Forger, Liar, Thief
The recurrence of the phrase “a forger, a liar and a thief” in one form another pops up throughout the play. In the repetition it becomes a piece of imagery that constantly reminds the audience of the reputation for life that is stake for a teenage boy insisting he did nothing wrong.
Signed, Liberty Lover
The play takes play in the years just preceding the outbreak of World War I and premiered in the shadow of the recently ended World War II. As a result, the shadow of the dangers of authoritarianism and the subjugation of the individual to the interests of the state hangs heavily over the story. This shadow is presented most explicitly in imagery provided in a letter to the editor of a newspaper in which the writer’s language and complaints strongly are strongly suggestive that England may not be quite as immune from the extremities of this danger experienced by other European powers as many thing:
“The efforts of Mr. Arthur Winslow to secure a fair trial for his son have evidently been thwarted at every turn by a soulless oligarchy—it is high time private and peaceful citizens of this country awoke to the increasing encroachment of their ancient freedom by the new despotism of Whitehall. The Englishman’s home was once said to be his castle. It seems it is rapidly becoming his prison. Your obedient servant, Libertatis Amator.”
The Trial
The most subversive use of imagery in the play are the images that do not appear. Fundamentally, this is a courtroom drama in that the emotional tension is drawn taut as a result of an unfair accusation being disproved in a court of law. Traditionally, this would inevitably result in narrative movement toward at the very least a final act which actually takes place inside a courtroom if for no other reason than that courtroom scenes are such a popular way to produce dramatic tension and conflict. The power of imagery in this case is that there is never any image of a courtroom displayed on stage despite repeated references to a trial.
The Verdict
The lack of a courtroom scene means that the results of the trial have to be conveyed to the audience through dialogue. This sets up one of the most memorable imagery-laden long passages in the play when the Winslow’s maid Violet describes the moment the verdict is announced:
“The cheering and the shouting and the carrying-on – you never heard anything like it in all your life – and Sir Robert standing there at the table with his wig on crooked and the tears running down his face…then cook had her hat knocked over her eyes by the man behind who was cheering and waving his arms about something chronic, and shouting about liberty… then outside in the street it was just the same – you couldn’t move for the crowd, and you’d think they’d all gone mad the way they were carrying on. Some of them were shouting ‘Good old Winslow!’ and singing ‘For he’s a jolly good fellow’, and cook had her hat knocked off again.”
