Flashcards for The Crucible

Abigail Williams

Abigail Williams is the main antagonist in Arthur Miller's The Crucible and the driving force behind the hysteria of the Salem witch trials.

character

Deputy Governor Danforth

Deputy Governor Danforth presides over the Salem witch trials in Arthur Miller's The Crucible, representing institutional power exercised without mercy or self-examination.

character

Elizabeth Proctor

Elizabeth Proctor is the morally steadfast wife of John Proctor and a central figure in Arthur Miller's The Crucible.

character

Giles Corey

Giles Corey is a grumpy, fiercely independent elderly farmer whose unyielding integrity ultimately leads to his demise.

character

John Proctor

John Proctor is the moral and dramatic core of Arthur Miller's The Crucible (1953).

character

Mary Warren

Mary Warren is the Proctors' teenage servant and a minor member of Abigail Williams's circle, whose journey shows a heartbreaking decline of moral courage under social and supernatural pressure.

character

Rebecca Nurse

Rebecca Nurse is one of Salem's most respected matriarchs—a devout, clear-headed elder whose moral authority serves as both a stabilizing force and, ultimately, a martyr.

character

Reverend John Hale

Reverend John Hale from Beverly arrives in Salem during Act One, portraying himself as an expert in demonic arts.

character

Reverend Samuel Parris

Reverend Samuel Parris is the Salem minister whose fear of losing power fuels the witch trials.

character

Tituba

Tituba is the enslaved servant of Reverend Parris from Barbados and one of the initial figures accused of witchcraft in Salem.

character

“Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life!”

This anguished declaration comes from John Proctor in the climactic final act (Act IV) of Arthur Miller's The Crucible (1953).

John Proctor · Act IV

“We are what we always were in Salem, but now the little crazy children are jangling the keys of the kingdom.”

This chilling line is delivered by John Proctor in Act II of Arthur Miller's The Crucible (1953), aimed at his wife Elizabeth and capturing his growing horror at the hysteria engulfing Salem.

John Proctor · Act II

“Is the accuser always holy now?”

This line is spoken by John Proctor in Arthur Miller's The Crucible (1953) as he addresses the court and the Salem community during the witch trials.

John Proctor · Act II or Act III

“The Devil is precise; the marks of his presence are definite as stone.”

This line is spoken by Reverend Hale in Act One of Arthur Miller's The Crucible (1953), shortly after his arrival in Salem.

Reverend Hale · Act One

“More weight.”

These two haunting words are spoken by Giles Corey in Arthur Miller's The Crucible during his pressing (peine forte et dure), as the elderly farmer refuses to plead at his witchcraft trial.

Giles Corey · Act Four

“I do think I see some shred of goodness in John Proctor.”

This line is delivered by John Proctor during a pivotal moment in Arthur Miller's The Crucible (1953), specifically in Act IV, when he faces the excruciating decision of whether to sign a false confession to witchcraft to save himself.

John Proctor · Act IV

“I speak my own sins; I cannot judge another. I have no tongue for it.”

This line is spoken by John Proctor in Arthur Miller's The Crucible (1953), near the climax of Act IV, when Deputy Governor Danforth pressures him to publicly name other alleged witches in Salem.

John Proctor · Act IV

“God is dead! A fire, a fire is burning! I hear the boot of Lucifer, I see his filthy face!”

This intense declaration comes from John Proctor at a pivotal moment in Arthur Miller's The Crucible (1953), set against the backdrop of the 1692 Salem witch trials.

John Proctor · Act III

“I cannot sleep for dreamin'; I cannot dream but I wake and walk about the house as though I'd find you comin' through some door.”

This anguished confession is made by John Proctor to Abigail Williams during their intense private confrontation early in Act One of Arthur Miller's The Crucible (1953).

John Proctor · Act One

“I have given you my soul; leave me my name!”

This anguished cry comes from John Proctor in the climactic final act (Act IV) of Arthur Miller's The Crucible (1953).

John Proctor · Act IV

“You are pulling Heaven down and raising up a whore!”

This powerful line is delivered by John Proctor to Reverend John Hale in Arthur Miller's The Crucible (1953), during the intense climax of Act IV when Hale implores Elizabeth to convince John to sign a false confession to save his life.

John Proctor · Act IV

“A person is either with this court or he must be counted against it, there be no road between.”

This chilling statement is made by Deputy Governor Danforth in Arthur Miller's The Crucible (1953), a play that takes place during the Salem witch trials of 1692.

Deputy Governor Danforth · Act III

Fire

In Arthur Miller's The Crucible, fire is a complex symbol that represents destruction, purification, and intense passion.

The Court

In Arthur Miller's The Crucible, the Court illustrates the corruption of institutional authority and the risks of unchecked theocratic power.

The Devil's Black Book

In Arthur Miller's The Crucible, the Devil's Black Book represents the frightening power of false confessions and forced complicity.

The Forest

In Arthur Miller's The Crucible, the forest around Salem symbolizes the wild and forbidden world that exists outside Puritan law and moral order.

The Poppet (Doll)

In Arthur Miller's The Crucible, the poppet—a small cloth doll—highlights how easily innocence can be turned into a weapon and truth distorted by fear and malice.

Allegory

The Salem witch trials of 1692 serve as a powerful allegory for McCarthyism and the House Un-American Activities Committee hearings of the early 1950s. Each aspect of the trials reflects Miller's own time: the court's demand that accused individuals identify fellow witches parallels HUAC's pressure on witnesses to name Communist sympathizers.

Dramatic Monologue

Miller weaves in long dramatic monologues that reveal a character's thought process when under stress.

Irony

Dramatic irony fills the play since the audience knows right from the start that the witch-hunt is a sham.

Metaphor

Miller constructs the play's moral foundation using interconnected metaphors.

Symbolism

The forest outside Salem represents the play's most significant symbol.

Paradox

The play revolves around a central paradox: Proctor can only save his life by lying, but doing so would undermine the very self he's trying to preserve.

Imagery

Miller's stage directions and dialogue are rich with sensory details that anchor the supernatural chaos in tangible reality.

Juxtaposition

Miller contrasts characters and scenes to highlight moral differences.

Repetition

Repetition acts as both a rhetorical and psychological tool.

Prose Poem

Miller's extended stage directions feel more like prose poems than just practical blocking notes.

Epigraph

Miller doesn't rely on a traditional epigraph; instead, he uses a lengthy historical preface to Act One as an authorial epigraph for the entire play.

Volta

Though The Crucible is a prose drama, Miller creates sharp turns in moral or dramatic direction, akin to the turn in a sonnet.

catatonic

In a state of complete unresponsiveness, unable to move or speak, as if frozen — here describing Betty's trance-like collapse after the night in the forest.

adjective · Chapter 1

conjure

To summon spirits or practice magic through secret rituals; in this play it means calling on the Devil or supernatural forces, which is treated as a serious crime.

verb · Chapter 1

traffick

To deal or have forbidden dealings with someone or something — here specifically to have secret contact or commerce with the Devil or evil spirits.

verb · Chapter 1

poppet

A small handmade doll; in the play it is used as supposed evidence of witchcraft because a needle found in it is claimed to prove a curse was cast on someone.

noun · Chapter 2

deposition

A written, sworn statement given outside of court as legal testimony; in the play characters submit depositions to challenge the court's accusations.

noun · Chapter 3

vestibule

An entrance hall or antechamber just inside the outer door of a building; here it is the waiting area outside the main courtroom of the Salem meeting house.

noun · Chapter 3

compacted

Bound together by a formal agreement or pact — in this context, secretly allied with the Devil through a covenant, which is the accusation leveled at the condemned.

adjective · Chapter 3

denounce

To publicly declare something wrong or illegitimate and formally withdraw support from it; here Hale announces he rejects the court's authority entirely.

verb · Chapter 3

proceedings

The official actions and events of a legal or formal process — here referring to the witch-trial hearings conducted by the court.

noun · Chapter 3

lusted

Felt intense sexual desire for someone outside of marriage; Proctor uses it as a confession of his own moral failing and sin with Abigail.

verb · Chapter 1

everlasting

Continuing without end, never stopping — used here to describe the unrelenting, suffocating grief and suspicion Elizabeth carries inside her that never lifts.

adjective · Chapter 2

bound

Tied or committed by a secret agreement — here meaning secretly pledged or enslaved to Satan through a supernatural pact.

adjective · Chapter 2

tiptoe

To walk very quietly and carefully so as not to disturb someone; used figuratively here to mean Proctor has been cautiously avoiding anything that might upset Elizabeth.

verb · Chapter 2

warnin'

Warning — the dropped final g reflects the dialect speech of the characters; here it means no prior sign or notice was given before the sudden collapse.

noun · Chapter 2

struck

Hit suddenly and violently — used in the simile 'like a struck beast' to describe the sudden, violent way the girl collapsed to the floor.

adjective · Chapter 2

softly

With tender, affectionate feeling — here Proctor means he thought of Abigail with warmth and desire, not harshly, which makes his guilt worse in his own eyes.

adverb · Chapter 1

grave

The burial place of a dead person — used here figuratively: Abigail hopes Elizabeth will die so she can take her place as Proctor's wife.

noun · Chapter 1

confess

To formally admit guilt — in the play this means publicly declaring you made a pact with the Devil, whether true or not, in order to avoid execution.

verb · Chapter 4

rotten

Morally corrupt or already ruined — Proctor uses it to say his reputation was already destroyed long before he considered signing a false confession.

adjective · Chapter 4

goodness

A person's moral integrity and worth — Elizabeth uses it to mean Proctor has reclaimed his inner virtue and honor by refusing to sign the false confession.

noun · Chapter 4

spoiled

Damaged, ruined, or made worthless — here Proctor means that signing a lie cannot destroy what was already morally corrupt before.

adjective · Chapter 4

bewitched

Put under an evil spell by a witch — in the play this is the formal accusation: that someone used supernatural power to harm or control another person.

verb · Chapter 1

quit

To leave or abandon something entirely — here used in a formal, emphatic sense meaning Hale is permanently withdrawing from the court and its authority.

verb · Chapter 3