ACT 1



‘The Crucible’ – Arthur Miller – Summary

ACT 1

The play is set in 1962 / 1692 / 1269 and when the curtain rises, Reverend Parris / Hale / Putnam is praying by his daughter’s / niece’s / aunt’s bed. Abigail / Betty / Tituba enters, but he sends her away in a rage. He talks to Abigail / Betty / Tituba about the girls dancing in the forest and she denies that it had anything to do with ‘unnatural causes’. The Putnams enter; Ms Putnam is convinced that Betty danced / flew / was naked. The girls involved in the scandal are left alone and Abigail / Mercy / Susanna warns the others to say nothing. John Proctor, a local priest / marshal / farmer, enters; he has slept with Betty / Abigail / Mercy but rejects her advances now. During their loving / sad / angry exchange of words, Betty begins to laugh / scream / choke and only Rebecca / Giles / Proctor can calm her. Hale / Danforth / Herrick enters and questions Betty, who remains uninterested / limp / hysterical in his hands. When he turns to Abigail, she, in fear / anger / spite, accuses Mercy / Betty / Tituba of being a witch who in turn names two women she has ‘seen with the Devil’. Abigail and Mercy / Betty / Mary join in, and the Act ends with their hysterical accusations.

ACT 2

Act 2 is set in the Proctors’ / Putnams’ / Parris’ house, two / eight / fourteen days later. There is unspoken anger / love / tension between John and Elizabeth and we learn that Mary Warren their daughter / cousin / maid, is acting officially in the witchcraft trials. Fourteen / two / twenty people are already in jail, but John resists Elizabeth’s pleas to tell what he knows. Mary enters; she is acting calmly / strangely / hysterically but has a new sense of self-importance / justice / humour. She tells them John / Elizabeth / Abigail has been accused / mentioned / convicted at the court, but John’s departure is interrupted by Danforth / Parris / Hale, very disturbed about the turn events have taken. His interrogation reveals that John cannot remember all ten Commandments; ironically, he forgets the one concerning murder / adultery / theft. Giles and Francis tell of their wives’ accusations / arrest / hanging but John / Elizabeth / Hale still refuses to believe justice will not be done. Cheever and Herrick / Hathorne / Danforth arrive with a warrant for Elizabeth, which John reads / burns / rips up. He is determined to force Mary to give evidence against Elizabeth / Rebecca / Abigail – she weeps that she does not wish to / cannot / will not.

ACT 3

Giles / Francis / John interrupts his wife’s trial, convinced that he is to blame for mentioning that she kept poppets / danced in the forest / read books. Proctor enters with Elizabeth / Mary / Abigail to testify against the court / girls / judges. Hale / Hathorne / Danforth offers to let the pregnant Elizabeth / Mary / Abigail live for a year, but John will not drop the charge. He gives the judges a testament with 9 / 91 / 191 signatures; Danforth orders all these people to be questioned / hanged / arrested. Horrified at this result, Francis / Giles / John refuses to reveal the name of his informant against Putnam. John puts his case reasonably / angrily / emotionally and Danforth questions Mary, reducing her to hysterics / tears / incoherence, under his accusations of lying / witchcraft / contempt of court. Abigail leads the girls in a pretended reaction to a cold wind, which John stops by confessing their relationship. Abigail is repentant / horrified / defiant. Elizabeth denies that John is a lecher in order to save his good name / Abigail / herself. Hale declares his belief in John / Abigail / Elizabeth, but is interrupted by screams as the girls go into hysterics. Mary / Abigail / Elizabeth, attacked on all fronts, accuses John: he and Parris / Giles / Hale are arrested. Parris / Giles / Hale denounces the proceedings.

ACT 4

It is dawn / noon / night and the marshal speaks to Sarah Good and Elizabeth / Tituba / Abigail, who are to be hanged. We hear how Hale is pleading / praying / arguing with the prisoners. Parris / Putnam / Hale tells how his niece has run away with his money; frightened for his own safety, he hopes Hale / Hathorne / Danforth will bring John or Rebecca to confess. Hale / Hathorne / Danforth urges Elizabeth to persuade her husband; she and John, left alone, embrace / touch hands / kiss. Their first words are anguished / romantic / practical. She tells him of Giles’ / Francis’ / Cheever’s death by hanging / burning / pressing and begs him to forgive himself, claiming her own share of sin. John asks for his life and Danforth / Cheever / Hathorne writes down his confession. He struggles with it until Rebecca / Abigail / Mary enters, but then, after signing his name, snatches the paper and tears it up. For the first time in the play, he feels a sense of personal humility / integrity / pride and tells Elizabeth not to cry. Hale and Danforth / Parris / Hathorne urge her to plead with him but she cannot take his pride / integrity / goodness from him. The play ends on a scream / drumroll / rattle of bones.

Answers

‘The Crucible’ – Arthur Miller – Summary

ACT 1

The play is set in 1962 and when the curtain rises, Reverend Parris is praying by his daughter’s bed. Tituba enters, but he sends her away in a rage. He talks to Abigail about the girls dancing in the forest and she denies that it had anything to do with ‘unnatural causes’. The Putnams enter; Ms Putnam is convinced that Betty flew. The girls involved in the scandal are left alone and Abigail warns the others to say nothing. John Proctor, a local farmer, enters; he has slept with Abigail but rejects her advances now. During their angry exchange of words, Betty begins to scream and only Rebecca can calm her. Hale enters and questions Betty, who remains limp in his hands. When he turns to Abigail, she, in fear, accuses Tituba of being a witch who in turn names two women she has ‘seen with the Devil’. Abigail and Betty join in, and the Act ends with their hysterical accusations.

ACT 2

Act 2 is set in the Proctors’ house, eight days later. There is unspoken tension between John and Elizabeth and we learn that Mary Warren their maid, is acting officially in the witchcraft trials. Fourteen people are already in jail, but John resists Elizabeth’s pleas to tell what he knows. Mary enters; she is acting strangely but has a new sense of self-importance. She tells them Elizabeth has been mentioned at the court, but John’s departure is interrupted by Hale, very disturbed about the turn events have taken. His interrogation reveals that John cannot remember all ten Commandments; ironically, he forgets the one concerning adultery. Giles and Francis tell of their wives’ arrest but Hale still refuses to believe justice will not be done. Cheever and Herrick arrive with a warrant for Elizabeth, which John rips up. He is determined to force Mary to give evidence against Abigail – she weeps that she cannot.

ACT 3

Giles interrupts his wife’s trial, convinced that he is to blame for mentioning that she read books. Proctor enters with Mary to testify against the girls. Danforth offers to let the pregnant Elizabeth live for a year, but John will not drop the charge. He gives the judges a testament with 91 signatures; Danforth orders all these people to be arrested. Horrified at this result, Giles refuses to reveal the name of his informant against Putnam. John puts his case reasonably and Danforth questions Mary, reducing her to tears, under his accusations of lying. Abigail leads the girls in a pretended reaction to a cold wind, which John stops by confessing their relationship. Abigail is defiant. Elizabeth denies that John is a lecher in order to save his good name. Hale declares his belief in John, but is interrupted by screams as the girls go into hysterics. Mary, attacked on all fronts, accuses John: he and Giles are arrested. Hale denounces the proceedings.

ACT 4

It is night and the marshal speaks to Sarah Good and Tituba, who are to be hanged. We hear how Hale is praying with the prisoners. Parris tells how his niece has run away with his money; frightened for his own safety, he hopes Hale will bring John or Rebecca to confess. Hale urges Elizabeth to persuade her husband; she and John, left alone, touch hands. Their first words are practical. She tells him of Giles’ death by pressing and begs him to forgive himself, claiming her own share of sin. John asks for his life and Cheever writes down his confession. He struggles with it until Rebecca enters, but then, after signing his name, snatches the paper and tears it up. For the first time in the play, he feels a sense of personal integrity and tells Elizabeth not to cry. Hale and Parris urge her to plead with him but she cannot take his goodness from him. The play ends on a drumroll.

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