What Is The Irony In Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?
Who 's afraid of Virginia Woolf? Is set in the fictitious New England College town of New Carthage. It becomes apparent that the house is on the campus of a small New England college. The fact that George and Martha live on campus shows that they 're both firmly under the thumb of Martha 's father, who is the president of the university. It 's also interesting that Albee describes it specifically as a small college. This makes George look like even more of a flop, as he can 't even move up in the ranks where there 's undoubtedly less competition than there would be at a large university. It also makes Martha 's worship of her father seem more pathetic ( Solomon 123 ).
The three-act structure of who 's afraid of Virginia
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The play Who 's afraid of Virginia Woolf is popular for its very cynical type of writing and for its usage of a lot, if not too much of black humor. Harsh aggressive Language with sexual connotations. E.g: " Hump ', " angel-tits", " you should try me.. " is constantly used by the characters involved in order to shock and irritate the reader and the audience
( Kichmayar 4 ).
The kind of language used can be noticed in Martha 's Relation with George. The dialogue between the two can be described as most extravagantly absurd. George and Martha know that they are at times of entertaining, acting and even using their guests for their own theatrical purpose.
( Bollobas 59 ).
All the characters are involved in a complex language game. The two masters of the ceremony, George and Martha are experienced players, who normally make up or change the rules as they go along, and show a fire ear to their modulation all along. They play different kinds of plays/ games, which could be brought under headings like games of revelation and deceit, truth and falsehood, reality and make-believe
( Kichmayar 3
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Even those who found the play 's themes too unsettling or the subject matter unsavory had high praise for his skill as a playwright. His sharp and incisive dialogue is only one of the elements that make Albee 's style both recognizable and memorable ( Kichmayar 15 )
Humor in Who 's afraid of Virginia Woolf is often very funny, George and Martha are so verbally skillful that their exchanges often make you laugh at the same time you feel the pain they inflict. Examples of Albee 's humor come in several categories .Wit as an Example " there are many " George responds to Martha when she has changed into a revealing outfit: " Why, Martha… your Sunday chapel dress !( Solomon 70 ).
Farce is apparent as George appears with the shotgun that " explodes " into a colored parasol. Also, George open the door to their guests as Martha screams " Screw you" . Furthermore, Insult Humor George and Martha are expert at pointed bitchery. Their insults are accurate, deadly, yet often hilarious ( Solomon 20
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