Miller creates further tension with the entrance of Abigail and Susanna Walcott ‘a nervous, hurried girl’ who exclaims that the doctor bids Parris to ‘look to unnatural things for the cause’ of Betty’s fragile state. Parris’ reaction alone creates immediate intrigue and tension due to the implications of ‘unnatural’ happenings, his eyes going wide Parris insists desperately ‘No-no. There be no unnatural cause here.’ Such an allegation is extremely disturbing for Parris because of Salem’s theocratic and deeply religious society, anything to do with the Devil and Witchcraft was seen as very serious and would be incredibly dangerous for any persons involved.
Miller’s use of several different techniques to create tension in the first Act of ‘The Crucible’ is very effective as a device to capture the audience’s attention. For example in the first scene of ‘The Crucible’ where Parris is trying to get to the bottom of what Abigail, Betty and the other girls did in the forest. Abigail insists that they were just dancing but Parris is unsure. This first scene makes the audience ask questions like: Is it the witchcraft that it’s rumoured to be? Is Abby telling the truth? And what is wrong with Betty? This causes the audience to become instantly hooked to the play. Later on in that scene Parris reveals his real motive, he says, “For now my ministry is at stake, my ministry and perhaps your cousin’s life.” By talking about his ministry first it seems like that’s his priority for he doesn’t want to get a bad name. Also in that scene Abigail starts to bring out her hatred for Goodwife Proctor where she says, “Goody is a gossiping liar!” which makes you wonder why she hates her so much. Later in Act One Miller reveals why she hates her so much and this creates a high amount of tension.
Another way he created tension was by getting other people involved with the accusations and creating conflict between characters. An example of this is when Ann and Thomas Putnam enter and are deeply disturbed by what has happened to Betty. This is because they say their only daughter, Ruth, has also taken ill. She explains that she sent Ruth to see Tituba to conjure spirits, hoping she would be able to communicate with her seven dead siblings. And now, Ann thinks Ruth has fallen ill because of the whole event. Goody Putnam also reveals that Goody Nurse delivered most of her seven dead children and that she suspects her of witchery. This makes the audience grow more curious. Goody Putnam appears to have just needed someone to blame for their deaths and we, the audience, feel sorry for her- enough to ignore the fact that she instigated the girl’s actions in the forest. This makes the audience believe more that there really is witchcraft but it increases the tension as the curiosity of the audience increases.
Miller uses a variety of techniques to create tension on stage and in the audience. One such technique is the way in which variations are created in language; this creates a mix of emotions from the audience. Take, for example, Abigail's line of "Give me a word John, a soft word" where she appears to be attempting to seduce John. In this part of the play we see how Abigail can manipulate how she speaks to, in a way, toy with John's emotions, however it is likely that at this point in the play the audience will be aware of how young Abigail actually is, and will therefore realise she is embarrassing herself. Although this isn't creating high levels of immense tension, the embarrassment the audience is provoked to feel due to Abigail's actions is likely to leave them feeling highly uncomfortable in the situation, hence causing a tense atmosphere to be created. In contrast to Abigail's approach, John talks more as a father, giving a very patronising response, which begins with him calling her "child", thus furthering the embarrassment felt.
As previously mentioned, Abigail’s hatred for Goody Proctor is seen in the beginning of Act One. In the middle of Act One we find out why she is filled with such hatred for Elizabeth. It all begins with the entrance of John Proctor. The way all the girls, except an inert Betty and Abigail, promptly walk out the room shows he has a lot of power and we hear in his introduction that he is a well respected man in Salem. There is a part where there is some dramatic irony when Abigail and Proctor are talking alone. “Give me a word, John. A soft word.” This tells the audience that she has a crush on him but the way his facial expression changes shows he has no desire to be with her. But not long after, Abigail says why she was dismissed from serving at the Proctor home. This answers a lot of questions but it keeps the tension high because we know this but none of the other characters know about it. Plus this affects John Proctor because he doesn’t want his reputation to change to a bad one because his name will be blackened if people knew he committed adultery, plus in the time of the puritans adultery was punishable by death.
We cannot ponder about that for long though as our attention is quickly diverted as lightly in the background a Psalm is being sung and when the words ‘Going up to Jesus’ are heard Betty starts to scream uncontrollably and claps her hands to her ears. This startles the characters and the audience because Betty was so inert before. This is supposed sign of witchcraft, as she cannot bear to hear the Lord’s name as said by the Putnam’s and I quote, “This is a notorious sign of witchcraft afoot, Goody Nurse, a prodigious sign”. This makes the tension rise because it makes the audience ask more questions and that’s when the characters in the play really believe there is witchcraft in Salem, which makes Parris really worry about his reputation. He doesn’t want his niece or his daughter to blacken his name because he is associated with them.
In conclusion, Miller is very successful in creating tension and drama in act 1. He uses three different themes; reputation, hysteria and intolerance, throughout the play and always making the audience ask questions to hook them in. He also keeps the tension high to keep them interested. Not only this but the witch trials are a brilliant symbol for McCarthyism because they are so closely linked. I feel that the conversation between Abigail and Proctor was the most affective part of Act One as it answers previous questions and makes you ask a lot more questions while using the themes of intolerance, reputation and hysteria. Miller is also successfully creates the tense atmosphere needed in the play by the way the characters interact with one another, there hushed, fast spoken and very religious words cause the audience to become engrossed in their world.
[1] Introduction of The Crucible-Wider Relevance of …
[2] Introduction of The Crucible- A Modern Parallel…
[3] Intoroduction of The Crucible.
