It has been argued that Act Three is the dramatic climax of "The Crucible". Discuss how far you agree with this.

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"The Crucible" was written by Arthur Miller in the early 1950's and was first published in England in 1956. "The Crucible" is essentially an allegory. An allegory telling a story on the surface through an American play while conveying another sub plot. He was comparing the witch-hunt trials in Salem of 1692 to the hunting of communists in the 1950's.

Arthur Miller uses the typical convections of a four act play. Miller uses this structure to create tension from the various plots of each act. In act one the exposition is introduced to set the scene and the inciting moment is usually put forward. The second act includes the rise of the action to form the build up of tension after the previous act has provided the atmosphere of the play. In act three the climax would have reached at the peak of tension, which is normally the "crisis point". Act four ends the play with a resolution to sum up. I think that Miller adapts "The Crucible" to this structure successfully. Act one sets the scene well through stage directions and the witchcraft is witnessed instantly which gives the audience an insight of the main theme of the play. The tension builds up during act two as it reveals John Proctor had an affair with Abigail Williams. Elizabeth Proctor gets accused of witchcraft, which affects the audience in the way that they feel empathy for the Proctors and understand that what's at stake really has risen.

John Proctor is introduced as the main protagonist in the exposition of act one. The playwright describes Proctor as having a "hidden force" and "quiet confidence" to show that his role will become more and more important as the tension builds up. Miller shows the audience that Proctor is the protagonist as he describes him as a man in "his prime" through his confident and influential entrance as he affects other characters of the scene. Miller introduces a sin on Proctor to establish the crisis and is effective, as it will prove to have an impact on other characters as well. The dark and claustrophobic setting in Reverend Parris' house is another dramatic device Arthur Miller uses. This could be reflecting future events and thoughts of characters such as Judge Danforth and Parris himself. "A small upper bedroom" portrays this setting of the first act. The heightened opening emotions of Parris as he shouts at Tituba, "Out of here". Parris wants to get rid of his Caribbean slave. This makes the audience believe that Parris has strong feelings for his daughter when in fact it's more of a self interest as is revealed later on throughout the play. The first entrance of Abigail is into the cramped bedroom where Parris is kneeling at his daughter's bedside. The first impressions of her are as a "strikingly beautiful girl" which is an image the audience will not forget and will soon realise why Proctor fell for her. She is also described as someone who has "endless capacity of disassembling". These choices of words another way of stating the manipulation of someone which Abigail has already done at the time.
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Miller opens the first act with the "quiet" and "small" upper bedroom and ends with the heightening hysteria of the girls. This is a very effective juxtaposition as this works well with the rapid introduction of the characters. This keeps the audience hooked as the tension builds up. The inciting moment comes through all the accusations being thrown around in the small room. I believe that this is a significant choice miller has made. The small room suggests that the accusations take place with more force as if they are bouncing and echoing of the walls of the ...

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