How Does Arthur Miller use Theatrical Techniques and Dramatic Devises to Create and Sustain Tension in the Crucible

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How does Arthur Miller use theatrical techniques and dramatic devices to create and sustain tension in The Crucible?

Ella Park

Going to the theatre is both an intimate and exciting experience for the audience. It creates a tense atmosphere by having the action so close to you. The theatre offers a completely different experience than sitting alone with a book. At the theatre you are sharing your experience, atmosphere and emotion with everyone around you. When you’re reading a book you have to use your imagination and make up images about the characters in your head. You may feel closer to the characters whilst reading a book but in a theatre you are physically closer to the characters, which adds to the reality of the situation. I think that the way a theatre production happens in a short amount of time makes it a lot more dramatic than a book, which is spread out, and you can put it down whenever you want. At the theatre you feel more part of the drama than if you were reading a book. This is because you are a witness to all the events and if you know something that a character doesn’t you feel involved. Theatre therefore creates such a tense and emotional atmosphere because of the live actors and reality of the performance.

Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, illustrates how people react to hysteria created by one person or a group of people. This happened during the McCarthy hearings of the 1950s and the Salem witch-hunts of 1692. In the McCarthy hearings many Americans were wrongly accused of being Communist sympathizers. The activities of the House of Un-American Activities Committee began to be linked with the witchcraft trials that had taken place in the town of Salem. This provided Miller with the catalyst to write ‘The Crucible’. Without the knowledge of the McCarthy hearings and the Salem witch hunts, The Crucible may be seen as a melodrama and the events in the play, sensationalized. It is not a melodrama because it is actually not overly dramatic; the McCarthy hearings and the witch-hunts inject realism in the play. The play deals with historical events and with characters that have a historical context. The Crucible is based upon the happenings of the witch-hunts in Salem. The Salem community was made up of Puritans who had emigrated from England to escape persecution for their religious beliefs in 1620. The community was insular living by it’s own rules and regulations. Being Puritans they were very church loving and against the devil and ungodly acts such as dancing. The village was tightly knit, everyone knew each other and social status was very important. Arguments were common in such a claustrophobic environment. A community living in a puritan society like Salem could easily fall into a chaotic state and have great difficulties dealing with what they considered to be the worst form of evil. In the strong Puritan community, young males and females weren’t allowed normal social interaction, which consequently often led to sexual tension and jealousy.

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Superficially, Salem’s society seems to be one of ‘belonging’ in that everyone shares the same values and religious beliefs, and complies by the rules; but the fact that Proctor and Abigail have an affair shows that this is not always the case. Abigail’s speech – ‘I know how you clutched my back behind your house and sweated like a stallion whenever I came near’ – is highly dramatic in its animalistic imagery. Abigail presents herself to Proctor as the object of his desires. She uses language in an attempt to arouse Proctor to be drawn to her again. Abigail ...

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