Creating Tension in Act 2 of The Crucible by Arthur Miller

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Creating Tension in Act 2 of The Crucible by Arthur Miller

Arthur Miller's play The Crucible is set in Salem in 1692. At that

time there was a lot of tension, as many people were being accused of

witchcraft and being against God. In the play Miller shows how the

accusations affected everyone in Salem.

Miller creates a sense of tension by setting the scene in a "low, dark

room." This room is quiet and gloomy as very little light is getting

in. Miller does this to create an atmosphere which is unhappy and

depressing. The tension is already high as the scene before ended with

satanic accusations. The room is bare, which is unwelcoming, and it

seems unlived in as nothing is out of place. Miller uses the scenery

to bring atmosphere to the stage before the characters enter, he also

uses the bareness to get the audience to focus purely on the actors

and the dialogue.

The stage directions show how John and Elizabeth act when they are

around each other, for example "a sense of their separation arises".

Here we can see that even though they are married they seem very

alone, the cause of this is due to their different personalities. "She

doesn't want friction, and yet she must". Elizabeth dislikes the way

John treats her. She also is upset with him as in previous scenes we

see that he has had an affair with Abigail. Miller uses the affair and

the fact that John is keeping secrets about the background to

accusations, to build a sense of conflict between Elizabeth and John.

The language used is from the period the play is set in, the 1600's.

The dialogue in this scene, begins quite softly but becomes harsh, as

Elizabeth and John argue at the climax of the scene. When Elizabeth

and John converse they begin poli...

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John is shown as a deceiver, as he is in the dominant of the two and

keeps secrets from Elizabeth. We see proof of this when he adds more

salt to the food that she had prepared earlier, without her knowledge,

and later compliments her, "it's well seasoned". This is an empty

complement. He further expresses his dominance by ordering her around

"Woman. I'll not have your suspicion anymore". Men of this period

where at a higher position in society they where seen to be strong and

forceful, this is why John tries to press his dominance on her. Miller

draws attention to this side of his character in order to heighten the

sense of conflict between them.

In The Crucible Miller wanted to create a sense of tension and

conflict. He successfully used the beginning of act 2 to achieve this

by clever use of lighting, sparse scenery, characterisation and

dialogue.

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