The Crucible Play Guide for AQA GCSE Drama

COMPONENT 1 UNDERSTANDING DRAMA 30 The Crucible in context The context of a play includes the wider events, circumstances and influences of the period represented in the play: 4 Social 4 Historical 4 Political 4 Cultural. The characters in the play are affected by where they live, as well as the politics, economics and social concerns of the time. You will be expected to demonstrate how you could use the context of the play to influence design choices. An understanding of the context will also provide insight into the play’s themes and the characters’ feelings and motivations. ‘Witch hunts’ in the 17th and 20th centuries The historic setting of the Salem witch trials will provide the focus of your questions on context. The play was first performed in 1953 and was written in response to Arthur Miller’s concerns about American politics of the 1950s. He chose to set it, however, in the much earlier period of 1692. He uses the historic events of the Salem witch trials as an allegory to draw attention to and make criticism of the controversial activities of the House Un-American Activities Committee, which ‘hunted’ and punished suspected communists during the 1940s and 1950s. Creative industries such as theatre and film were particular targets. Writers, actors and directors were expected to ‘name names’ of ‘suspicious’ colleagues. Witch trials are an extreme example, and therefore a powerful allegory, of individuals being unfairly persecuted because of false evidence and the force of others’ deep beliefs and fears. Although much of The Crucible is based on the actual events and people involved in the Salem witch trials, Miller did invent some episodes, such as the relationship between Proctor and Abigail, in order to increase the play’s dramatic impact and to explore its themes further. Seventeenth-century America 4 The 17th century is referred to as the Colonial period of American history. 4 Settlers from Europe, including England, began arriving in America in the early part of this century. 4 The ‘Pilgrim Fathers’, who established the first permanent colony, arrived in Massachusetts in 1620. 4 Between 1630 and 1640, there was a ‘Great Migration’ of Puritans to America. (See ‘Religion’ on page 32.) 4 The first American colonies were largely settled by farmers. 3 The first pilgrims landing in New England KEY TERM Allegory: A story in which characters or events can represent another event, such as the Salem witch trials serving as an allegory for unjust governmental investigations by Joseph McCarthy and the House Un-American Activities Committee. The Reverend George Burroughs was accused of witchcraft during the Salem trials ‘on the evidence of feats of strength’, tried, hanged and buried beneath the gallows. 5