Moments of dramatic tension Essay

Choose two scenes which you consider to be particularly interesting moments of dramatic tension. Write about why they are especially dramatic and why they are important in the play  For this essay I am going to concentrate on the scene at the end of act one in ‘A View from the Bridge’ by Arthur Miller. In the previous scene Eddie, the main character, has just been to see Alfieri, a lawyer who once represented Eddie’s father and also the narrator for this play, for legal and moral advice on what to do. Eddie is confused and needs someone to kick him in the right direction. I know this because Alfieri said that â€Å"his eyes looked like tunnels†. Eddie feels that Rodolfo is gay and is only after his passport. Another reason Eddie is confused is that he loves Catherine too much. Alfieri has just told Eddie that there is nothing that Eddie can do apart from go to the Immigration Bureau or accept the situation and be happy for the two. This leads into this essay’s scene. It is set in the apartment and opens with Catherine talking about Marco and Rodolfo’s trip to Africa. I believe that the tension begins to grow when Eddie dismisses her excitement. I think this because I believe Eddie is trying to not think about Rodolfo so is saying ‘so what if they have’. It is obvious that Eddie really is interested when he says â€Å"How long that take you, Marco†. Eddie is directing this conversation at Marco and has taken Rodolfo out of the conversation. This shows that Eddie does not like Rodolfo and would rather not think of him. The conversation then carries awhile the tension decreases and the entire family is now into the conversation. Eddie then belittles Beatrice in front of everyone. Beatrice never knew that sardines could not be caught with a hook. I think that this the tension increases with this. Eddie and Beatrice’s relationship has not been smooth lately and this didn’t help.  To release the tension Eddie comes up with a joke. He says that oranges are green and are painted to give them colour. Rodolfo then belittles Eddie by saying pointing out the obvious and saying that lemons are green. I believe he did this because the one of the themes of the book is family loyalty and I think he said this to get revenge for Beatrice. This causes the tension to develop more. Eddie does not want to even talk to Rodolfo let alone be disrespected by him. The tension is then released by Beatrice who changes the topic. This conversation too caries on for sometime and Eddie makes another joke. Eddie says â€Å"they count the kids and there’s a couple extra than when they left?† Rodolfo then says that it is stricter in Italy than it is in Brooklyn. Eddie gets offended by this because Rodolfo is saying that American girls (e.g. Catherine) are easier. I believe that the dramatic tension at this point is higher than any part before it. Miller shows the tension by writing stage directions for Eddie to rise and pace up and down. There is then a conversation between Eddie and Rodolfo. Eddie is comparing Rodolfo and Catherine’s relationship to how one would be in their town in Italy. Beatrice takes Rodolfo’s side in this argument as she knows where it is going. Marco takes Eddie’s side as he doesn’t want any trouble. Marco also tells Rodolfo off and it is clear that Marco wants this argument to end. An argument begins between Beatrice and Eddie then. They are arguin g whether a person is safer during the day or at night. The tension is still on ‘high alert’ when Catherine asks Rodolfo to dance deliberately to annoy Eddie and show him that nothing will come between the two’s relationship. Rodolfo decides not to as he knows that he has already pushed Eddie enough but eventually gives in.  Once again Beatrice lowers the tension by changing the topic. The focus goes back to fishing and it is soon revealed that Rodolfo can cook. Once Eddie hears about it he talks and implies Rodolfo’s homosexuality but Rodolfo takes it as a compliment. Catherine says that he could get a lot of money with these skills and Eddie agrees with her. Eddie says that if he had the skills he would be no where near the waterfront. The tension is rising again as Miller then wrote that Eddie was â€Å"unconsciously twisting the newspaper†. Everyone knows what he is doing so he carries on the speech. While he is talking the newspaper rips in half. I think that this gets everyone nervous and the scene gets more tense. I believe that it signified Eddie getting an idea in his head, like a light bulb above someone on TV when they get an idea. He asks Marco if he wants to go to see a fight next week. He also asks Rodolfo trying to see his reaction. Boxing is a masculine sport and he thought he was asking a ‘woman’. Catherine believes that Eddie is being nice now so she goes to get some coffee. At this point of the scene I think that it is not as tense as it just was but I think that everyone is still nervous. Eddie and Rodolfo then begin to spar and I believe that the audience are now at the edge of their seats waiting to see what will happen. Everyone is impressed thinking that Eddie is making the effort to try to like Rodolfo, but then Eddie comes with a trick attack and lands a blow on Rodolfo. It then becomes clear what Eddie’s intensions were, he wanted an excuse to take his anger on Rodolfo out. Rodolfo does not want to make anything worse so he says that it didn’t hurl him and only surprised him. The tension once again is high and Rodolfo asks Catherine to dance to annoy Eddie. He is sayin g that nothing will get between Catherine and his relationship. Marco then comes and sits a chair in front of Eddie. He challenges him to lift to it from the bottom with one hand. Eddie thinks that this will be easy but soon finds out that it isn’t when he fails. Marco then lifts it above his head to show that he is stronger. Until now Marco had always been on his side by apologising for his brother, Rodolfo, but Eddie has now lost his only supporter. The tension rises as they stare at each other and Marco smiles. Another thing that adds tension here is the stage directions. They say that Marco held the chair ‘like a weapon’. This creates tension as it shows that Marco is threatening Eddie. The scene finished with the tension very high and with Eddie physically threatened. In this scene Arthur Miller has used many ways to show the tension rising. One of these was writing the stage directions. This creates visual images which are really important as they stress the tension; it shows the reader what the audience sees and also shows the tension. Another way he showed the tension was by making the sentences longer. This slows down the pace of the play and created tension. Another way he shows tension is by adding pauses. These add silence and make the audience/reader want to know what happens next. It also gives a moment for the tension to rise.