Drama and audience Essay

Reverend Hale’s role in the play is to originally cure of find the illness of Betty. But instead he is described as â€Å"stiring the witchcraft cauldron that is brewing in Salem Village†. Arthur Miller uses words and phrases such as; narrowing his eyes, holding up his hands, surprised, quickly, grasping, rising exhilaration, kindly ect. This describes Reverend Hale’s character well, as he is a do-gooder within the village. Miller emphasises his importance, by making his character loud, expressive yet good hearted. He makes sure the audience is aware of Hale’s importance, by making him a figure to look up to, someone that people can see God in, and by making people confess to him he is showing the power he has. Parris’s status within the community should be an example to others, but is slowly withering as the accusations of witchcraft within his village and family drag him down. The farmers Proctor, Putnam and Giles, are all below Parris in society. They are the main male characters in the play and because Parris is higher up in society, he remains the loneliest out of the four; this is significant as he knows he cannot cope with all the stress as a single parent and guardian, and a reverend Salem relies on. As previously written, Hale was confessed to by Tituba. She confessed to seeing Satin towards the end of Act 1. Her confession was dramatic and Miller emphasised this well by using language such as; weeps, sobbing in terror, falls to her knees, frightened, suddenly bursting out, in a fury ect. Influenced by the forgiveness given to Tituba, this is significant as she is setting an example and giving ideas to the girls. Abigail copies calling out accusations, as assumed and for example she shouts; â€Å"I saw Sarah Good with the devil! † ect. Scared and confused girls followed in Abigail’s actions and began calling out accusations as well. The girls soon figure that lying, pretending and accusing others, will take the limelight from them and they will soon be seen as victims and witnesses of Satin. In conclusion, Arthur Miller’s stage directions in the play, The Crucible, create drama and inform the audience about the nature of the society in Salem. He uses them effectively to create instant excitement and effect as well as defining the characters in detail. The characters are however Millers own creation and through his direction they add drama to the story. The language used in the play highlights the lack of communication in its simplicity and distances itself from the twenty first century. The people in Salem lived solely by their religion and were unable to accept anything that may defy their beliefs. It also showed the lies and deceit that people created to protect their own name and standing in society. Arthur Miller has managed to skilfully tell the story according to historic facts whilst adding his own portrayal of characters to attract audiences today.