The Crucible Context

Despite this being set in the 17th century, Miller’s manipulation of dual context allows him to tell stories about the past and draw parallels between 17th century Salem and the 1950s era of McCarthyism.
Miller draws upon the dramatic form of The Crucible to engage with the emotions of the audience, which allow them to apprehend Proctor’s relentless internal conflict throughout the entire text. Deciding to produce this allegory as a play gave Miller the ability to connect with the audience on a deeper level, as their emotions are easily manipulated through agonizing and high modality dialogue, such as Proctor pleading “spare me!” at the culmination of his emotional conflict with Elizabeth, coupled with visual aids, by stage directions such

[Fill in with idea on what is motivating the internal conflict]. Miller uses a multitude of techniques to replicate the high emotional state of Proctor during the events of the text. Proctor’s internal struggle is first established by Abigail’s use of anthropomorphism that he “sweated like a stallion” whenever they were near, which suggests his guilt and lust associated with their affair, and consequential questioning of his integrity, is impacting him substantially. The simile and sibilance cooperate to emphasise to the audience the highly emotional and animalistic state Proctor is experiencing to convey how a collective climate of fear, from [collective human experience], can devastate an individual’s life, therefore convincing them to consider how their actions in progressing this [collective human experience], and actively prevent this from happening. Proctor’s emotion-ridden internal conflict is further emphasised when he anaphorically laments “Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life!” and is prefaced evocatively by the metaphorical stage direction “with a cry of his

Since The Crucible is a performance, an audience would be able to view, hear, and connect with the plot and issues explored more effectively. This is most apparent in the audience collectively experiencing the “ecstatic cries” of the young girls of Salem using anaphora and epistrophe to state “I saw Sarah Good with the devil! I saw Goody Hawkins with the devil!” The form of this delivery forces the audience to become swept up in the hysteria, which directly depicts the idea of external situations constraining one’s internal state to them. As a result, they can recognise this collective experience in their own society and cease participation in the encouragement of the Red Scare. This idea is also executed through Miller’s use of perambulant model in his choice of form, as the multiple points of focus disorientate the audience, so they are more susceptible to the hysteria on stage. This depiction of hysteria [due to… (if needed to make specific] is further emphasised through Miller’s clever imagery, such as Goody Putnam stating that “there are wheels within wheels… and fires upon fires.” The anadiplosis and high modality of this line emphasise the metaphor of cyclical hysteria that creates a paradoxical community in which one external conflict flows creates internal conflict, as in Proctor’s case. As a result, the audience can