crucible and the horrific executions of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg." - Dr. Barry Witham,
University of Washington
"Polster’s New Historicist approach uncovers untapped symbolic layers in some of Miller’s best-known plays to allow for new and exciting perspectives. Going beyond traditional sources, to offer fresh and intriguing readings, Polster focuses our attention on what each play may have signified to the general theater audience, by linking them to famed media events or social concerns of the period of each play’s initial production." - Dr. Sue Abbotson, Rhode Island College
"This work fills a much-needed gap in Miller scholarship and also opens up a new area of analysis which can be applied to other plays. Focusing on how audiences read the text may have the significant effect of placing Miller in the pantheon of playwrights whose work will have universal significance for generations of audiences to come." - Dr. Stephen Marino, St. Francis College (Editor, The Arthur Miller Journal)
"Joshua Polster has conceived and executed an ambitious and significant project. . . This volume makes a substantial contribution both to our understanding of Arthur Miller’s plays and to the practice and use of cultural criticism in relation to drama and theater. It should be read by critics, scholars, and students of drama and theater as well as those who are interested in cultural criticism and theory." - Dr. Brenda Murphy, University of Connecticut
"Polster’s New Historicist approach uncovers untapped symbolic layers in some of Miller’s best-known plays to allow for new and exciting perspectives. Going beyond traditional sources, to offer fresh and intriguing readings, Polster focuses our attention on what each play may have signified to the general theater audience, by linking them to famed media events or social concerns of the period of each play’s initial production." - Dr. Sue Abbotson, Rhode Island College
"This work fills a much-needed gap in Miller scholarship and also opens up a new area of analysis which can be applied to other plays. Focusing on how audiences read the text may have the significant effect of placing Miller in the pantheon of playwrights whose work will have universal significance for generations of audiences to come." - Dr. Stephen Marino, St. Francis College (Editor, The Arthur Miller Journal)
"Joshua Polster has conceived and executed an ambitious and significant project. . . This volume makes a substantial contribution both to our understanding of Arthur Miller’s plays and to the practice and use of cultural criticism in relation to drama and theater. It should be read by critics, scholars, and students of drama and theater as well as those who are interested in cultural criticism and theory." - Dr. Brenda Murphy, University of Connecticut
Table of Contents
Foreword by Barry Witham
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1. Joe Keller and Howard Hughes: A Symbolic Reading of All My Sons
Chapter 2. Willy Loman and James Forrestal: A Symbolic Reading of Death of a Salesman
Chapter 3. The Proctors and the Rosenbergs: A Symbolic Reading of The Crucible
Chapter 4. The Revolt of Responsibility: A Symbolic Reading of Incident at Vichy
Conclusion
Works Consulted
Index
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1. Joe Keller and Howard Hughes: A Symbolic Reading of All My Sons
Chapter 2. Willy Loman and James Forrestal: A Symbolic Reading of Death of a Salesman
Chapter 3. The Proctors and the Rosenbergs: A Symbolic Reading of The Crucible
Chapter 4. The Revolt of Responsibility: A Symbolic Reading of Incident at Vichy
Conclusion
Works Consulted
Index