Language for The Crucible

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Identify at least 3 ways that Arthur Miller uses language in the crucible.

Arthur Miller use of language explored numerous ways of explaining things that were considered to be necessary. One thing that I noticed Arthur miller did with his language was to set the place and time that they were in meaning the period the story was set in which was in the spring of the year 1692 in Salem.

One of the most effective uses of language in the play is Miller's use of old fashioned, outdated words such as 'harlot'. By doing this he ensures that the language maintains its time period but he still keeps it simple so it's understandable. For example the way he uses words such as 'Aye' and 'Nay' which stand for 'Yes' and 'No'. This tells the audience that the period that this story

is set is in olden times as at the present time we no longer talk in that type of language that they did so this makes it understandable to us that it's in a different century.

The order of words also gives us a feeling of time and place. For example in act two, page 69 Cheever says and I quote:

"The court bid me search your house, but I like not to search a house".

By changing the order of the words, it makes it sound much more noble and sophisticated to what we communicate like currently and so this enhances the idea of being in a different time period.

Another thing is the way the characters address each other in the play, it reflects a very formal society. Elizabeth Proctor is referred to as Goody Proctor; this is normally used to refer to a person within a good relationship and refers to them being a good wife. This helps enhance the understanding of the period that they were in as in our time we refer to people as Mr. or Mrs. or even Miss if they are not married. Another example of this is how other address John Proctor only by his surname for example in Act Two page 68 Cheever says:

"Good evening to you, Proctor"

This shows the respect that they have by addressing them by their second name as for Danforth they address him by his second name as well and so because he has a higher status then the rest they refer to him by only his second name as it shows they respect him and it also shows the fear that they might feel towards them as they don't refer to him by his first name as they don't class themselves as close as they would a friend. However this can be compared to the way that Abigail and Elizabeth addressed him, who instead of refer to John Proctor by his surname; they addressed him as 'John'. This showed that by calling him by his first name it shows that they are communicating their intimacy towards him.

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The audience is also made aware of the importance of religion in Salem by Arthur Miller's use of biblical references. The persistent use of 'Lord, Sod, Satan and Lucifer' implies the religious beliefs of the community and this is further supported by characters who in conversation quote and refer to the bible. An example of this is when Elizabeth Proctor Pg 53 quotes:

"Abigail brings the other girls into the court, and where she walks the crowd will part like the sea for Israel." Here Elizabeth is referring to the parting of the Red Sea by Moses where he stretched ...

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