The Crucible | The Crucible: A Structural View

In the following Essay, Phillip G. Hill argues that The Crucible, "however short it may fall of being the great American drama, is nevertheless a thoroughly successful, provocative, and stimulating theater piece."

The Crucible is too often spoken of as one of Arthur Miller's less successful plays. Its relative merits as compared with Death of a Salesman need not be argued here, but unquestionably the calumny that has been heaped upon it by well-meaning critics is little deserved—the play, however short it may fall of being the great American drama, is nevertheless a thoroughly successful, provocative, and stimulating theater piece. When competently performed, it can provide a deeply moving experience for the theater-goer.

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