“The Crucible”
Playwright: Arthur Miller
Written: 1953
1915 -2005
We are learning...
• About the context and background of the
play.
• About the key areas of study.
• About the key themes that we will focus
on.
• About the dramatic techniques we will
be discussing.
Context and background
• The Salem Witch-trials of 1692.
• The Puritans and Witchcraft.
• The McCarthy era in the United States.
Key areas of study
We will mainly focus on the themes and setting of
the play and the characterisation of the two
main characters: John Proctor and Abigail
Williams.
• How does the setting influence the actions of the characters?
• What do the actions and words of the main characters tell us
about them?
• What motivates the characters? Why do they do what they do?
• How do the characters change as the play progresses?
• How are the themes of the text represented by the characters?
Discussing techniques
Our study of the play will focus on the following
dramatic techniques:
Characterisation
Dialogue
Key scene.
Turning point.
Setting.
Stage directions.
Theme
Plot
Key themes
1. The conflict between individual and society.
2. Revenge.
3. The importance of reputation.
How are these key themes represented by the
main characters?
1. The conflict between the
individual and society
Salem is a hostile environment for both John
Proctor and Abigail Williams. Both characters
are in conflict with their society.
John Proctor
Salem is a very religious society and Proctor is
not a good Christian- he rarely goes to Church,
he cannot recite all 10 Commandments, and
he has had an affair with Abigail. This kind of
behaviour would be treated with suspicion by
the community if it became public knowledge,
particularly the affair (which is a crime). Thus,
he desperately tries to prevent the affair being
revealed as he knows that his reputation will
be severely damaged and he will be punished.
He also knows that he is a sinner due to the
affair and he is crippled by guilt. He feels that
he has lost his honesty and integrity. Thus, he
tries to regain his goodness through his
actions in the play. He tries to redeem himself
for his sins, even if it means going against his
own society by undermining the court
proceedings and defying Danforth.
Proctor is also one of the few people in the town
who is certain that the witch-trials are based
upon fraud and he is strongly opposed to the
work that the court are doing. He sees the
fear and paranoia that have been growing in
the town and he knows that innocent people
are being killed because everyone is too
willing to believe the lies of Abigail and her
girls. He tries and fails to persuade Danforth
that the girls are lying and this contributes
towards his arrest for trying to undermine the
court.
When he rips up his false confession, he is
making a stand against the authority of the
Court and making it clear that the witch-trials
are unjustified and that the judges are wrong.
Abigail Williams
Abigail is young and female within a very patriarchal society.
She is also an orphan and a servant which means that she
has a very low status within Salem. She is also the subject
of a great deal of gossip about her virtue in this very
religious society.
However, she is given a huge amount of power and influence
due to the witch-trials: she is now able to take revenge on
her enemies as well as control and manipulate the most
powerful people in the town. She seizes the opportunity
that she is given and does not think twice about the
damage that she is causing her village. She will stop at
nothing to keep this power and influence that she now
has and is not willing to allow anyone to stand in her way.
2. Revenge
Abigail Williams
In Salem, many of the people who made accusations of
witchcraft did so out of malice, jealousy and revenge.
None more so than Abigail. She is full of resentment
towards the people of Salem and she made countless
accusations against innocent people she perceived as
being her enemies. For example, she accused
Elizabeth Proctor because she wanted to punish her
for firing her and then allegedly spreading rumours
that she had an affair with John Proctor. She wants
Elizabeth out of the way so that she can resume the
relationship with Proctor.
3. The importance of reputation
John Proctor
Proctor’s reputation is very important to him. He is
almost obsessed by it.
• He feels that he has risked his reputation by having
the affair with Abigail Williams. He is not willing to
allow his reputation to be damaged by the affair, and
he tries to prevent the affair being made public. This
affects the major decisions that he makes throughout
the play. His need to keep the affair a secret leads to
his downfall.
• At the start of the play, he feels that he has
lost his sense of honesty and integrity because
of the affair, and that he does not deserve his
good reputation.
He takes a number of steps which show that he
is trying to redeem himself for his sins, and
thus earn his good reputation. He is on a path
to redemption.
• He rips up his confession to witchcraft because
he does not want the town to know that, like a
coward, he lied to save his life. He also knows
that he would have to live the rest of his life
with the reputation that he used to be a witch.
His determination to maintain his reputation
means that he chooses not to confess and is
hanged.
Abigail Williams
Abigail has a poor reputation in the village due
to the rumours that she was fired by Elizabeth
Proctor for having an affair with John.
Abigail blames Elizabeth for her poor reputation
and this motivates her desire for revenge.