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

Creating Tension in Act 2 of The melting pot by Arthur MillerArthur Millers converge The Crucible is lay 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 creates a awareness of tension by setting the scene in a low, dark path. This room is quiet and gloomy as very little light is getin. Miller does this to create an aura which is unhappy andde bundleing. The tension is already amply 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 stage before the char biteers enter, he alsouses the bareness to get the auditory sense to focus purely on the actorsand the dialogue.The stage directions show how butt and Elizabeth act when they arearound each other, for example a sense of their detac hment arises.Here we can see that even though they are espouse they seem veryalone, the cause of this is due to their different personalities. Shedoesnt want friction, and tho she must. Elizabeth dislikes the way tin treats her. She also is upset with him as in previous scenes wesee that he has had an affair with Abigail. Miller uses the affair andthe particular 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 period the play is set in, the 1600s.The dialogue in this scene, begins 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 2 andkeeps secrets from Elizabeth. We see proof of this when he adds moresalt to the food that she had ready earlier, without her knowledge,and later compliments her, its well seasoned. This is an empt ycomplement. He set ahead expresses his dominance by ordering her aroundWoman. Ill not have your indecision anymore. Men of this periodwhere at a higher military 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, characterisation anddialogue.