Lecture Summary The Crucible 2 PDF

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Arthur Miller, The Crucible 1 Week 2: Dr Timothy Baker The critic and poet T.S. Eliot argues that a work of art, to be truly great, must not only reflect the concerns of its own time, but must also aspire to the condition of the timeless (slide 2). While the first lecture focused on the way Miller addresses contemporary events, this lecture focuses on the way The Crucible can be seen as a timeless classic. The Crucible as Tragedy Miller’s work is frequently concerned with the questions of representation and universality. For Miller, what’s important is that a play is central to its central idea; in The Crucible, as in many of his plays, this idea is individuation, the process by which one person separates himself from others and develops a heightened self-awareness (slide 4). Miller’s ideas can be seen in relation to classical Greek tragedy, where the protagonist of the drama is an essentially good man, if subject to over-weening pride (hubris), who makes a mistake out of ignorance (hamartia). This leads to the peripeteia of the drama, or the turning point, after the protagonist has a moment of self-recognition (anagnorisis) (slide 5). This process leads to catharsis, which is the way the audience members experience these emotions through the play, and come to better understand themselves (slide 6). We can see this tragic pattern clearly in the story of John Proctor, who may die at the end of the play, but in so doing regains his identity (slide 7). Proctor’s story also can be seen in relation to the story of Christ, who also suffered for the sake of others. The Crucible as Religious Commentary The Puritan settlers on whom the play focuses can be seen in light of the Biblical stories to which they devoted their lives, including the doctrine of Original Sin and the Fall (slide 9). In American history, the story of the Salem Witch Trials has come to symbolise a fall from grace, and a recognition of the impossibility of creating a ‘New Eden’. The Crucible thus illustrates some of the paradoxes at the heart of Calvinism (slide 11). The Crucible and Language The language used in the play is based upon the original court transcripts (slide 14), and so can be seen to be realistic. It is also, however, frequently symbolic, and used to represent other emotions or characteristics. The unfamiliarity of much of the language draws attention to the ways the play reflects on questions of public and private space, witnessing, and testimony. Conclusion All of these questions can be seen in light of the play’s central theme, which could be called individual resistance to organised power. It can specifically be seen in relation to theocracy (government organised under religious principles), which Miller discusses in the play’s epilogue. If Miller’s argument is indeed that ‘we are made, and yet more than what made us’ (slide 12), the best way to read the play may not be to see it in relation either to 1692 or 1953, but in the context of our own time, and use it as a way to reflect on our own place in the world....