“The Crucible is still performed all over the world because its theme is universal.” Consider why miller wrote the play and discuss why it is still successful piece of drama
"The Crucible is still performed all over the world because its theme is universal." Consider why miller wrote the play and discuss why it is still successful piece of drama
Arthur Miller was born in 1915 and wrote one of the most successful historical plays, "The Crucible". "The Crucible" was written in 1953 America. Fear of communism s scoured the country and the McCarthy witch-hunts and trials began. It was all about self-preservation, so why write a play knowing the danger you were putting yourself in? McCarthy began widespread research into finding people with any capitalist thoughts or even the slightest sympathy. Anyone who was thought to be in anyway capitalist would be brought to caught and persecuted until the 'truth' was found.
Before the play was written, Miller was not suspected to be a communist. Despite this, those who were in the public eye were closely watched due to their ability to affect the thoughts and ideas of public. I think that seeing the witch hunts from a distance, as Miller did, rather than being directly involved, Miller saw what was going on without having a blurred point of view as others did who were being directly faced with this problem.
As Miller saw what was happening, he realised that he himself could not take any direct action, or speak out against these witch-hunts. He did, however, realise that he could make other Americans see how they were acting towards each other and how vengeance and paranoia were the main cause to this widespread hysteria. Miller realised that his main strength that he had to try and prevent this hysteria from developing further was to write a play, in hope that the audience would see what images and ideas he was trying to portray, instead of being 'just a play'.
Humans as a race do not seem to learn from their mistakes, for if they did, World War II would not have occurred. This, for Miller, turned out to be to his advantage, as he managed to find a parallel with 1950's America and 1692, Salem. This play turned out to be one of the most relevant plays of the past and of today. The reason to why Miller used the idea of witchcraft instead of McCarthyism is obvious; because had he said directly that he did not agree with the actions being taken, he would have been taken to court, but the idea of witchcraft also had another effect. As well as it making the play highly successful and an interesting topic for the audience watching the play, it made it seem more of an outrageous idea, that things could get so out of hand. When someone came out of the theatre, they may have thought, that it was ridiculous but later realised that they themselves were being just as ridiculous.
There are very obvious links between the play and what happened in America 1950 and Salem, 1692. These links are used to create a connection between the two different times. Miller, however, could not just write any play, he had to make a production that would sell and bring flocks of people. The words 'witch craft' create interest because of the natural curiosity towards the unknown. Because of this, this subject could be used for not only his purpose to try and make the public see and understand what was going on, but to also try and gather audiences. The play had to be exciting and to make it interesting he had use a combination of theme, structure, setting, character and language to create dramatic effect.
The structure of this play is used to create a panic the gradual feeling of a loss of control over what is happening. Once the play begins, things are controlled and setting, character and the base of the story are established. Slowly, this disintegrates until everything spirals out of any order and gains momentum as it progresses. The lengthy stage directions are full of detail for the acting out of the play as to get the right impressions across from the actors to the audience. As well as these stage directions, there are also fairly long character history passages. That give actors not only general information about their character like how old they are, but how they conduct themselves towards others, why they behave in that manner, and how their upbringing and experiences affect the way they think and feel.
The first act is the longest of the four, giving the raw materials for the tragedy to take form. In this first act, this story that gains momentum could have been stopped at any time just by stopping and taking a look carefully at what had happened, instead of each character passing the blame from one person to another. As the story becomes more intense, so do the scenes, becoming shorter and uncomfortable for the characters involved in the scene.
This gradual shortening of the play is used to make the feeling of panic, if there was a constant harshness to the story, and was no time to take a little rest, the play would be too much for some people. Because of this, small 'relief' points are added to the play. In Act 4, Elizabeth tells John that Giles had died from being 'pressed'. We are told that the last words said by Giles was "more weight!"
I think that the best example of tension is towards the end of Act 3 when Proctor admits to ...
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This gradual shortening of the play is used to make the feeling of panic, if there was a constant harshness to the story, and was no time to take a little rest, the play would be too much for some people. Because of this, small 'relief' points are added to the play. In Act 4, Elizabeth tells John that Giles had died from being 'pressed'. We are told that the last words said by Giles was "more weight!"
I think that the best example of tension is towards the end of Act 3 when Proctor admits to the court, his affair with Abigail. With the inability to look or make eye contact with Proctor or Abigail, Elizabeth is put into the uncomfortable decision of telling the truth or telling a lie, which she believes, would save his life and his good and respected name. "Look at me only," ... "In my eyes only," Danforth Act 3. In this scene, Elizabeth has no support from any of the actors and knows that all eyes are on her.
Act 2 sets the impression on us, as the audience, that there is still a dark cloud hanging over the heads of John and Elizabeth Proctor and their marriage that still seems to be unsteady since the affair. The scene seems to communicate the idea that Elizabeth and John are still not prepared to tell each other their true feelings and thoughts and still cannot talk about the relationship between Abigail and Proctor. It is as though the couple is preparing what they are going to say and thinking about each sentence before speaking. Even the fact that Proctor secretly puts extra seasoning in the meal Elizabeth had made shows that they are both still making an effort to keep the marriage alive. "'It's well seasoned.' ([Elizabeth blushes] with pleasure)," Act 2. They are even avoiding even the slightest dissatisfaction from each other, as they believe that even something as insignificant as not putting enough salt in some soup, could cause their marriage to be put under even more strain. This tension creates emotion and feelings for the characters as an audience as you can understand the difficulty the couple are going through. This again makes this play popular as people can understand the feelings of Proctor and Elizabeth as it can often be linked with themselves or to someone the know or have heard about.
Even though John tries to avoid the subject of Abigail Williams, when the subject is mentioned, he becomes very defensive and almost hostile towards Elizabeth. He changes around the topic and so eventually, the trouble ends up on Elizabeth. This is because he does not want to admit that he was a large part in the reason to why his marriage is unstable but I think that in his heart, he blames himself more than anyone else. This quotation is an example of Proctor acting adversely towards Elizabeth who was trying not to sound as if she was interrogating him. "You forget nothin' and forgive nothin'!" Act 2.
The final scene is the very shortest and has the final dramatic rebellion against the court by Proctor when he refuses to sign this confession. This is like a last cry for justice and then all slows down as he finally does what is the truthful thing for him; he dies instead of giving himself to a lie. "He have his goodness now. God forbid I take it from him!" Act 4, final line by Elizabeth Proctor.
The end of final scene is set at the hanging of John Proctor and others who had been wrongly accused of witch craft. This gives a distinctive ending to the play and gives a feeling of relief- John Proctor is finally free and forgiven for what he has done. Other uses of setting are used throughout the play to create dramatic effect and to give insights into feelings and the atmosphere caused by the anxiety.
Because of the historical points of this play, (the witch hunts in Salem), it had to be set in 1692 Salem and in this period in time, America was a relatively new country, with many doubts about what was to happen in the place full of fear. "Salem had been established hardly forty years before." Act 1; stage directions.
This is a relatively new community and so holds many doubts about what sort of place it may be. We are also told that it is close by the woods where Indians lived and was "The Devil's last preserve..." Even before Abigail led the girls into the wood, there would have been fear about the Indians and the Indians' culture. The woods also represent darkness, evil and fear a trait throughout the play. This would have been caused by a lack of knowledge and understanding of the Indians and because the Indians were 'different'. They would have been thought of as pagans because of the different belief systems that they had and were generally afraid of and revered as they had also acted against the newly found community. Act 1, Abigail to the girls "I saw Indians smash my dear parents' heads on the pillow next to mine..."
There are large contrasts in the setting throughout the play, which mirror the feeling of it. The contrast between light and dark are used throughout the play and is evident from the first scene in the stage directions. Act 1; Stage directions, "Through its leaded panes the morning sunlight streams." The idea of the sunlight streaming through the window suggests that the 'small upper bedroom' is, other than the little light that comes through the window, dark and almost repressive. The idea of light suggests hope, positively and may have religious implications such as 'Jesus is the light of the world'. It is of interest that the events unfold in the minister's house as this would have been one of the last places that you would expect to find the devil. It would also make the community worried as they would believe that once a man of God's home had been transfixed by the devil, it would be so easy for an ordinary Christian to be caught .
Because of the ideas of supernatural events in the play, certain language is used eg. the moon 'creeping'. This suggests that something sinister is going to happen. When the play would have been acted out, lighting effects would be used to create an eiriness about the action about to take place. "It is the low, dark and rather long living room..." Act 2; stage directions. The darkness on the room adds dramatic tension to the scene as it makes it very oppressive and closed in. The light almost represents the truth behind the dancing and singing the night before and that the truth is there but is struggling to fight against the darkness and shine through. It could also show how with all the darkness in the room, the sunlight is to a small minority, like the few who refused to tell the lie that was wanted for them and died because of it.
In this time in history, it would have been a puritan community and so there would be little furniture or decoration. The simple furnishings also show the setting of this piece. The simple furnishing shows how the community was puritan and did not believe in "anything resembling theatre or 'vein enjoyment'". The houses would also be kept clean, keeping with a saying formed later on, 'Cleanliness is next to Godliness.'
In this small town community, it would have been difficult to go anywhere to escape from the surroundings. This town could be described as being 'narrow' in the way of its physical properties and that of the way the community is narrow minded. The size of the town also adds to the hysteria as people cannot go and think things out clearly. Nothing would go unnoticed and even the day after the girls were taken ill, people were asking questions and talking about what had gone on. "how high did she fly, how high?" There are also other rumours surrounding Abigail Williams about the real reason to why she was told to leave Goody Proctor's house as a maid. "Your name in the town- it is entirely white, is it not?" Parris to Abigail, Act 1. No matter where you went, there would always be someone who knew you.
The idea of the town being 'narrow' is also evident in the different sets. Most of the action takes place between three rooms: the courtroom, Proctor's house and Parris' house. The repetitiveness of this makes the play repressive and gives no 'breathing space' for the characters. Also, each room can then be related to a thought or feeling. For example, Proctor's home might be thought of as a place of difficulty due to the marriage. The court might be thought of as a place of injustice, which is ironic due to the idea of the law bringing honesty and truth.
The difference in class and authority is established more by how respected a man was rather than how much money someone had. Those who were not respected members of the community were the first to receive questioning and the blame for what had happened. The first person that got the blame was Tituba, the Negro slave from Barbados. The fact that people were looked down upon gives us an insight to the time in which the play was set.
Tituba is also set aside from all the other characters because of her strong Barbadian accent. At this time, no real 'American' accent had been formed and so Tituba was again 'different' from every one around her as well as being black. There seems to be a difference in speech patterns for those who have been educated e.g. Reverend Hale and Mr. Parris to those who are farmers, servants or are just of an ordinary up bringing.
Archaic language is used commonly, often making the scene more complicated and dramatic. Despite this, the language and plot is easily understandable as it is not over complicated as the antiquated language and speech patterns are, although not commonly used today, can be understood as this language is often used when comparing feelings and thoughts to objects using similes. Different variations of the same verb are used but without taking effect of the emotive language. An example of this is: 'to do', 'have done', 'we did' and 'we have been'. This language gives the audience a perception to the time in which the play was set.
The emotive language makes us, as the audience, connect with the different characters as well as emphasising the dramatic tension created by the way the scene is set up. Often it is not only the way the play is written but also how the scene is organised by the director to how dramatic a scene can be. In the recent film, directed by Nicholas Hytner, the scenes within the courtroom are effectively done, especially in Act 2 when Elizabeth and Proctor are not aloud to make eye contact. This is due to the fact that Proctor was so close to Elizabeth and yet could not see her or gives her any clue as to how to save him. Had this scene been done with Proctor, Abigail being far away from Elizabeth, you would not have felt the anxiety that Elizabeth held.
The use of emotive language gives the audience an understanding of the different characters and makes us feel what they are going through. As an audience, we sometimes feel sorry for Abigail despite the way she acts towards others. Although she is manipulative, we can feel this way towards her because she did not plan for people to get killed, all that she wanted was John Proctor.
Abigail uses colours to represent feelings, which give you a picture in your mind of what she may be imagining. "I have seen some reddish work done at night..." The colour red signifies danger and in this case, the blood of someone. 'Word painting' is used, describing a scene so that you get a vivid picture of what is going to happen. Often, violent images are used to create atmosphere. End of Act 2, Proctor; "I will fall like an ocean on that court!" "Now Hell and Heaven grapple on our backs, and all our old pretence is ripped away- make your peace!" Often, in these small speeches and word pictures, sounds are used which are of one syllable. Mono-syllabic words such as 'crash' and 'bang' are used for sudden, quick and effective sound effects. These create dramatic tension and make us feel like there is no way of stopping what is happening.
Tituba as a character is a slave. She would have been looked down upon and she also had difficulty in defending herself, not only because of her social status, but also because of her position regarding in difficulty communicating. "...because her slave sense had warned her that, as always, trouble in this house eventually [landed] on her back." Act 1; stage directions. Each character has an involvement of what happens in the play. The different type of people draw parallels between the communist witch hunts and the witch hunts of Salem. Often, the pictures that are painted of characters in the book such as Proctor are mirrored and linked to people in the day of 1950's America i.e. Author Miller.
Abigail's character acts impulsively and does not appear to care about people, as long as she is not harmed or put under threat. She recognises the difference between being a servant/maid and being a slave. "for I would now be her slave..." This is important as had she not recognised the difference, then she may not have realised what a large advantage there was for her than Tituba. The only way for Tituba to escape being hanged is to confess to dealing with witchcraft. From the very beginning, Abigail understands what position she is in and has a strong fear for her life.
The theme behind this play is the idea of self preservation and how mass hysteria can easily take over our actions and thoughts until the point where we no longer think, we just do. In the play, there is almost a wish for things to get out of hand by Reverend Parris so blame is naturally taken out of his hands and blame is handed down to people who are highly respected in and out of the community. This could also be based upon the suspicions of McCarthy, a solitary man who later made the majority of America under suspicion of capitalism. From the moment 'witchcraft' is mentioned, the whole community is excited and immediately interested in what happened, why and when. "Uncle, the rumour of witchcraft is all about," Act1, Abigail to Parris. This clearly shows that even the day after the girls were found in the woods, "the rumour [was] all about."
The arrival of Mr. Hale takes the whole idea of witchcraft up another level from the involvement of the girls who were directly involved with the original fear to the whole community being threatened by the devil. Once he reaches Salem, he is almost expected to find some super natural reason to why the girls are ill and unable to move. He says to the local people that the books he carries are "weighted with authority," and because very few people were able to read then he would have been respected because they would have known that he had a good education.
Parris would have been a highly respected member of the community but despite this he is not really the good, concerned father you would have expected him to be. This is particularly evident in the first act when his daughter is sick. He is not as concerned for his daughter, Betty, as he is for the fact that some of his 'enemies' will force him out of his pulpit.
Arthur Miller has written the play with very clear parallels and these parallels can often be related to people and characters. There is a close relationship between Miller and Proctor, if you take into account the fact that they were both one of the few people who could see behind the smoke screen. I think that this play would have helped Miller work out his moral issues to do with the witch-hunts and that he would not have taken part in the 1950's communist witch hunts. In an interview that Miller had recently, he said that he had written the play with Proctor being 'just a character' from the story despite the close links. I think that this was because as Miller wrote the play, he used it almost as an escape, to let out his true feelings and thoughts as you would in a diary. As Miller wrote the play, I think that he may have learned some things about himself as a person and maybe given people more a look into his private life than he wanted.
The fact that Proctor would not sign his name resembles Miller in the way that he refused to have any effect that may promote the witch-hunts.
After the play was published, Miller was taken to court and accused of being a communist. He was later found innocent of what turned out to be wide spread hysteria as in the witch-hunts. Like the witch-hunts, they all eventually stopped when many people refused to give false confessions. After writing this play, Miller said that he would not write another historical play because "[he] never thought of another period that was so relevant to ours." I think that this play is so relevant because it is so easy to get wrapped up in our own problems that we lose perspective of what the real problem is.
I think that everyone must use their own conscience and decide for themselves what is the morally correct thing to do rather that following dogma as otherwise you can end up to a similar situation as that which is represented in this play. This play could turn out for some, the most useful advice that could be given to them as people who are of high status are not always the people who can rightly dictate what is to be done.
Parallels can always be found between the past and present and being able to see those parallels is something that is often difficult to find. Once you have found a parallel however, you can often relate it to very many circumstances. This is why plays such as these are so successful as everyone can correlate an incident of their lives to this.
