Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller

Death of a Salesman is Miller's tragic masterpiece about Willy Loman, the ageing travelling salesman haunted and driven by empty dreams of prosperity and success. Charting Willy's downfall and tragic end, the play has been justly celebrated as one of the most famous dramatisations of the dark side of the so-called American Dream. Its moral and political purpose is perfectly counterbalanced by a powerful and moving human drama: a man trying to make his way in the world whose human flaws ultimately lead to the shattering of his family and their illusions. The play won Miller both a Tony Award and a Pulitzer Prize and remains as powerful today as when it opened.