‘The Crucible’ was written by playwright Arthur Miller in 1952, and was based on the infamous Salem witch trials; Miller used this as an allegory for McCarthyism in America at the time. Many people accused others of Communism to protect themselves, and subsequently, these victims were forced to ‘admit’ to the crime and give names of ‘fellow communists’ or face imprisonment. Miller wrote of the communism paranoia and McCarthyism through the guise of the witch trials of 1692, as once someone was accused of witchcraft, they were almost instantaneously guilty in the eyes of both the law and the public, regardless of any evidence or lack of, and thus, the sole way to escape hanging was to go along with the hysteria, ‘admit’ to working with the devil, and of course, to disclose the names of others. The Salem community were so transfixed by the idea of witches because their laws were based on theocracy; in effect, the Bible, which was inevitably a dangerous system as the laws could be interpreted differently by each individual. Had Miller written openly regarding his views of McCarthyism, it would have been added to the supposed evidence that he was involved with communism. However, eventually some people did see through Miller’s allegory, realising what the witch trials actually represented, and he was sent to court for his ‘provocative’ writing.
Act three opens with a high point of tension; nobody is on the stage, yet the audience can vaguely hear an almost inaudible trial, deciding the fate of Martha Corey. The audience strain to hear the action, and are made increasingly uncomfortable with a strong feeling of apprehension. Suddenly, the level of tension plummets with Giles being brought into the courtroom, creating a momentary sense of relief, as the audience are desperately wanting him to succeed with exposing the falsehoods and being free from conviction. However, Giles is heard ‘roaring’ and is ‘half-carried’ on his entrance to the stage, disrupting the calm setting, and feeding the apprehension; how will he convince the judge of his innocence when acting so raucously and maniacally? Miller effectively creates an air of tension immediately from the beginning of this scene, by wrong-footing the audience; they are completely in the dark, and unsuspecting of what will follow.
The next crucial moment of act three is when John Proctor makes his entrance, also escorting Mary Warren, whom he is supporting by holding her elbow, another reference to her weakness, resulting in another rise of tension; the audience questions what hope there is of such a feeble character providing a convincing argument when even as strong a character as Giles Corey, was practically carried on stage. Miller has set an atmosphere of tension by emphasizing the lack of power two characters have, that are already at opposite ends of the spectrum regarding power and influence.
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