Alfieri is the first person to speak in the play

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• Alfieri is the first person to speak in the play
• Think about the roles he fulfils
• A Chorus who watches from the sidelines and
  comments on the tragedy read the definition
  below and say how far you feel this is true of
  Alfieri use quotation to support your answer
• What does Alfieri tell us about the characters?
• What does he tell us about the history of the
  place and the people?
• Why does Miller use a chorus to help to tell his
  story?

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The Greek chorus is believed to have grown out of
the tragic plays of the ancient Greek theatre.
The chorus offers a variety of background and
summary information to help the audience follow
the performance. It comments on themes, and shows
how an ideal audience might react to the drama.
It also represents the population in any
particular story, in sharp contrast with many of
the themes of the ancient Greek plays which
tended to be about heroes, gods and goddesses. In
many of these plays, the chorus expressed to the
audience what the main characters could not say,
such as their fears or secrets. The chorus
usually communicated in song form, but sometimes
spoke their lines in unison.
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• Background
• Summary
• Heroes
• Gods/goddesses
• The characters hidden fears and secrets
• How many of these does Alfieri reveal to the
  audience?

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• Alfieri
• Father Figure - father Confessor
• Think about his role as an advisor to Eddie how
  far do you think this description of him applies?
• Who else does he try to help?
• Support your argument with quotation from the play

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Alfieri finishes the play as well as starting
it. Are there any links between his opening
speech, and the one which closes the play? What
does he tell us about Eddie Carbone in the
closing speech? Do you agree with his assessment
of Eddies character, that Eddie was pure and
himself purely
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Eddie Carbone
Its always a good idea when youre working an a
drama to think who might play the leading roles.
Take a moment to think who would best embody
Eddie. Hes from an Italian background, but has
been in the USA for along time. Find evidence
from the early part of the play of his ancestral
background. Think a bout his attitude to women,
to the law, to the community Select 5 words to
describe his character from the early scenes of
the play

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• Here is a list of words which might describe
  Eddie
• kind
• mean
• generous
• Decent
• thoughtful
• cruel
• Considerate
• unromantic
• selfish
• Demanding
• shy
• uncompromising
• cowardly
• stubborn
• responsible

• joyful
• law abiding
• brooding
• friendly
• carefree
• Hospitable
• forgiving
• Loving
• intense
• Overprotective
• heartless
• Scheming
• pessimistic
• family man
• Casual
• loyal
• passionate

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Doesn't apply to Eddie at all Applies to Eddie in Act One Applies to Eddie in Act Two Applies to Eddie in both Acts

Make a chart putting in the words which apply in
the right columns
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How do the other characters in the play see
Eddie? Many of them change their opinion of him
as the play progresses. To simplify the changes,
consider the following four basic stages Stage
1 The beginning. Stage 2 After Act One. Stage
3 After Eddie has betrayed Rodolfo and
Marco. Stage 4 The end. In pairs, discuss how
the main characters feel about Eddie at these
stages and then fill in a chart like the one
below on Marco. Check to see that you agree with
the statements about Marcos feelings.
Beginning Grateful to Eddie, a little
in awe of him After Act One Wary senses
trouble After Betrayal Considers him a
murderer End Feels he
deserved to die - justice has been done
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• A View from the Bridge
• Speaking and Listening Coursework
• Task One?
• A Big Brother Diary Room for a character in a set
  text, followed by their return to talk to the
  housemates (who could be other characters in the
  text but need not be).
• Prepare your monologue
• Speak to the camera
• Return to the main room and share your thoughts
  with the other characters
• Each main room should include the other
  characters from the play AND one stranger
• Timings need to be fairly tight, not more than 2
  minutes to camera, 3 minutes in the main room
• Remember we are assessing speaking and listening,
  you dont listen and contribute sensibly you lose
  marks

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Task 2 Activity Ask students to write the text
theyve been studying as a recipe, with a list of
ingredients and a set of instructions, to show
how the writer has concocted the story, for
instance ? the ingredients (characters, themes,
styles of writing) ? quantities (a pinch, a dash,
several pints, lashings of...) to show whats
important ? instructions/method (the
writers techniques) Read some of the recipes
aloud, to share what other students have
written. Students write a short commentary,
explaining their recipe and how it relates to the
original text.
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1. Charting the Plays Structure A View from the
Bridge is written in two Acts with interspersed
commentary from Alfieri. He introduces and
concludes the play and appears four times in each
Act. His appearances provide one of the
structures of the play. One way of reading the
play in class would be to use these 'scenic
units' as points to stop reading and explore what
has been happening. After reading a scenic unit,
talk about what has happened, what you have
learned about the characters and the main issues
or themes raised and fill in a chart like the one
below. This chart will be useful for you when you
come to write about the play.
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Page Refs What happens What is added to our knowledge of the character Issues or themes raised
11-25
26-33
34-44
45-50
51-58
59-65
65-67
67-77
77-80 80-85
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2. Character Hot Seating Brainstorming in Role.
After you have read a scenic unit (see previous
activity), divide yourselves up into As, Bs and
Cs to cover the number of characters in that
unit. All the As are Eddie, the Bs Catherine and
so on. In your character groups discuss what has
happened to your character and how they are
likely to be feeling at this point. You may want
to use some of the following prompts to help you
think in role Could you describe how you feel
at this point? Did you feel at the centre of
what has just gone on or on the edges? Were you
generally leading and directing the dialogue and
action or were you mainly reacting to it?
Were there things you wanted to do during that
scene that you didnt? Were there things you
wanted to say but didnt? What is making you
behave as you are right now? What is important
to you at this moment? Make a note of any
questions you would you like to ask the other
characters at this point?
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• Hot Seating.
• Now all the characters get the opportunity to ask
  a question of another character or to say
  something that they feel needs saying.
• Everyone needs to remain in role for this
  hot-seating exercise so it is useful to have a
  non - participant to chair the questioning and
  answering - perhaps your teacher would do this.
• Stay in your character groups. Each group will be
  asked if they have anything they want to say to
  another character anyone from the group can do
  it.
• The other character group then has a chance to
  respond either as one voice or several.
• Try to get at the truth.

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Rodolpho Rodolphos Letters Home Imagine that
Rodolpho writes five letters home during the
course of the play, starting from his voyage to
America until the end of Act Two. His hopes,
worries and feelings would vary at different
stages. Try writing four different letters, each
written at a particular point in his journey, by
looking back at the play and putting yourself in
Rodolphos shoes. Letter One (page 26) On the
ship just before arriving in America. What do you
know of who youre going to stay with? What are
your plans for work? What are your hopes and
fears and expectations of life in America? Letter
Two (page 33) After your first evening in Eddies
and Beatrices home. What are your first
impressions of the family, of Catherine, of your
chances of work?
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Letter Three (page 58) This is written after the
tense encounter between you, Eddie and Marco
at the end of Act One. How much do you understand
of what has gone on here? What are your feelings
and intentions towards Catherine? How does this
episode alter your idea of the future? How
dependent are you on Marco? Letter Four (page
65) This is written after the show-down with
Eddie when he comes home unexpectedly when you
and Catherine were alone. What are you going
to do now? Do you understand Eddies behaviour?
What about Catherines wish to go and live in
Italy? Letter Five (the end of the play) How are
you going to explain what has happened? Do you
understand it yourself? What about Marco - what
do you think is going to happen to him? What is
going to happen to you and Catherine? Before you
start writing, decide who you are writing to as
this will affect the tone and content of your
letters. For example, you might be writing to a
parent, a brother or sister, or a friend who
hopes to join you.
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2. Marcos Trial Sicilian Codes of Conduct The
community in A View From the Bridge has a set of
rules or laws - a kind of code of conduct which
isnt written down. Many of them come from the
Sicilian way of life. For example Work
traditions from country life in Sicily. Laws of
hospitality. Family laws. Marriage and
courtship laws. Laws of honour. Laws of
revenge. Laws of sexuality. Masculine laws.
Feminine laws. In pairs write down short
quotations from the play which refer to the
Italian code of conduct. Write them as a chart
like the one below. The following page
references may help you 11-12, 45, 47, 48, 66,
78-79.
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• Laws/Codes
• Italian Code
• Sicilian work
• traditions
• Laws of hospitality
• Family laws
• Marriage laws
• Honour
• Revenge
• Sexuality
• Masculinity
• Femininity

• Quotations

The following page references may help you
11-12, 45, 47, 48, 66, 78-79.
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Beatrices Dilemma Beatrice is in a very
difficult position throughout the play. She loves
Eddie, and wants to remain loyal to him. But she
also understands that Catherine is growing up,
and that Eddie is wrong to continue being so
protective towards Catherine. As the play goes
on, Beatrice is more and more certain that Eddie
is heading for disaster. Frequently, she tries to
reason with him to get him to see that he is
being obstinate or unfair or selfish. At various
times she tells Eddie he doesnt love or want
her any more accuses Eddie of shaming Rodolpho
and upsetting Catherine is disgusted with
Eddie for betraying Rodolpho and Marco to
the Immigration Bureau tries to make Eddie see
that Catherine is growing up pleads
desperately with Eddie to make it up with
Rodolpho and Marco angrily tells Eddie to
leave Catherine alone makes Eddie face his
sexual desire for Catherine tries to defend
Rodolpho from Eddies criticisms. You can find
the passages where Beatrice does these things on
pages 20 68-69 34-35 74 35-36 81-82 42 83.
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Role Play - Catherine and Beatrice 10 Years
On. In pairs, act out a conversation between
Catherine and Beatrice ten years later, in which
they try to talk honestly about what happened
during the events of the play. Before you start
you will need to make some decisions whether
Catherines marriage to Rodolpho has been a happy
one whether Beatrice and Catherine have
remained close or whether they are meeting again
for the first time in ten years whether Marco
is in prison/ back in Italy/ still living in
America.
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Read this in pairs. Circle anything you think you
understand and can back up with evidence from the
play. Make notes alongside anything you disagree
with. Underline anything youre not sure of and
talk about it as a whole class. Miller has said
of Eddie I had originally conceived Eddie as
a phenomenon, a rather awesome fact of existence,
and I had kept a certain distance from
involvement in his self-justification.
Consequently, he had appeared as a kind of
illogical sport, and to a degree a repelling
figure not quite admissable into the human
family. In revising the play it became possible
to accept for myself....that however one might
dislike this man, who does all sorts of frightful
things, he possesses or exemplifies the wondrous
and human fact that he too can be driven to what
in the last analysis is a sacrifice of himself
for his conception, however misguided of right,
dignity and justice. He felt that It was
finally possible to mourn this man, that in the
end one feels pity for him and the kind of wonder
which it had been my aim to create in the first
place. Introduction, Collected Plays
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Exam question Year 10 The action of the play is
Alfieris story of a case he dealt with as a
lawyer. Alfieri comments on and explains the
action of the play as it is happening. At times,
he is part of the drama itself. Write about how
Arthur Miller uses Alfieri in View from the
Bridge to explain the themes to expand on
the characters to give background information
about the time and the place to make sure the
audience is clear about Millers message to
participate as a character in the action.