Preparing for Paper 1: Alfieri

Alfieri – ‘Guide Mentor’ (just like Beatrice) Alfieri is trapped in the middle. He was born an Italian, but for the past twenty-five years or so he's been an American. Many critics say that he's the bridge that the title of the play refers to, because he has one foot in Italy and the other in America. he's a lawyer and, like most honest lawyers, he respects the law. In his first monologue, he tells the audience, "Now we are quite civilized, quite American. Now we settle for half, and I like it better" (1.1). When he says "settle for half" he means that the community of Red Hook rarely resolves its feuds with violence anymore, like they did back when Al Capone roamed the streets.Al Capone Now they compromise. They rely on the law.

For pretty much the entire play, Alfieri seems to be on the side of American law. He is the voice of reason. When Eddie first comes to him for help, Alfieri tells him, "You have no recourse in the law" (1.546). There's nothing illegal about Catherine and Rodolfo's relationship. He advises Eddie to forget about it and let Catherine live her own life. It's not until Alfieri's second meeting with Eddie that we get a hint that some part of him might secretly be attracted to the animalistic forces that Eddie is unleashing. Alfieri tells the audience about how "almost transfixed [he] had come to feel" (2.86).

when the lawyer goes to bail out Rodolfo and Marco, he makes Marco promise to not take revenge on Eddie. Alfieri tells him that "Only God" has the right to judge such things (2.271). In his final monologue, however, Alfieri finally admits to the war that's been going on inside him. "And so I mourn [Eddie] – I admit it – with a certain…alarm" (2.336). While Alfieri's logical mind knows what Eddie did was wrong, some part of him seems to admire the longshoreman's refusal to "settle for half" (2.336).

Alfieri as Greek Chorus In A View from the Bridge, Miller replaces what used to be a horde of masked singing dancers with one guy – Alfieri. For the most part, Alfieri does a lot of talking about the contrasting Italian and American ideas of justice,

What does he do? What is his dramatic function? He places the events of the drama in context – he tells the audience that these things that happen occur through Italian history His role is to oversee the action and remain objective At the end of the play, he offers the audience some messages to think about His function is to help the audience make sense of what is happening ‘settle for half’ is repeated through the play

Timeline Alfieri introduces the audience to the world of the play and our protagonist. He advises Eddie to let Catherine make her own decisions. He bails Marco and Rodolpho out of jail. Alfieri concludes the play with a lamentation (mourning) for Eddie.

Home Work Revise the contextual features of OMAM Racial segregation in 1930s America – produce 10 bullet points The Great Depression - produce 10 bullet points