The Crucible - Form and Structure Essay -- English Literature

The Crucible - Form and StructureArthur Miller uses various different techniques in the form andstructure of The Crucible to create suspense and keep abreast theaudiences interest. Of course, one of the main factors of the formand structure of the play is its genre. The Crucible can bedescribed as being a exemplary play, a tragedy, a political play, anhistorical play and a narrative play in naturalistic form. It issymbolic, political and historic as although the story revolves slightlythe Salem witch trials, the ideas and morals behind the plot can beviewed as Millers criticism of McCarthyism. The play can also beseen as being narrative in a naturalistic form due to the lengthy setdescriptions and stage directions viewed by regular, natural yet stylised conversational prose. Obviously, the plot of The Crucibleis tragic as it ends with Miller killing off the main characters.One method Miller uses to keep the audience huffy and interested ishis use of high tension and climaxes. He ends each of the four actswith a climax, for example, Act Three finishes with Hale exclaiming,I denounce these proceedings, I furlough this court as he slams thedoor behind him. Climaxes such as this will al centerings keep an audiencealert and wanting to know more. Scenes handle this particular one alsocreate an engaging standard atmosphere and help the audience to understandextreme Puritanism more clearly. The theme of witch hunting in TheCrucible is an exciting factor which will also maintain audienceinterest. Miller also changes the focus of the play in each act. Forinstance, Millers main idea in Act One is fear of the unknown whichhe shows through Parris insistence on there being no violent causehere... ...d his wife creating tension not only by the change of spaceon stage, but also by adapting to a much long-play dialogue with pauses. Through acting out various scenes from The Crucible, I have learntthat by ending each act with a cliff-hanger it is human reputation whi chmakes one feel like they must know more and what happens next. Byforming each act as a story in itself, Miller heightens the atmosphereof mass hysteria due to this ongoing use of tension and climaxes. Miller succeeds in keeping the audiences interest flowing despitethis way of a different story in each act by using subplots, forexample, the rivalry between Giles Corey and Thomas Putnam. Altogether, The Crucible is written with an easy to follow form andstructure using pace, dialogue and action to aid builds of tension andclimaxes and therefore remain interesting to the audience.