Creating Tension in Act 2 of The Crucible by Arthur Miller Essay

Creating Tension in Act 2 of The Crucible by Arthur MillerArthur Millers play The Crucible is repose in Salem in 1692. At thattime there was a lot of tension, as many people were being accused ofwitchcraft and being against God. In the play Miller shows how theaccusations affected everyone in Salem.Miller performs a sense of tension by setting the scene in a low, vagueroom. This room is quiet and gloomy as very little light is gettingin. Miller does this to create an atmosphere which is unhappy anddepressing. The tension is already higher(prenominal) as the scene before ended withsatanic accusations. The room is bare, which is unwelcoming, and itseems unlived in as nothing is out of place. Miller uses the sceneryto bring atmosphere to the present before the characters enter, he alsouses the bareness to get the audience to focus purely on the actorsand the dialogue.The stage directions show how John and Elizabeth act when they are nearly each other, for example a sense of their separation arises.Here we can see that even though they are married they seem veryalone, the stick of this is due to their different personalities. Shedoesnt want friction, and yet she must. Elizabeth dislikes the wayJohn treats her. She also is upset with him as in previous scenes wesee that he has had an map with Abigail. Miller uses the affair andthe fact that John is keeping secrets about the background toaccusations, to build a sense of conflict between Elizabeth and John.The language used is from the stop the play is set in, the 1600s.The dialogue in this scene, scrams quite softly but becomes harsh, asElizabeth and John argue at the climax of the scene. When Elizabethand John converse they begin poli... ...John is shown as a deceiver, as he is in the dominant of the two andkeeps secrets from Elizabeth. We see proof of this when he adds moresalt to the food that she had inclined(p) earlier, without her knowledge,and later compliments her, its well seasoned. This is an emp tycomplement. He further expresses his dominance by ordering her aroundWoman. Ill not have your suspicion any longer. Men of this periodwhere at a higher position in society they where seen to be strong andforceful, this is why John tries to press his dominance on her. Millerdraws attention to this side of his character in order to heighten thesense of conflict between them.In The Crucible Miller wanted to create a sense of tension andconflict. He successfully used the beginning of act 2 to achieve thisby clever use of lighting, sparse scenery, line drawing anddialogue.