Key Facts
full title · A View from the Bridge
author · Arthur Miller
type of work · Play
genre · Modern Drama
language · English
time and place written · 1950s, United States
date of first publication · 1955 original, 1957 revised
publisher · Penguin Books
narrator · Alfieri
point of view · Not applicable (drama)
tone · Not applicable (drama)
tense · Alfieri narrates the play in the present and describes the events in the past tense. The action occured sometime before the present.
setting (time) · 1940–1960
setting (place) · Brooklyn, NY
protagonist · Eddie Carbone
major conflict · Eddie Carbone and his wife Beatrice house illegal immigrant cousins from Italy. When one of the cousins falls in love with Catherine, the niece of Eddie, whom Eddie has incestuous desires for, Eddie betrays his family and calls Immigration to stop the marriage of his niece and cousin.
rising action · Eddie is protective of his niece Catherine, Marco and Catherine fall in love, Eddie is determined to stop the marriage.
climax · The Immigration Bureau comes to arrest Marco and Rodolpho.
falling action · Alifieri pays bail for Marco and Rodolpho, the day of Catherine and Rodolpho's marriage Marco unintentionally results in Eddie's death.
themes · Alligance to community law; The irrational human animal; Naming names
motifs · Geography; Community; Betrayal
symbols · High Heels; Brooklyn Bridge; Italy
foreshadowing · Eddie tells the story of Vinny Bolzano, a boy who ratted on his family to Immigration; Alfieri's speeches
