How Does Arthur Miller Create Tension In Act 3 Of The Crucible

Act Three of Arthur Miller’s script The Crucible opens with a very hostile, tense and desperate mood due to the Salem Witch Trials being in full swing. Hathorne is questioning the wife of Giles Corey, Martha, about whether or not she is aligned with the Devil and one of his witches until Giles comes barging in “roaring to the court” that he has “evidence” for them to see until he is eventually “removed by the court marshal” (83-84). Giles is angered and furious that his wife is being put on trial because of Walcot, who believes Martha to have “bewitched his pigs with her books” (72). The mood suddenly turns from hostile to desperate and somewhat apprehensive when Giles is pleading for his wife. “Giles, beginning to plead: They be tellin’ lies