Chronology
1915 Born on October 17 as Arthur Asher Miller in New York, New York
to Isidore and Augusta Miller.
1929 Father's business failed
1932 Graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School and was rejected from
the University of Michigan
1934 Accepted by University of Michigan
1936 Miller was awarded the Avery Hopwood Award in Drama for "Honors
at Dawn."
1937 Miller received the Avery Hopwood Award in Drama for "No Villain."
1938 Graduated with a Bachelors of Arts degree in English,
received the Theatre Guild National Award, returned to New York, and joined
the Federal Theatre Project
1940 Married college sweetheart Mary Grace Slattery.
Somewhere in here, Joan and Robert Miller were born.
1944 Broadway Debut for "The Man Who Had All the Luck" and book Situation
Normal was published
1945 Book Focus was published
1947 Broadway debut for "All My Sons," which received the New York
Drama Critics Circle Award
1949 "All My Sons" became a permanent Broadway production, and "Death
of a Salesman" made its debut, which received the Pulitzer Prize in the
same year.
1953 "The Crucible" premiers on January 22 and wins the Tony Award
1955 "A View from the Bridge" and "A Memory of Two Mondays" premiered
in New York
1956 Divorced Mary Grace Slattery and married actress Marilyn Monroe
three weeks later
1957 Arthur Miller's Collected Plays was published. Miller was
found guilty of contempty by Congress for refusing to reveal names of a
literacy circle suspected of Communist affiliations on June 1.
1961 The screenplay "The Misfits" was produced, and Miller divorced
Marilyn Monroe.
1962 Marilyn died of an overdose, and Miller married Inge Morath, a
photographer. Rebecca Miller, Arthur Miller and Inge Morath's daughter
was born. Rebecca Miller is now an actress and director.
1964 Debut of "After the Fall"
1965 Debut of "Incident at Vichy"
1967 Miller becomes President of P.E.N., an international literacy
organization. A collection of short stories titled I Don't Need You
Any More is published.
1968 "The Price" had its debut.
1969 Miller's book In Russia was published. Photos were by Inge
Morath.
1980 Screenplay "Playing for Time"
1984 "Salesman" in Bejing was published with photos by Inge Morath.
1987 Miller's autobiography Timebends was published. Play "Danger:
Memory!" debuts.
1991 "The Ride Down Mount Morgan" and "The Last Yankee" were produced.
1993 TV Movie "The American Clock"
1995 TV Movie "Broken Glass"
1996 "The Crucible" was filmed, featuring stars Daniel Day-Lewis and
Winona Ryder and Joan Allen. Daughter Rebecca Miller married actor Daniel Day-Lewis.
1997 Homely Girl, a Life : And Other Stories was published.
Literary Style and Themes
Arthur Miller is a jack-of-all-trades writer. This Pulitzer Prize
recipient has written plays, screenplays, novels, short stories, non-fiction,
and an autobiography. All of his work has been based on history,
observations, or his own life. These universal stories are about
the struggle of the individual, especially the working class. The
men and women in these works face internal antagonism from guilt, anxiety,
depression, and other heartaches. Their pain and sorrow are realistic,
which creates stories that are unforgettable and familiar. Miller
addressed morality and social issues of the day through the stage.
Although his opinion was not always popular, Miller was brave enough to
make political statements.
Plays
All My Sons
Death of a Salesman
The Crucible
A Memory of Two Mondays
A View from the Bridge
After the Fall
Incident at Vichy
The Price
The Creation of the World and Other Business
The Archbishop's Ceiling
The American Clock
Danger: Memory!
Screenplays
The Misfits
Playing for Time
Novel
Focus
Stories
I Don't Need You Any More
Autobiography
Timebends
Secondary Sources
Griffin, Alice. Understanding Arthur Miller. Columbia:
University of South Carolina
Press, 1996.
Miller, Arthur. Timebends. New York: Grove Press,
Inc., 1987.
Moss, Leonard. Arthur Miller. Boston: Twayne Publishers,
Inc., 1967.
Links
http://www.nytimes.com/books/00/11/12/specials/miller.html#plays
http://www.intelligentsianetwork.com/miller/miller.htm
http://www.levity.com/corduroy/millera.htm
http://www.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap8/miller.html
http://members.tripod.com/~SummaryCentral/deathofasalesman.htm
http://www.imagi-nation.com/moonstruck/clsc10p.htm
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/database/miller_a.html
http://warren.dusd.net/~english/Resources/Miller_NewYorker.htm