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gimme some warnings or words of encouragement
- Thread starter maey
- Start date
Øystein
Member
I found it to be a fine read, though your willingness to read plays will of course be an important factor in your personal enjoyment of it. It's somewhat long for a play, but a quick read, and naturally there's very little descriptions, just dialogs, so it's very quick going.
Without giving too much away, and hopefully without misremembering anything, it's essentially about the trials around some rather sinister, perhaps downright evil, adolescent women, and the older women that they have gotten under the suspicion of witchcraft. For me, what made the largest impression was how chilling and devious Abigail was.
That being said, it's my least favorite of the few Arthur Miller plays I've read.
And on that note, am I the only one who really enjoy reading plays, but have no interest in seeing them performed? There's something about the way they're usually performed that's really unappealing to me.
Without giving too much away, and hopefully without misremembering anything, it's essentially about the trials around some rather sinister, perhaps downright evil, adolescent women, and the older women that they have gotten under the suspicion of witchcraft. For me, what made the largest impression was how chilling and devious Abigail was.
That being said, it's my least favorite of the few Arthur Miller plays I've read.
And on that note, am I the only one who really enjoy reading plays, but have no interest in seeing them performed? There's something about the way they're usually performed that's really unappealing to me.
And, of course, it was my FAVORITE of the Arthur Miller plays! Hahaha. Just goes to show how many differences there are in reader tastes.
I think The Crucible is a very dramatic reinactment of the Salem witch trials. It gives the reader the ability to slip inside the skins of people from another culture and time and see why those who burned witches felt justified in doing so. Again, I won't give any spoilers, but the accusers soon became flushed with self-imposed "power" and used that power to bring revenge on others for slights or imagined injuries. It's very compelling in the same way that Animal Farm was. I think you'll enjoy it!
Cathy
I think The Crucible is a very dramatic reinactment of the Salem witch trials. It gives the reader the ability to slip inside the skins of people from another culture and time and see why those who burned witches felt justified in doing so. Again, I won't give any spoilers, but the accusers soon became flushed with self-imposed "power" and used that power to bring revenge on others for slights or imagined injuries. It's very compelling in the same way that Animal Farm was. I think you'll enjoy it!
Cathy
novella
Active Member
It's good to know that Miller wrote The Crucible as a direct correlative to and comment on the House Un-American Activities Committee's "witch hunt" for commies in the 1950s (aka McCarthyism). The play is pretty relevant today, along the same thematic lines:
--are special classes of people guilty until proven innocent?
--is denial interpreted as proof of guilt?
--what faults do the accusers hide?
Another play on the same subject is "In the Matter of J. Robert Oppenheimer," for my taste a much sharper, complex political commentary.
Reading plays is a different experience from reading novels. If you haven't done it yet, you might feel that it's boring or simple. Try slowing down and focusing on the dialogue dynamics. You literally have to read a lot more between the lines.
--are special classes of people guilty until proven innocent?
--is denial interpreted as proof of guilt?
--what faults do the accusers hide?
Another play on the same subject is "In the Matter of J. Robert Oppenheimer," for my taste a much sharper, complex political commentary.
Reading plays is a different experience from reading novels. If you haven't done it yet, you might feel that it's boring or simple. Try slowing down and focusing on the dialogue dynamics. You literally have to read a lot more between the lines.