A tragedy is defined as both serious play that ends sadly especially with the main characters death. A tragedy consists of terrible, unhappy or unfortunate events. A tragic hero is when a main character in a play dies. A View from the Bridge is set in Redhook where justice is very important but not law. Law had no place in the society of Redhook; there seems to be a conflict between law and justice. Redhook was the center point of Italian immigration, for that reason the community of Redhook were known as Italians.
The themes explored in the play "A View from the Bridge" are; dominance, power, honour and most importantly love. Eddie is baffled between love and honour. He's love for Catherine destroys his honour his community, as a result, tension is created because Eddie has to make a decision that will sacrifice one feeling, love or honour, and save the other. The reader wants to know which decision he'll make, so, it draws the reader into the play to read on and find out. Tension is then sustained throughout the play when Eddie phones up the immigration bureau.
At the start of the play Eddie is genuinely concerned about Catherine's behavior. “Walkin wavy”, this shows that Eddie disapproves her behavior, hence, showing that Eddie is not only a positive father-like figure but he is a responsible guardian. Catherine's attempt to please Eddie tells us that she cares about what Eddie thinks. If one did not know that Katie and Eddie were not related they could assume that they were in fact actually flirting, a very close relationship indeed. Yet, Eddie and Beatrice are married, we do not see them flirting in the play, do we? Eddie and Beatrice are married, but what does that mean? Eddie rarely, if ever, goes near Beatrice; his focus is moreso on Catherine. There is a triangle between Eddie, Catherine and Beatrice, and unfortunately all of their needs are different, Beatrice wants Eddie, Eddie wants Catherine and Catherine wants, well, we don't know yet.
The play uses the conventions of a Greek tragedy; firstly the first edition published of "A View from the Bridge" was in 1 act only. 1 act plays are a convention of a Greek tragedy. Additionally, Arthur Miller wrote his play in linear, straight forward no flash backs etc. What's more, Miller used a final climax in his play which suggests his play is essentially based on a conventional Greek tragedy. Furthermore, the use of narration, Alfiery, not only portrays Miller's voice but has an actual personality in the play; the use of narration in the play connects the world of Redhook to our world. Ultimately, the tragic hero, Eddie, with one fatal flaw, his love for Catherine shows another indication of the conventional Greek tragedy.
On the cousins' arrival the play sets in for a light comedy event, the effect of the cousins' arrival removes the tension which was created earlier on in the play. However, the arrival of Rodolpho stirs up trouble to Eddie; his young, blond, enthusiastic views brighten up the house. His singing, cooking, multi-tasking brings about a hint of jealousy to Eddie's eyes. Moreso, the arrival of Rodolpho obstructs Eddie's plans, therefore Rodolpho is treated in a different way, refereed to as "Gay".
After some time Eddie has changed dramatically, he's conversation with Beatrice becomes incredibly harsh. In Eddie's mind this is due to Beatrice not backing him up, at least that's what Eddie thinks. Besides, Rodolpho's presence and behavior in Eddie's household seems unnatural and Katie's attachment to Rodolpho disturbs him. “Your running Katie”, Eddie knows that Katie is growing up, but he doesn't want her to. Then “You like him".
