Notes for The Crucible Part 1

Refer to “Deconstruction Student Handbook” for more detail. Improving language Words from “The Crucible” you need to know and use: - Dramatic purposes - essential nature - Strangest and most awful chapters - Drawn to the best of my ability in conformity with their known behaviour - Villainous path - Persecuted - dark houses snuggling against the raw Massachusetts winter - vain enjoyment - strict and sombre way of life - The parochial snobbery - citadel - homage - innate resistance - persecution - defiled and corrupted by wrong ways and deceitful ways - communal society - autocracy - autocratic - Purposefulness Ideology Perpetuation Sufferings Self-denial Vain pursuits hard-handed justice Antagonistic Differentiation Speculation Victims Salem tragedy Paradox Theocracy Repression Exclusion Prohibition Perverse manifestation Individual villainy Vengeance Bickering Morality Heavenly combat between Lucifer and the Lord Intellectual superior Vindictive nature Deeply embittered Disproportionate Accusations Corroborating Supernatural Partisans Deepest resentment A fool felt his foolishness instantly delusion Social status Resented his rise Systematic campaign against Inferentially against Errand Pondering Searching scrutiny Methodical inculcation Inquisition Cultivating Contemporary diabolism Abrogation Diabolical malevolence Snobbish objection Conventionalised propitiation Tremendous responsibility Consequent hypocrisy Atomisation Lascivious Demonology Improving your writing Techniques and stylistic features from “The Crucible” you need to know and use: 1) Dramatic, verbal and situational irony 2) Refer to “Deconstruction Student Handbook” for a more comprehensive list of techniques. Act 1 – Overture • • Overture is a stylistic feature which can be used as a technique. A stylistic feature is a feature which a composer uses within the composition that makes the text distinct. These quotes provide an understanding of the context of Salem in relation to its social, cultural, political, historical, spiritual context Overture: The overture of "The Crucible" provides relevant and interesting background information on the events that occurred during the Salem witch trials. Miller gave us a history of the events, along with crucial information on the mindset and attitudes of the Puritan people at this time. If we didn't have this information, we might read through or watch the play itself and think that these were just a bunch of crazy people and dismiss the events as that. Instead, Miller helps us to understand that the Puritan people at this time had a dangerous combination of beliefs: a thorough belief in the actual existence of the devil and his influence through witchcraft, and, no way to atone for or purge their sins and grievances. Because people did and felt bad things all the time, they felt guilty for it, but the Puritans had no confessions, or atoning for those sins, or a way that they could work out those sins in a healthy way. So instead, they had to let them fester. That festering, in combination with their belief in the devil, combined to create the trials. It provided a place for people to openly confess their sins (for example, Abby confessing that she "laughs during prayers,") and not be held accountable for those sins through blaming them on the witches and the devil. Miller, in providing that necessary background information, helps us to understand why so many would so cruelly accuse their neighbors of crimes that they didn't commit. The overture also provides information on their culture, society, beliefs, religion and the lead-up to the trials themselves. It is very useful information that Miller has provided--background research that often we don't get with plays. Stylistic feature: The ways in which aspects of texts (such as words, sentences, images) are arranged and how they affect meaning. Style can distinguish the work of individual authors (for example, Jennings’s stories, Lawson’s poems), as well as the work of a particular period (for example, Elizabethan drama, nineteenth-century novels), or of a particular genre or type of text (for example, recipes, scientific articles, play-by-play commentary). Examples of stylistic features are narrative viewpoint, structure of stanzas, juxtaposition, nominalization, alliteration, metaphor and lexical choice. Understanding the context of Salem • • The overture is important because it provides insight into the motivations and behaviors of the people of Salem. An overture is a passage of writing that provides important information about the backstory of something. In the context of The Crucible, it provides important information about individual and collective motivations and behavior. Key quotes (including short explanations): 1) “He was a widower with no interest in children, or talent with them. He regarded them as young adults”- {page 14} • Parris didn’t have a wife and children 2) “His house stood in the “town” - but we today would hardly call it a village.” - {page10} • Village connotes love, relationships, closeness 3) “No one can really know what their lives were like. They had no novelists - and would not have permitted anyone to read a novel if one were handy.” - {page 13} • They weren’t educated people 4) “Their creed forbade anything resembling a theater or “vain enjoyment.” They did not celebrate Christmas, and a holiday from work meant only that they must concentrate even more upon prayer.” - {page 14} • Creed refers to religious beliefs and doctrine • They weren't allowed to enjoy the pleasures of life. • They weren’t allowed to participate in any activities of entertainment. 5) “This predilection for minding other people’s business was time honored among the people of Salem, and it undoubtedly created many of the suspicions which were to feed the coming madness.” - {page 14} • • • People had suspicions and these suspicions led to madness and chaos Predilection: a preference or special liking for something; a bias in favor of something. In Salem, people had a narrow point of view which led to a sense of ignorance and heedlessness in which people became very jealous, envious and suspicious of others. 6) “The Salem tragedy, which is about to begin in these pages, developed from a paradox. It is a paradox in whose grip we still live, and there is no prospect yet that we will discover its resolution.” • A paradox is a seemingly absurd or contradictory statement or proposition which when investigated may prove to be well founded or true. • “Vengeance taken despite the Bible’s charitable injunctions” • The paradox is that the chruch promotes truthfulness and honesty nonetheless Salem was founded on fabrication and lies and people attempting to reinforce the power, authority and wealth. 7) “Simply, it was this: for good purposes, even high purposes, the people of Salem developed a theocracy, a combine of state and religious power whose function was to keep the community together, and to prevent any kind of disunity that might open it to destruction by material or ideological enemies.” • Theocracy: a system of government in which priests' rule in the name of God or a god. 8) “The witch-hunt was a perverse manifestation of the panic which set in among all classes when the balance began to turn toward greater individual freedom.” • Fear, hysteria, panic and chaos • Individual freedoms were not promoted because this would be a source of revolution and change and hence, to maintain the status quo, a sense of collectivism needed to be maintained. 9) “It was also, and as importantly, a long overdue opportunity for every-one so inclined to express publicly his guilt and sins, under the cover of accusations against the victims. It suddenly became possible - and patriotic and holy - for a man to say that Martha Corey had come into his bedroom at night, and that, while his wife was sleeping at his side, Martha laid herself down on his chest and “nearly suffocated him.” {page 17} • Human motivation • Lies were truth, and truth was lies. • Victims were always believed over the accused. 10) “Long-held hatreds of neighbors could now be openly expressed, and vengeance taken, despite the Bible’s charitable injunctions. Landlust which had been expressed before by constant bickering over boundaries and deeds, could now be elevated to the arena of morality.” • People use religion to justify oppression and the pursuit of personal interests. 11) “Old scores could be settled on a plane of heavenly combat between Lucifer and the Lord; suspicions and the envy of the m iserable toward the happy could and did burst out in the general revenge” • Good vs Evil • Binary opposites • • Dichotomy Two groups in society. 1) Those who were with the Lord 2) Those who were with Lucifer; nonetheless, membership to a group was not determined by the individual but rather collective consensus. Additional quotes: 1) They believed, in short, that they held in their steady hands the candle that would light the world. We have inherited this belief, and it has helped and hurt us. It helped them with the discipline it gave them. They were a dedicated folk, by and large, and they had to be to survive the life they had chosen or been born into in this country. Character/s Quote Technique Rubric Explanation Related Themes Additional Key words Parris Act 1 Parris states [his eyes going wide]:-no no. There be no unnatural cause here. Tell him I have sent for the reverend hale of Beverly, and Mr. Hale will surely confirm that. Let him look to medicine and put out all unnatural causes here. There be none. page 18 -Tone -Repetition -Descriptive language -Comparative language -Unnatural causes -Punctuation -Dramatic Irony -Stage Directions -Human motivations and behavior -Individual and collective human experiences -Human qualities and emotions -Storytelling -Anomaly -Challenging Assumptions Reputation Lies and deceit Supernatural Good vs Evil Justice -Despair -Vulnerability -Paranoid -Dignity -Hysteria -Shame -Love -Arrogance -Fear -Selfishness -Aggressiveness -Stubbornness Act 1 Parris states [pressed, turned to her]: and what shall -Rhetorical question -Anomaly -Parris is attempting to save himself because he knows the girls were dancing in the woods, but he is concerned about his reputation. His worried tone provides emphasis to his concerns. -It is the perception of witchcraft that concerns Parris because in Salem, perceptions are enough to find or to charge someone with guilt. Heathen: A person who is not a part of the -Retribution -Redemption -Reputation -Fear -Anger -Threat Hale Parris Abigail Parris Girls I say to them? That my daughter and niece I discovered dancing like heathen in the forest? Page 18 and 19 - Hypophora (when u answer the rhetorical question) -Simile -Stage directions -Human behavior and motivation -Human qualities and emotions Act 1: Abigail stated: “...uncle, we did dance; let you tell them I confessed it - and ill be whipped if I must be. But they are speakin’ of witchcraft. Betty’s not witched”. Page 19 -Short sentences -Tone -Diction -Inclusive Language -Imperative language - Syntax -Storytelling -Motivation and Human Behavior -Human qualities and emotions -Anomaly established religion in the community. Parris is contemplating whether to conceal what happened in the woods, in an attempt to manipulate the community’s perceptions. Furthermore, Parris was fearful in relation to the ramifications of the charge of witchcraft. -Abigail is attempting to depict the event as an inconsistency because in this society they do not promote activities which were fun and entertaining nonetheless it is an anomaly because they were doing witchcraft. -judgment -power and authority -Survival -Corruption -Adversity -Community -Tragedy -Love -Disapproval -Paranoia -Lies and deceit -The Supernatural -Appearance vs reality -Reputation -deception -Good vs evil -Fear -Despair -Vulnerability -Love -determination -apprehension -distraction -anticipation -vigilant Truncated sentences are often referred to as short sentences, but there is a difference between short sentences and truncated sentences. A truncated sentence has to have been cut short – there need to be words missing. -Parris -Abigail Act 1 Parris states now look you, child, your punishments will come in its -Tone -Imperative Language -Diction -Motivation -Human Behavior -Anomaly -He’s concerned about his reputation and wants to know what they were doing. He -Reputation -Justice -The Supernatural -Hate -Anger -Dignity -Identity time. But if you trafficked with spirits in the forest I must know it now, for surely my enemies will, and they will ruin me with it. page 19 -Dramatic Irony -Storytelling wanted to conceal what he really knew which was that they were attempting to practice witchcraft and he didn’t want people to know what they were doing in the woods. Parris Abigail Act 1 Parris stated to Abagail: “Now give me upright answer. Your name in the town- it is entirely white, is it not?” Page 20 -Interrogative Question -Symbolism (name and white) -Imperative Language -Motif -Motivation -Human Behaviour -Human Qualities -Collective and Individual human experiences -Reputation -Position -Power -Corruption -Lies and Deceit -Identity -Honesty -Desperation -Fear -Anger -Annoyance -Rage -Disapproval -Aggressiveness -Disgust Abigail Act 1 Abagail: “[with an edge of resentment] why, I am sure it is, sir, there be no blush about my name”. page20 Act 1: Abagail: [in a temper]: my name is good in the -Tone -Declarative Sentence -Stage direction -Human Behaviour -Human Qualities White represents good. Name is symbolic of identity respect and honor. There are rumors that Abigail is not an honest person and hence her credibility has always been questionable; nonetheless in an attempt to protect his own position they believe Abigail version of events. Abigail is denying that she hasn’t done anything wrong in the past. -Lies and Deceit -Appearance vs Reality -Injustice -Corruption -Identity -Rebellion -Exclamatory Language -Motif (name) -Human Behaviour Abigail is saying that she hasn’t done anything wrong in the -Lies and Deceit -Injustice -Corruption -Identity Abigail Goody Proctor -Love -Fear -arrogance village! I will not have it said my name is soiled! Goody proctor is a gossiping liar. page 21 Parris Thomas Arthur Miller Putnam -Diction -Syntax (short dramatic sentences) -Descriptive language -Stage directions Act1 Parris: -Diction Thomas, Thomas, I -Tone pray you, leap not -Repetition to witchcraft. I -Personal know that you-you language?? least of all, Thomas, -Onomatopoeia would ever wish so -Imagery disastrous a charge -Imperative be laid upon me. Language We cannot leap to witchcraft. They will -Collective Language howl me out of -High Modality Salem for such corruption in my house. Page 22 Overture: The motif -Motif of resentment is (resentment) clear here Page 23 -Overture Putnam: “...whom he has only contempt, to move Stage directions -Human Qualities -Motivation past. Her use of exclamatory language provides emphasis to her confident character. -Appearance vs Reality -Rebellion -Anger -Jealousy -collective and individual human experience -storytelling Parris is still trying to dismiss any idea of witchcraft. Still only worried about what will happen to him and shows no thought towards Betty. This promulgates his selfish and power-hungry character. -Religion -Reputation -Power and authority -Supernatural -Fear -Desperation -Vulnerability -Frailty -Adversity -Human emotions -Human qualities -Human behaviour -Human behaviour, motivation Within the town, human experiences and actions and behaviors are being influenced by hatred and revenge. -Resentment -Jealousy -Envy -Contempt Abyss: a deep or seemingly bottomless chasm. It refers to the deepest part of hell. -Retribution -Supernatural -Religion -Injustice -Oppression -Identity -Distraction -Human emotions -Storytelling toward the abyss.”{page 23} Putnam Children Putnam stated: “there are hurtful, vengeful spirits layin’ hands on these children” Page 23 -Descriptive Language -Tone -Diction Mrs Putnam Tituba Parris Mrs. Putnam stated: Tituba knows how to speak with the dead, Mr. Parris. Page 23 -Declarative sentence (syntax) Putnam to Parris Act 1 Putnam stated: you are not undone! Let you take hold here. -Exclamatory Language -Imperative Language -Human behavior, motivation -Human emotions -Storytelling -Individual human experiences -Human behavior, motivation -Human emotions -Human qualities -Storytelling -Individual human experiences -Human behavior, motivation The abyss also refers to the chaos and community upheaval which will result in the formal declaration of the presence of witchcraft. Putnam believes that there are witches and witchcraft being used in the town. Moreover, he believes that these witches and spirits are contributing to the deaths of children including his own. -Terror -Contempt -Fear -selfishness -manipulation -indoctrination -Supernatural -Hysteria -good vs evil -vengeance -Hate -Fear -Apprehension -envy -jealousy Putnam believes that there are witches and witchcraft being used in the town. In addition, Mrs Putnam wanted to know what happen to her children so she sends her daughter to Tituba and asked her to conjure the spirits in the hope that she will discover who killed her children. -Supernatural -Hysteria -Good Vs Evil -Hate -Fear -Apprehension -Stubbornness -Vengefulness -Loathing -Scornfulness Putnam is encouraging Parris to confess that there is witchcraft. He does this through the -Supernatural -Hysteria -Hate -Fear -Apprehension -Stubbornness Wait for no one to -Declarative charge you-declare Language it yourself- you have discovered witchcraftPage 24 Mary Warren Act 1 Marry Warren stated: What'll we do? The village is out! I just come from the farm; the whole country's talkin’ witchcraft! They’ll be calling us witches, Abby! Page 25 -Rhetorical question -Hypophora -Exclamatory language -Hyperbole -Irony Putnam Act 1 Putnam stated: now look you, sir. Let you strike out against the devil, and the village will bless you for it! Come down, speak to them- pray -Exclamatory Language -Imperative Language -Biblical Allusion -Metaphor -Human emotions -Storytelling -Collective and Individual human experiences use of exclamatory language. He uses imperative language to persuade Parris to confess to the presence of witchcraft. However, Putnam had his own personal interests in the dissemination of the rumors about witchcraft, which included the acquisition of land and revenge against those who were his enemies. -Storytelling Mary Warren and the -Human other girls are afraid behaviour, that they will be caught motivation for witchcraft and -Human punished. The use of a emotions rhetorical question and -Collective exclamatory language and Individual conveys her worried human and fearful tone. experiences -Human behaviour, motivation -Human emotions -Storytelling Putnam is encouraging Parris to declare witchcraft in the town. Again, Putnam uses exclamatory and imperative language to further persuade Parris to declare witchcraft. -Determination Resourcefulness Trustworthiness -Supernatural -Hysteria -Good vs Evil -Fear -Apprehension -Terror -Disapproval -Contempt -Duplicity -insensitivity -arrogance -trauma -Supernatural -Good vs Evil -Reputation -Religion -Desperation -Fear -arrogance -selfishness -vengefulness -insensitivity -Despair -Vulnerability with them. They’re thirsting for your word, mister! Surely you’ll pray with them. Page 25 Abigail Betty Overture -Awe Abigail stated: let either one of you breathe a word, or the edge of a word, about the other things, and I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you. And you know I can do it; page 26 Act 1 Betty stated: you did, you did! You drank a charm to kill John proctor's wife! You drank a charm to kill Goody Proctor! Page 26 -Aggressive Tone -Intimidating Tone -Diction -Syntax -Human behaviour, motivation -Human emotions -Collective and individual human experiences Abigail is warning the other girls that if any of the girls confess to witchcraft, she will make them pay. The positioning of the final sentence reassures Abigail’s threat and confirms her aggressive character. -Good vs Evil -Appearance vs Reality -Deception -Hysteria -Anger -Hate -Desperation -Fear -Threat -Weakness -empowerment -Repetition -Emotive Language -Exclamatory Language -Fearful Tone -Human behaviour, motivation -Human emotions -Storytelling -Betty is telling Abigail that she did do something and that she wanted to kill John Proctor’s wife (Goody Proctor). -Reputation - Supernatural -Jealousy -Fear -Dignity -accusations -trauma -Disgust He is a sinner, a sinner not only against the moral fashion of the time, -Repetition -Reflective tone -Human behaviour, motivation -John is a sinner. He has done something wrong (adultery) which contradicts the -Good vs evil -Reputation -Redemption -Hypocrisy -Injustice Overture Overture but against his own vision of decent conduct. Page 27 These people had no ritual for the washing away of sins page 27 Proctor, respected and even feared in Salem, has come to regard himself as a kind of fraud Page 27 -Human emotions acceptable norms of that society. Declarative sentence Metaphor -Human behaviour, motivation -Human emotions -Juxtaposition? -Individual human experience -Human emotions The Puritans had a zero tolerance for sins and there was no such thing as seeking repentance in private and hence everything needed to be public. Proctor saw himself as a kind of fraud which meant that he was a tragic hero and his flaw was his lust and this led to a conflict with his wife; nonetheless to redeem himself he goes on a path to liberate his wife... -Good vs evil -Reputation -Redemption -Confusion -Good vs evil -Reputation -Redemption -Tragedy -Regret -Remorse Aristotle tragedy In the Poetics, Aristotle's famous study of Greek dramatic art, Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) compares tragedy to such other metrical forms as comedy and epic. He determines that tragedy, like all poetry, is a kind of imitation (mimesis), but adds that it has a serious purpose and uses direct action rather than narrative to achieve its ends. He says that poetic mimesis is imitation of things as they could be, not as they are — for example, of universals and ideals — thus poetry is a more philosophical and exalted medium than history, which merely records what has actually happened. The aim of tragedy, Aristotle writes, is to bring about a "catharsis" of the spectators — to arouse in them sensations of pity and fear, and to purge them of these emotions so that they leave the theater feeling cleansed and uplifted, with a heightened understanding of the ways of gods and men. This catharsis is brought about by witnessing some disastrous and moving change in the fortunes of the drama's protagonist (Aristotle recognized that the change might not be disastrous, but felt this was the kind shown in the best tragedies — Oedipus at Colonus, for example, was considered a tragedy by the Greeks but does not have an unhappy ending). According to Aristotle, tragedy has six main elements: plot, character, diction, thought, spectacle (scenic effect), and song (music), of which the first two are primary. Most of the Poetics is devoted to analysis of the scope and proper use of these elements, with illustrative examples selected from many tragic dramas, especially those of Sophocles, although Aeschylus, Euripides, and some playwrights whose works no longer survive are also cited. Several of Aristotle's main points are of great value for an understanding of Greek tragic drama. Particularly significant is his statement that the plot is the most important element of tragedy: Tragedy is an imitation, not of men, but of action and life, of happiness and misery. And life consists of action, and its end is a mode of activity, not a quality. Now character determines men's qualities, but it is their action that makes them happy or wretched. The purpose of action in the tragedy, therefore, is not the representation of character: character comes in as contributing to the action. Hence the incidents and the plot are the end of the tragedy; and the end is the chief thing of all. Without action there cannot be a tragedy; there may be one without character. . . . The plot, then, is the first principle, and, as it were, the soul of a tragedy: character holds the second place. Aristotle goes on to discuss the structure of the ideal tragic plot and spends several chapters on its requirements. He says that the plot must be a complete whole — with a definite beginning, middle, and end — and its length should be such that the spectators can comprehend without difficulty both its separate parts and its overall unity. Moreover, the plot requires a single central theme in which all the elements are logically related to demonstrate the change in the protagonist's fortunes, with emphasis on the dramatic causation and probability of the events. Aristotle has relatively less to say about the tragic hero because the incidents of tragedy are often beyond the hero's control or not closely related to his personality. The plot is intended to illustrate matters of cosmic rather than individual significance, and the protagonist is viewed primarily as the character who experiences the changes that take place. This stress placed by the Greek tragedians on the development of plot and action at the expense of character, and their general lack of interest in exploring psychological motivation, is one of the major differences between ancient and modern drama. Since the aim of a tragedy is to arouse pity and fear through an alteration in the status of the central character, he must be a figure with whom the audience can identify and whose fate can trigger these emotions. Aristotle says that "pity is aroused by unmerited misfortune, fear by the misfortune of a man like ourselves." He surveys various possible types of characters on the basis of these premises, then defines the ideal protagonist as . . . a man who is highly renowned and prosperous, but one who is not pre-eminently virtuous and just, whose misfortune, however, is brought upon him not by vice or depravity but by some error of judgment or frailty; a personage like Oedipus. In addition, the hero should not offend the moral sensibilities of the spectators, and as a character he must be true to type, true to life, and consistent. The hero's error or frailty (harmartia) is often misleadingly explained as his "tragic flaw," in the sense of that personal quality which inevitably causes his downfall or subjects him to retribution. However, overemphasis on a search for the decisive flaw in the protagonist as the key factor for understanding the tragedy can lead to superficial or false interpretations. It gives more attention to personality than the dramatists intended and ignores the broader philosophical implications of the typical plot's denouement. It is true that the hero frequently takes a step that initiates the events of the tragedy and, owing to his own ignorance or poor judgment, acts in such a way as to bring about his own downfall. In a more sophisticated philosophical sense though, the hero's fate, despite its immediate cause in his finite act, comes about because of the nature of the cosmic moral order and the role played by chance or destiny in human affairs. Unless the conclusions of most tragedies are interpreted on this level, the reader is forced to credit the Greeks with the most primitive of moral systems. It is worth noting that some scholars believe the "flaw" was intended by Aristotle as a necessary corollary of his requirement that the hero should not be a completely admirable man. Harmartia would thus be the factor that delimits the protagonist's imperfection and keeps him on a human plane, making it possible for the audience to sympathize with him. This view tends to give the "flaw" an ethical definition but relates it only to the spectators' reactions to the hero and does not increase its importance for interpreting the tragedies. The remainder of the Poetics is given over to examination of the other elements of tragedy and to discussion of various techniques, devices, and stylistic principles. Aristotle mentions two features of the plot, both of which are related to the concept of harmartia, as crucial components of any well-made tragedy. These are "reversal" (peripeteia), where the opposite of what was planned or hoped for by the protagonist takes place, as when Oedipus' investigation of the murder of Laius leads to a catastrophic and unexpected conclusion; and "recognition" (anagnorisis), the point when the protagonist recognizes the truth of a situation, discovers another character's identity, or comes to a realization about himself. This sudden acquisition of knowledge or insight by the hero arouses the desired intense emotional reaction in the spectators, as when Oedipus finds out his true parentage and realizes what crimes he has been responsible for. Aristotle wrote the Poetics nearly a century after the greatest Greek tragedians had already died, in a period when there had been radical transformations in nearly all aspects of Athenian society and culture. The tragic drama of his day was not the same as that of the fifth century, and to a certain extent his work must be construed as a historical study of a genre that no longer existed rather than as a description of a living art form. In the Poetics, Aristotle used the same analytical methods that he had successfully applied in studies of politics, ethics, and the natural sciences in order to determine tragedy's fundamental principles of composition and content. This approach is not completely suited to a literary study and is sometimes too artificial or formula-prone in its conclusions. Nonetheless, the Poetics is the only critical study of Greek drama to have been made by a near-contemporary. It contains much valuable information about the origins, methods, and purposes of tragedy, and to a degree shows us how the Greeks themselves reacted to their theater. In addition, Aristotle's work had an overwhelming influence on the development of drama long after it was compiled. The ideas and principles of the Poetics are reflected in the drama of the Roman Empire and dominated the composition of tragedy in western Europe during the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. Article 2: The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, largely conforms to Aristotle's paradigm of tragedy. Aristotle argues that tragedy is a mimesis, which means an imitation of an action, and it "shows" like a drama rather than "tells" like a narrative. In addition, he claimed that tragedy amplifies “what may happen” rather than scribing "what has happened"(McManus, 3). In this novel, the tragedy revolves around a character, John Proctor, who is considered as the anti-hero of the play. With this and many other elements, the play reflects the genre of Aristotle Tragedy. The first principle of Aristotle's Theory of Tragedy is "the plot". "The plot" contains an arrangement of incidents, which result in a tightly constructed cause and effect chain. This is evidenced in The Crucible that Abigail committed retaliation causing the whole hysteria in Salem as a result of being cast aside by John Proctor. The beginning of “The plot” is called the “incentive moment” according to Aristotle. This is when the tragedy is triggered by a particular incident. In The Crucible, this happens when Betty Parris didn’t wake up because she was trying to get attention as women and children were marginalised in Salem. It is also when Abigail scapegoated Tituba as involved in witchcraft and then Tituba scapegoated Goody Good and Goody Osborne who were suggested by Goody Putnam. The people who were accused were brought up for trial, which lead to the arising fear of witchcraft in Salem. Next comes the “the climax”, which is the pinnacle of the tragedy. The Crucible is at its apex when John Proctor came to court to save his wife and Elizabeth was brought in for questioning but she lied. John Proctor didn’t envisage the situational irony because he thought that his wife never lies so he assumed she would tell the truth. But to save John’s name, she lied and the incongruity causes the erratic contingency of her being hang. Finally, the tragedy reaches its “denouement”, which is the resolution to the turmoil. John Proctor could no longer abide Danforth’s perversity so he decided to die to protect his name because if he let Danforth hang his blackened name in front of the church door, he would be a bad model to his sons. Aristotle argues that the plot must be “complete”. This means that it must be “structurally self-contained” and the incidents are bound together by internal necessity, each action leads to the next. John Proctor is an example this. He cared too much about his name that he ignored Elizabeth’s advice and this lead to Abigail accusing Elizabeth for the practice of witchcraft. Later on in the play, every decision that John Proctor made brought him negative consequences such as not confessing of being a lecher. Aristotle argues that the plot should be complex because more incidents can convene an “organic unity”. This can include the “catastrophe” which a simple plot could also have. The “catastrophe” is when Elizabeth is arrested for witchcraft after being named by Abigail. Elizabeth was a just so being accused for witchcraft is a change of fortune. The elements that a simple plot doesn’t have but a complex one does are “peripeteia” and “anagnorisis”. Aristotle explains that “peripeteia” occurs when there’s a reversal of intention, and in The Crucible, it is when Mary Warren turned her back on John Proctor and accused him as the Devil because she was being foisted to confess the truth. First she was just helping John Proctor but then she knew that it wouldn’t bring her any good so she could just easily accuse him. “Anagnorisis”, as explained by Aristotle, is the recognition or a change from ignorance to knowledge. This occurs in The Crucible when John Proctor decided to confess his lechery because he recognised that he couldn’t defeat Abigail. It is also when Hale changed his side against the court and believed in John Proctor at the end of Act III. Aristotle stated that “Character” has the second place in importance. One of the terms that are included in this is “hamartia”. This is the tragic flaw of the character in the play, such as John Proctor’s hubris that exacerbated the tragedy he was dreaded to sabotage his name. “Goodness” of character is also included in the sense of being a realistic character and consistent throughout the play. This matches with John because he didn’t believe in the fraud throughout the whole play and he also confessed to Elizabeth that he committed lechery. Coming third in importance is the “Thought”. The message of the tragedy in The Crucible is that the whole witch-hunt is a severe trial and that the Salemites are the Devil themselves. Everything developed because of vengeance and that reality is being ignored. Finally comes the other element of a tragedy. The “diction” (metaphor) is appropriate to the plot such as "There are wheels within wheels in this village and fires within fires." The metaphor suggests that there is retaliation happening from the inside not just how the villagers see the events. Another element is “the spectacle”, which creates a sense of not just the terrible, but of the monstrous. In this case, “the spectacle” is the vengeance of an individual (Abigail) leading to the whole chaos in Salem. Katharsis is also included with a sense of purging and cleansing. An example of this is that with John’s death, he regains his “goodness”. In conclusion, The Crucible is an allegory of McCarthyism but with the outline structure of an Aristotelian tragedy. Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible in 1952 reflecting the same situation America was in (like Salem): a severe trial by HUAC. McCarthy called up names and accused them for being communist while his evidence was just hasty generalisation and ad ignorantiam. In my opinion, this exquisitely conforms to the tragedy of Aristotle’s style of drama. Abigail Proctor Proctor Act 1 Abigail stated: Give me a word, John. A soft word [her concentrated desire destroys his smile] page 28 Act 1, Proctor stated: Abby, I may -Repetition -Stage direction -Tone -Human behaviour -Human emotions Abigail is attempting to flirt and win John Proctor back to her. -Hysteria - Jealousy -Corruption -Compassion -Hyperbole -Diction -Human emotions John is informing Hysteria Abigail that he likes her, Guilt -Love -Affection -Selfishness -Despair -Affection Despair