Question

In at least one hundred words, discuss the use of imagination in Our Town. How is it integrated into the play, and why is it significant?

Answer 1

Imagination is an important element of Our Town, and it is integrated into the play in various ways. The portrayal of the afterlife, for example, encourages imaginative exploration and discovery. Additionally, the play's unconventional staging elements also encourage the audience to use their own imaginations to visualize the events of the play. The use of imagination in Our Town is significant because it allows the play to explore complex ideas and themes in a creative and engaging way, and it encourages the audience to engage with the play on a deeper level.

Answer 2

Thornton Wilder resorts to the audience's imagination in his non-traditional play "Our Town" because he uses a barren stage. However, Wilder sets the act scenes in such a way that the viewers can imagine that the setting is in a town and that trivial everyday scenes are performed. The elements from the stage that activate the audience's imagination are the roles played by the stage managers and the characters' own words. The stage managers are not ficticious ; they address the audience directly to link them with the actions in the play. The stage managers are unbound to time and place ,so the audience will have to imagine them. Then, the characters' words function as the audience's source of imagery. The writer's resort to imagination is significant because the viewers will have an active role in the interpretation of the play.They will feel directly involved in the issues developed in it: birth, marriage and death.