The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations Preface

1.125 Alice Duer Miller 1874-1942
I am American bred,
I have seen much to hate here—much to forgive,
But in a world where England is finished and dead,
I do not wish to live.
‘The White Cliffs’ (1940) p. 70
1.126 Arthur Miller 1915—
A suicide kills two people, Maggie, that’s what it’s for!
‘After the Fall’ (1964) act 2
All organization is and must be grounded on the idea of exclusion and prohibition just as two
objects cannot occupy the same space.
‘The Crucible’ (1952) act 1
The world is an oyster, but you don’t crack it open on a mattress.
‘Death of a Salesman’ (1949) act 1
Willy Loman never made a lot of money. His name was never in the paper. He’s not the finest
character that ever lived. But he’s a human being, and a terrible thing is happening to him. So
attention must be paid.
‘Death of a Salesman’ (1949) act 1
For a salesman, there is no rock bottom to the life. He don’t put a bolt to a nut, he don’t tell
you the law or give you medicine. He’s a man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a
shoeshine. And when they start not smiling back—that’s an earthquake. And then you get
yourself a couple of spots on your hat, and you’re finished. Nobody dast blame this man. A
salesman is got to dream, boy. It comes with the territory.
‘Death of a Salesman’ (1949) ‘Requiem’
‘How do you find your way back in the dark?...’Just head for that big star straight on. The
highway’s under it; take us right home.’
‘The Misfits’ (1961) ch. 12
The car, the furniture, the wife, the children—everything has to be disposable. Because you see
the main thing today is—shopping.
‘The Price’ (1968) act 1
The gullet of New York, swallowing the tonnage of the world.
‘A View from the Bridge’ (1955); describing Red Hook
The structure of a play is always the story of how the birds came home to roost.
‘Shadows of the Gods: A critical View of the American Theatre’, in ‘Harper’s Magazine’ August 1958
A good newspaper, I suppose, is a nation talking to itself.
In ‘Observer’ 26 November 1961
A theatre where no-one is allowed to walk out and everyone is forced to applause.
Describing Eastern Europe in ‘Omnibus’ (BBC TV) 30 October 1987; in ‘Independent’ 31 October 1987