In early Greece, Aristotle thoroughly believed that every drama should contain a beginning, middle, and end. Later, the Roman, Aelius Donatus, expanded this into what is presently known as the dramatic structure of a five-act play. In this structure, every act has a defined purpose: the exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and denouement. Shakespeare later made this dramatic structure famous for years to come. Although a four-act play, The Crucible incorporates all of the components that are associated with a five-act play.
Written by Arthur Miller, The Crucible reveals a tragic story of love, lust and jealousy, dedicated to the Salem Witch Trials of the late 1600s. In the play, Act One sets the stage in Salem, Massachusetts, …show more content…
Act Three is where the climax of the play can be located, parallel to the exemplary five-act dramatic structure. The Crucible climaxes the moment John Proctor admits to being a lecher and participating in adultery with Abigail Parris. His voice roars throughout the courtroom as he shouts, “How do you call Heaven! Whore! Whore!” While no longer shouting, his voice collapses as he shamefully confesses, “I have known her, sir. I have known her.” After this occasion, the story changes as Proctor is jailed and the town begins to realize the damage that has been done throughout these trials, ensuing the falling action in Act …show more content…
Through this story, Miller effortlessly shows a comparison between the ongoing Red Scare of the 1950s to the Trials in Salem, Massachusetts. Similar to the Salem Witch Trials, the Red Scare was inducing the arrest of U.S. citizens dependent on false accusations of communism. Miller happened to be one of those citizens prosecuted against, inspiring him to conceive a drama that would possibly expose the naïve indictments of that time. In addition to this, he showed the penitence felt by the town of Salem after such distressing events in an effort to broadcast those same feelings on to the audience. The five-act dramatic structure allows Arthur Miller to influence the citizens of a nation simply through an exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and
Written by Arthur Miller, The Crucible reveals a tragic story of love, lust and jealousy, dedicated to the Salem Witch Trials of the late 1600s. In the play, Act One sets the stage in Salem, Massachusetts, …show more content…
Act Three is where the climax of the play can be located, parallel to the exemplary five-act dramatic structure. The Crucible climaxes the moment John Proctor admits to being a lecher and participating in adultery with Abigail Parris. His voice roars throughout the courtroom as he shouts, “How do you call Heaven! Whore! Whore!” While no longer shouting, his voice collapses as he shamefully confesses, “I have known her, sir. I have known her.” After this occasion, the story changes as Proctor is jailed and the town begins to realize the damage that has been done throughout these trials, ensuing the falling action in Act …show more content…
Through this story, Miller effortlessly shows a comparison between the ongoing Red Scare of the 1950s to the Trials in Salem, Massachusetts. Similar to the Salem Witch Trials, the Red Scare was inducing the arrest of U.S. citizens dependent on false accusations of communism. Miller happened to be one of those citizens prosecuted against, inspiring him to conceive a drama that would possibly expose the naïve indictments of that time. In addition to this, he showed the penitence felt by the town of Salem after such distressing events in an effort to broadcast those same feelings on to the audience. The five-act dramatic structure allows Arthur Miller to influence the citizens of a nation simply through an exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and