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The Crucible
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Product Description
Product Description
Based on historical people and real events, Arthur Miller's play uses the destructive power of socially sanctioned violence unleashed by the rumors of witchcraft as a powerful parable about McCarthyism.
Introduction by Christopher Bigsby
Introduction by Christopher Bigsby
About the Author
Arthur Miller, born in New York City, has been a prominent and influential playwright for the last half-century. His works include Death of a Salesman, The Crucible, and All My Sons. He has twice won the New York Drama Critics Circle Award and in 1949 was awarded the Pulitzer Prize.
Christopher Bigsby is professor of American studies at the University of East Anglia, in Norwich, England.
Christopher Bigsby is professor of American studies at the University of East Anglia, in Norwich, England.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is by far one of my favourite plays ever- the characters are all amazing, written in true Miller style. The play is set in Salem, Massachusets in the 17th Century- paralleling the real witch hunt which happened in the strict puritan village with the McCarthy trials of America's Red Scare during the Cold War. I personally think of Miller as a genius and this play is perfect both on the stage (if performed well) as it is on the page. The language is simply beautiful.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
When John Proctor says these words to his wife Elizabeth at the conclusion of this play, he has faced accusations of being in league with the Devil and is ready to face consequences meted out by the religious tribunal he has faced. Though he has sinned by committing adultery with Abigail Williams, he believes the witchcraft trials which have ultimately consumed him to be the result of human, rather than godly, forces. Playwright Arthur Miller sets the scene for this action in an Overture explaining the theocracy which controlled Salem. Powerful clergymen, some more rigid in their interpretations of Scripture than others, "protected" citizens by enforcing conformity with the church's teachings.
Through detailed character sketches inserted into the structure of the play, Miller broadens the realism, and when a group of hysterical young women makes accusations of witchcraft, resulting ultimately in the deaths of nineteen of their fellow-citizens, Miller has prepared his audience to accept the trials and the behavior of the characters as plausible. His straightforward prose, use of homely details, and simple sentence structure (despite its archaic tone) further add to the realism. When the affair between John Proctor and Abigail Williams, who precipitates and then promotes the hysteria among the young "afflicted" girls, is revealed within the play, the modern reader is given a "hook" with which to identify with characters and situations which might otherwise feel foreign.
Miller's play is a powerful revelation of themes involving mass hysteria, fear of the unknown, and a belief in the essential evil hidden within the hearts of men. As the accused are required to prove their innocence, questions regarding the role of individualism within this society, its intolerance of differences, its justice as defined by the state and by clergymen who differ, and the hysteria which grows from repression all surface within the dramatic action, leading to an intensity of feeling rare in modern theater. When John Proctor is faced with a choice of telling the truth and being sentenced to death or lying and being saved, the ironies of the play are fully revealed.
Written in 1952, slightly before the McCarthy era, Miller's depiction of these trials presages the McCarthy hearings and illustrates his belief that the fear of Communism is the equivalent of fear of the Devil in colonial times. Miller, however, has selected facts which illustrate his point of view and his themes, making no pretense of accuracy regarding the witchcraft trials themselves. In reality, Abigail Williams was eleven, and John Proctor was sixty, quite different from the dramatic circumstances here. Mary Whipple
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Miller's play, The Crucible, is on the surface about a small town in Massachusetts, America. In 1692, there was an outbreak of mass hysteria as accusations about others dabbling in witchcraft spread. The now famous witch trials resulted in the deaths of 19 people.
From the outside you would be forgiven for thinking that The Crucible is the result of Miller's over-imaginative mind, infact it is quite the opposite. The Crucible is based on historical truth. The events of 1692 did actually take place. People worldwide have knowledge of the horrors that took place in the small town of Salem and these events are very believable. However, in order to create drama, some changes have been made. Abigail's age has been raised in order for the audience to believe that her relationship with John Proctor did take place and, although there were several judges all with the equal authority and power, Miller symbolised all of them in Hathorne and Danforth. Something that has remained the same, though, is each characters fate.
The play tells the stories of a variety of characters living in Salem, from the victims of the trials, such as Goody Osburn, to the young girls who were to blame for the hysteria that was created by their lies.
Miller may have had many reasons for writing The Crucible. However, the main reason for the writing of the play was desperation. Miller was concerned that America was becoming paranoid and the Americans were too fearful of the unknown. Miller was motivated to write a play about the hunt for Communists in America because of the silence that had fallen on many of the liberals. People who, despite their unhappiness with the inquisitor's violations of civil rights, remained silent. Miller wanted to encourage people to stand up for what they believed in.
The Crucible is a powerful play and everyone who reads the play will be able to find at least one character to relate to.
Horror is a dramatic technique used by Miller to create an effect on the audience. The witch trials of Salem were nasty and turned the people of the village against each other. The villagers couldn't trust anyone as people named others as witches in order to save there own skin. This creates a feeling of shock and horror among the audience as they try to imagine if their family and friends turned against each other and for some, this technique is relevant to them as they have experienced back-stabbing in their lives, maybe when they were younger in school or been made to look as though you're to blame by others at work.
I would recommend that everyone reads The Crucible as it is a wonderful play that tells the story of a fascinating time in history without been boring as is typical among historic plays. Millar has written a play that everyone, of all ages, can relate to and this creates for an exciting read.
From the outside you would be forgiven for thinking that The Crucible is the result of Miller's over-imaginative mind, infact it is quite the opposite. The Crucible is based on historical truth. The events of 1692 did actually take place. People worldwide have knowledge of the horrors that took place in the small town of Salem and these events are very believable. However, in order to create drama, some changes have been made. Abigail's age has been raised in order for the audience to believe that her relationship with John Proctor did take place and, although there were several judges all with the equal authority and power, Miller symbolised all of them in Hathorne and Danforth. Something that has remained the same, though, is each characters fate.
The play tells the stories of a variety of characters living in Salem, from the victims of the trials, such as Goody Osburn, to the young girls who were to blame for the hysteria that was created by their lies.
Miller may have had many reasons for writing The Crucible. However, the main reason for the writing of the play was desperation. Miller was concerned that America was becoming paranoid and the Americans were too fearful of the unknown. Miller was motivated to write a play about the hunt for Communists in America because of the silence that had fallen on many of the liberals. People who, despite their unhappiness with the inquisitor's violations of civil rights, remained silent. Miller wanted to encourage people to stand up for what they believed in.
The Crucible is a powerful play and everyone who reads the play will be able to find at least one character to relate to.
Horror is a dramatic technique used by Miller to create an effect on the audience. The witch trials of Salem were nasty and turned the people of the village against each other. The villagers couldn't trust anyone as people named others as witches in order to save there own skin. This creates a feeling of shock and horror among the audience as they try to imagine if their family and friends turned against each other and for some, this technique is relevant to them as they have experienced back-stabbing in their lives, maybe when they were younger in school or been made to look as though you're to blame by others at work.
I would recommend that everyone reads The Crucible as it is a wonderful play that tells the story of a fascinating time in history without been boring as is typical among historic plays. Millar has written a play that everyone, of all ages, can relate to and this creates for an exciting read.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Good!
Needed this book for English Literature, the book came in amazing quality seeing as it was second hand sad to say now its covered in annotations haha :P The book is very... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Hayley
One of my favourite plays of all time
I first studied The Crucible with my GCSE English class and absolutely adored it. I come from both an English and Dramatic background and can appreciate the play both perspectives. Read more
Published on 13 April 2004 by "rebecca021981"
A Great Play Based On The Salem Witch Trials Of 1692
'The Crucible' is a play written by Arthur Miller in 1953, based mainly on the historical events of the Salem Witch Trials in 1692. Read more
Published on 12 Mar 2004 by no1filmaddict
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