Introduction to Literature
LITR 100-009
Christopher Halaquist
Spring 2013
Drama paper Throughout the many years after the first play was written and performed in front of an audience, playwrights have been pushing hard to create original plays that draw attention. There are many plays in our world today, and many writers have made their attempt at fame. For my drama assignment I have chosen to compare and contrast two tragic plays. The first play is “Macbeth”, written by the very popular William Shakespeare in the year 1606. The second tragic play I would like to write about is “Death of a Salesman” by Arthur Miller written in 1949. Both of these plays are written in the tragic style. Meaning that the play is based around the moral failure of its characters. In tragic plays there is often an Ironic or twist ending. Before I get too far into the plays, here’s a little information on the two play writers. William Shakespeare is one of the most renowned writers from the 16th century. In fact, Shakespeare may be one of the most popular play writers thus far. Whether you’re an adult or child you have probably heard of William Shakespeare. High school Literature classes today still use Shakespeare’s “Rome and Juliet” in their collection of studies. In fact, when I was in my junior year of high school the drama department did a play on Shakespeare “Romeo and Juliet” and “Macbeth”. These plays may have been written over 400 years ago but they still hold strong today. William Shakespeare is foremost an English playwright, and he has been viewed as the world’s greatest English writer, and the first English dramatist. Shakespeare was born April 26, 1564 in Warwickshire, England. In his many years as an English writer he has written 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, two epitaphs and several other poems. Shakespeare’s work is performed on stage more than any other playwright in the world, and his work has been translated to every major language. Shakespeare was born and brought up in Warwickshire, England. When he turned 18, he married Anne Hathaway, and had three children: Susannah, Hamnet, and Judith. Between the years of 1585 and 1592 Shakespeare started a career as a writer, an actor, and a part owner of The “Kings Men” playing company. Shakespeare wrote most of his known work between 1585 and 1613. Shakespeare’s early plays were comedies and historic pieces, where soon after he developed his tragic plays, such as “Othello” and “Macbeth” where some of his most notably work is found. Shakespeare did not rise to his most notable state until the early 19th century, and from there he is remembered as one of the greatest writers of English Literature. After Shakespeare’s many successful tragic plays, Modern writers have embraced a similar concept and style. Arthur Miller is known for his own set of Ironic and tragic plays. Arthur Miller was born on October 17th 1915 in Harlem, New York City. Miller is an American playwright and essayist. Arthur Miller is well known for his play “Death of a Salesman”, in which he pieces together a well written and very popular tragic story of a son and his father. Arthur Miller had a very social life, and he was very popular when married to Marilyn Monroe, but their marriage was brief. Miller was raised in a wealthy family with three siblings. The family lost most of their fortune in 1929 during the Wall Street Crash. Arthur worked several jobs in his early adulthood until he had enough money saved up to attend the University of Michigan. In college, Miller studied closely under his Professor, Kenneth Rowe, who taught him a lot about staging a play for an intended effect. After Graduation College Miller moved back East to start his career. Miller wrote many plays from 1940 to 1968, and was seen as one of the greatest writers of the 20th century. Arthur Miller died of cancer and heart failure in 2005, his work is greatly admired today. Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” that was written in