The Crucible
Evaluation of a live performance draft – The Crucible by Arthur Miller
York Theatre Royal – 10th May 2011
The Crucible, a 1953 play written by American playwright, Arthur Miller, was influenced by the Salem witch trials which occurred in colonial Massachusetts between 1692 and 1693. It is a dramatization of these trials where more than 200 people were accused of conjuring spirits and practising witchcraft and some were executed. Eventually, the colony admitted the trials were a mistake and compensated the families of those convicted; since then the trials have become synonymous with paranoia and injustice. Arthur Miller used this story to emphasise the morals and themes that lie within the Crucible which is about how a group of girls dancing in a forest can be lead to lie and accuse by a vindictive character, the ‘ring leader’ Abigail Williams. Abigail is so blinded by jealousy and hatred towards her lovers wife, Elizabeth Proctor, that she attempts to curse Elizabeth so that one day she and John can be together. However, they were caught and because of the theocracy lifestyle of Puritan families, many people believed that they had been overpowered by the devil and so Abigail persuaded the other girls to lie and accuse innocent people of working for the devil, which is a deadly sin in their eyes. One accusation led to another and mass hysteria broke out throughout Salem, innocent people were sentenced to hang. Religion was law, if you told the truth then you would die, if you lied then you would live. Proctor, after initially admitting witchcraft, eventually told the truth and was sentenced to hang with the others. Abigail, the cause of these tragic events, fled the country. Although the evidence that she had lied was overpowering, the high court still decided to carry on the executions. Arthur Miller was also influenced by McCarthyism which is the practise of making accusations of disloyalty or treason without proper regard for evidence. He wrote the Crucible as
York Theatre Royal – 10th May 2011
The Crucible, a 1953 play written by American playwright, Arthur Miller, was influenced by the Salem witch trials which occurred in colonial Massachusetts between 1692 and 1693. It is a dramatization of these trials where more than 200 people were accused of conjuring spirits and practising witchcraft and some were executed. Eventually, the colony admitted the trials were a mistake and compensated the families of those convicted; since then the trials have become synonymous with paranoia and injustice. Arthur Miller used this story to emphasise the morals and themes that lie within the Crucible which is about how a group of girls dancing in a forest can be lead to lie and accuse by a vindictive character, the ‘ring leader’ Abigail Williams. Abigail is so blinded by jealousy and hatred towards her lovers wife, Elizabeth Proctor, that she attempts to curse Elizabeth so that one day she and John can be together. However, they were caught and because of the theocracy lifestyle of Puritan families, many people believed that they had been overpowered by the devil and so Abigail persuaded the other girls to lie and accuse innocent people of working for the devil, which is a deadly sin in their eyes. One accusation led to another and mass hysteria broke out throughout Salem, innocent people were sentenced to hang. Religion was law, if you told the truth then you would die, if you lied then you would live. Proctor, after initially admitting witchcraft, eventually told the truth and was sentenced to hang with the others. Abigail, the cause of these tragic events, fled the country. Although the evidence that she had lied was overpowering, the high court still decided to carry on the executions. Arthur Miller was also influenced by McCarthyism which is the practise of making accusations of disloyalty or treason without proper regard for evidence. He wrote the Crucible as