Point of View

The first point to note here is that because this is a play, the primary point of view is that of the audience – what is read describes what is seen, what is heard, and what is done by the characters. It is, in many ways, a very objective point of view. For the most part, there is no narrative to explain why things are happening, to go into the minds and experiences of the characters, or to develop imagery that metaphorically reveals truths about experience and/or motivation. This is not to say that none of these elements are present (see “Language and Meaning” below), only that they do not emerge through prose, but rather through the dialogue and described actions of the characters. Here it’s important to note that the latter (i.e. described actions) are actually relatively sparse: the playwright, like many...