Provides a comprehensive critical introduction to the play. This work gives students an overview of the background and context; detailed analysis of the play's structure, style, characters; and an overview of the performance history from the first performances in 1949 to film adaptations.

Every day, in some part of the world, an Arthur Miller play is performed.In the nearly 60 years since its first production, the Pulitzer Prizewinning Death of a Salesman has been become a classic, a staple of school anthologies of American literature and of acting companies' repertoires. It has received worldwide productions, whether as a study of parent-child relationships, as in its landmark 1976 production directed by Miller in Beijing, or as a critique of Western capitalism and has been filmed once for television and twice for movies.

"...a carefully structured guide for students that offers a captivating in-depth study of the text...Enriching our approaches to Arthur Miller's plays, this concise theatre guide is a solid contribution to the study of Death of a Salesman as it offers a systematic and extensive analysis of the play. Besides, a step from the theatre to the economics of the '30s and '40s brings us to realize that this volume demonstrates the authors' remarkable knowledge of American historical, social and political context...that this book-length study guide deserves attention not only because it features explanations of key themes, motifs, and symbols, together with a detailed analysis of major characters, but also because it includes practical group exercises for students to come to a better understanding of the play's structure. Full of dates, data, and specific details, Hays and Nicholson's fully informed theatre guide explores both theory and practice and strikes us as a carefully documented look into a worthwhile corner of American theatrical history. This very concise theatre guide undoubtedly represents an analytical tour de force." - Revue Française d'Etudes Américaines