In the play, “Death of a Salesman,” tragic themes are prevalent throughout the plot. The play was written in 1948, by the playwright, Arthur Miller. The play is set in the late 1940s, and is set around Willy Loman, a 63-year-old salesman who is starting to lose his touch with sales. Willy shows many signs of early onset Alzheimer’s, causing him to have many misperceptions about what is happening in his life, including with his career and his relationship with his sons. He is often found talking to himself, and having conversations with his dead brother, Ben. Willy comes to the realization that he is not as well-respected and loved as he might have been long ago in his life and career. Because Willy does not fulfill his dreams of becoming successful and rich, he pesters his oldest son, Biff, about getting a proper job and settling down. This causes their relationship to crumble. Once Willy confirms that Biff really does love him, he commits suicide because he thinks that he is worth more dead than alive. The play, “Death of a Salesman,” fits the genre of tragedy because it involves a great man with great potential, who ultimately has a downfall because of his own personal flaws. Willy Loman is a man with great potential, but falls into a trap of only seeking out materialistic possessions. This obsession causes him to ruin his relationship with both of his sons by putting them under so much pressure. Another flaw that Willy has is exaggerating reality to make him appear better. He made Biff think that he used to be a salesman for Oliver, but he really was a shipping-clerk. In tragic plays, the tragic hero often has a great moment of realization before his downfall. Willy realizes that Biff really does love him, despite their differences, before committing suicide. These examples show why the play, “Death of a Salesman” is tragic.

The purpose of this project was to form a visual poem by colouring over lines of text from a book, leaving behind words to create a poem. My poem is about the relationship between Biff and Willy, specifically when Biff is told by Linda to leave the home forever and avoid any further conflict with Willy. Biff tells Willy that he is leaving, then breaks down in tears and is comforted by Willy. The lines, “And it broke my heart to know you would have killed everything You have” talks about Biff and the rest of the family knowing that Willy was trying to kill himself. The outline in the background of my poem is Willy comforting Biff while he weeps. Overall, this poem is about the breaking of a dysfunctional father-son relationship.