was to the previous horrors and how unjust and dangerous and potentially deadly it could be.

Miller also makes good use of imagery, especially in his vivid descriptions of the young ladies' activities in the woods and their show of being under the influence of witchcraft. Foreshadowing occurs when Elizabeth speaks of the noose, knowing that Abigail wants her dead. Elizabeth herself is saved from execution by hanging only by her pregnancy. John, however, loses his life to the noose.

The play is filled with suspense as the audience tries to figure out what is going on and why. This is especially prominent at the beginning, when young Betty Parris is behaving so strangely, and also at the end, as John struggles between saving his life and holding to the truth.

Simile and metaphor appear in The Crucible as John says he will “fall like an ocean on that court” in order to save Elizabeth, and Hale announces that theology is “a fortress.”

In Act Two, when Francis Nurse arrives at the Proctors' house, he tells John and Elizabeth Proctor, Mary Warren, and Reverend Hale that his wife, Rebecca, has been accused of and arrested for witchcraft.  The Proctors are in shock, but Reverend Hale still wants to believe in the justice of the court.  He tells John, "in great pain," that "until an hour before the Devil fell, God thought him beautiful in Heaven."  Here, he alludes to the angel, Lucifer, and his rebellion against God.  Hale says that, until right before Lucifer fell from God's grace, God still thought him to be good.  In other words, it is possible that Rebecca seems good, or has been good all along up until now and that she has still fallen and committed this grievous sin.

Also, in Act Two, when Herrick comes to arrest Elizabeth Proctor, John tries to make Hale see that the court is not just—that the girls are not honest.  He shouts, "Pontius Pilate!  God will not let you wash your hands of this!"  Here, he alludes to Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea, who did not think that Jesus deserved to be executed.  However, the crowd called for Jesus's crucifixion and Pilate gave in to them, symbolically "washing his hands" in order to show that he did not consider himself to be personally responsible.  However, in doing so—allowing a man he believed to be innocent to be killed—history has judged Pilate to be just as responsible, if not more so, than they.  John calls Hale "Pontius Pilate" because he believes that Hale is trying to keep his own hands clean, so to speak, by allowing a corrupt court—just as Pilate allowed a corrupt crowd—to make all decisions concerning the innocents who are accused.

Most of the allusions are biblical in nature.  Take for example what Elizabeth says about Abigail's power in the town after the accusations are starting.  In act two, Elizabeth states, "Abigail brings the other girls into the court, and where she walks the crowds will part like the sea for Israel."  This is referring to Moses, who parted the seas of Israel for the Israelites to escape from the Pharoah's armies.  So, it indicates that Abby holds some sort of god-like power of redemption for the town.  Another allusion to the bible is when John Proctor is trying to help Mary gather courage to confess to the courts that the girls are faking.  In act three he bolsters her saying, "Now remember what the angel Raphael said to the boy Tobias...'Do that which is good, and no harm shall come to thee.'"  He refers to that quote to help her to have strength to do what is right.  Reverend Hale alludes biblically to Satan, and how "until an hour before the Devil fell, God thought him beautiful in Heaven."  He is speaking of how it is possible that Rebecca Nurse could be charged with witchcraft in act two.

Because of the Puritan beliefs that the bible is all, the people were very familiar with its stories and morals, and that is probably why Miller chose to it as the main source of most of the allusions in the play.  I hope that helps!

Similes and metaphors are examples of stylistic devices. They are both comparisons, although similes contain the word "like" or "as."

Abigail uses this simile when talking to John:

"You clutched my back behind your house and sweated like a stallion whenever I come near!"

Another example of simile in the text:

"I will fall like an ocean on that court!"

Below is a metaphor, comparing theology to a fortress:

"Theology, sir, is a fortress; no crack in a fortress may be accounted small."

Personification gives human-like qualities to something. John uses personification in this famous quote:

"I'll tell you what's walking in Salem—vengeance is walking in Salem."

The below quote from John is another example of personification, and can also be considered an example of hyperbole.

"Oh Elizabeth, your justice would freeze beer."

The play is filled with dramatic and situational irony. One specific example is in Act II, when Hale visits the Proctors. He asks John to recite the Ten Commandments. John does so, but is missing one. He forgets "Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery," and needs a clue from his wife. This is ironic because John truly has forgotten this sin; we know that he did commit adultery and had an affair with Abigail prior to the events of the play.

Arthur Miller uses many symbols in the text. The poppet, the forest, and John's signature can all be viewed as symbols. In fact, the title itself is a symbol. A crucible can be defined as a severe trial, or a container for heating substances. Both definitions are fitting, as the entire town is put on trial, and metaphorically under lots of heat. As Danforth says,

"We burn a hot fire here; it melts down all concealment."

Arthur Miller's The Crucible is a pretty complex construction of literature, full of various elements and devices. Miller makes use of hyperbole, allusion, and irony, among other elements, in order to convey the overarching message of the story.

Hyperbole is used to show how merciless the legal system in Salem is. For example, we hear from Judge Danforth:

If retaliation is your fear, know this—I should hang ten thousand that dared to rise against the law, and an ocean of salt tears could not melt the resolution of all the statues.

Rather unsurprisingly, since religion is a central theme of The Crucible, Miller uses various allusions to the Bible throughout the story. For example, Miller uses a biblical allusion to convey a message about Abigail's character:

Abigail brings the other girls into the court, and where she walks the crowd will part like the Sea for Israel.

This passage shows how much notoriety Abigail has garnered through her constant accusations, the crowd reacting with either fear or awe of her when she comes near. Miller also uses biblical allusion to show how ironically un-Christian Salem's actions are; effectively murdering people based on a simple (and false) accusation. For example, when his wife is arrested, John Proctor shouts to the Reverend:

Pontius Pilate! God will not let you wash you hands of this!

John makes it clear that the Reverend, though he feels he is fulfilling some kind of Christian duty assigned by the court, will be responsible for what happens to Elizabeth and all the others who will fall victim to false witchcraft accusations. This also speaks to the irony of the story, one of Miller's major themes. In a town that is supposed to be a haven of Christianity, Salem descends into a murderous craze with people turning against one another, making false accusations, and sending innocent people to hang.

Arthur Miller, the author of the play, writes a sort of narrator for this work -- someone who interjects frequently in Act I -- to introduce characters, give the audience background information, etc.  We can call it authorial intrusion; the dialogue stops and this narrator steps in to tell us something it would be helpful to know, something the character is unlikely to reveal to us themselves: for example, John Proctor thinks he's "a fraud," Abigail Williams has an "endless capacity for dissembling," etc. 

Miller also makes heavy use of irony.  Dramatic irony is created when the audience knows more than a particular character, and it heightens tension and helps to build suspense.  For example, when Proctor, Francis Nurse, and Giles Corey come to the court in Act III to present their evidence against the girls and in favor of their wives (namely, the testimony of Mary Warren), Deputy Governor Danforth refuses to believe them; he says that the state believes "that the voice of Heaven is speaking through the children."  However, we know that Proctor is right: the girls are lying, but Dadnforth doesn't know this.  This is dramatic irony. 

It is also terribly ironic that Danforth refuses to believe Mary Warren, the only girl who is telling the truth, especially when he makes statements like, "We burn a hot fire here; it melts down all concealment."  On the contrary, the entire proceedings are founded on the deception of the girls!  This is an example of situational irony: the people who tell the truth are thought to be liars, and the liars are seen as truthful by the court.  We would expect the reverse -- that the truth will out, as they say -- especially in a court, but it is not so.

Miller's use of style is an essential component the drives The Crucible.  Style and technique are essential in understanding the work's thematic meaning.  One example can be seen in the stage directions.  In traditional theatre productions, the stage directions are terse.  In The Crucible, Miller's use of stage directions is deliberate.  The stage directions act as another form of narrative voice.  The stage directions help to develop characterizations and enhance the reader's understanding of the characters. Sometimes, the stage directions help to provide historical background that the reader lacks upon entering the drama in the midst of ongoing action. For example, the stage directions in the opening of Act I help to establish the emotional climate and social culture of Salem. This demonstration of style allows Miller to talk about how children are viewed, the perception that Salem has towards "the other," as well how Salem, itself, was such a self- tormented community that it became fertile soil for the witchcraft accusations to take hold:

No one can really know what their lives were like. They had no novelists - and would not have permitted anyone to read a novel if one were handy. Their creed forbade anything re-sembling a theater or “vain enjoyment.” They did not celebrate Christmas, and a holiday from work meant only that they must concentrate even more upon prayer. 

Miller's use of stage directions helps to illuminate additional dimensions to both setting and characters.  This helps to reader understand the work on both literary and philosophical levels, contributing to a more profound read of the drama.

Miller's use of dialogue is another distinguishing element of style.  Miller challenges the traditional notion that the Puritan community lacked emotion.  On the contrary, Miller's use of dialogue suggests that there was a mass of emotional complexity percolating, making the parsing of truth during the witchcraft trials more difficult. Miller injects sensory details that bring out the raging cauldron of emotions within characters.  Abigail comparing John's sexual prowess to a stallion's sweat, the seasoning of the broth on the stove top to open Act II, Proctor's invocation of fire with "black hearts" and "we will all burn together," along with Corey's cry of "More weight" are examples of how the dialogue is constructed through both emotions and sensory details that enable the modern reader to cross time and enter into the context of Salem. The use of emotions in dialogue also enhances the "crucible" element where one is enclosed in a condition with strong objects and intense heat energy. Miller's employment of emotional language and sensory detail in dialogue helps to illuminate how these characters emerge from their such a trial. 

Another aspect of the style in The Crucible is Miller's use of history. Miller creates a interdisciplinary work. He does not seek to create a work that is solely history or one that is only literary. He wishes to take aspects of both and compose a work that is philosophically profound.  This is evident in his style. He takes pains to recreate the way that the Salem people talk to one another, but also clearly states that "This play is not history in the sense in which the word is used by the academic historian." Miller's style that allows him to embrace different realms of study in creating a work of ethics and philosophy is significant to The Crucible.

Miller uses both direct and indirect characterization in the play.

Examples of direct exposition can be found in each of the first three acts of the play regarding John Proctor, Elizabeth Proctor, Tituba, Danforth, Rebecca Nurse and Reverend Parris. These characters are given direct description by others in the play and these descriptions help to define the character discussed. Exposition of back-story is also provided in the first act and helps to develop character relationships in a direct manner. 

In this mode of characterization one person describes another. In Miller's use of indirect exposition, characters define themselves.

Indirect character exposition can be found throughout the play as characters act. Many examples of this type of exposition can be drawn from interpretations of actions and some can be drawn from dialogue.  

Arthur Miller develops the characters in two ways, through dialogue and through stage directions and related supplementary text. Although the audience viewing the play will not have access to those written descriptions, that text will shape the actors’ and director’s interpretation and presentation of the characters. Miller faced a particular challenge with The Crucible in basing it on actual historical events and making “characters” in the fictional play primarily people who actually lived in 17th-century Massachusetts.

During his research, Miller was struck by the moral quandaries in which many people found themselves. While taking a pro-Christianity, anti-Satanic stance seemed like it might be a clear decision, even in the time of the trails that was not always the case. The ambiguities of people’s descriptions of the devils that possessed them intrigued the playwright.

Much of the play’s tension derives from having two opposing sets of characters, the Proctors and the accusing girls; the link between them is Abigail Williams. Even in the heroic Proctors, however, the moral ambiguity that captivated Miller is present. Although Elizabeth is probably the most virtuous character in the play, she lies to protect her husband, which makes him look like a liar. John, finding his deep-seated integrity at the end, refuses to admit to things he did not do, but also sacrifices himself to save his wife and unborn child.

Most of the individual girls only are onstage for a few minutes at a time, but their interactions and conspiracy have a strong dramatic impact. Miller still manages to make each girl’s personality come through. Mary Warren is susceptible to manipulation, for example, while Tituba accuses others because she knows that, as a slave, she is the most vulnerable. The character of Abigail Williams, who manages to bend not only the girls but the powerful judges to her will, is frightening because she is believable. Trapped by her own lies, she embroiders on them and draws others into the web of deception. Miller takes the time to develop a backstory for Abigail, however, so the audience is encouraged to sympathize, and perhaps even empathize, with her as a lonely orphan and confused teenager.

Characterization is, simply, the art by which an author creates a character. The author needs to be aware of how much to divulge about a character, when to divulge the information, and to provide either direct or indirect characterization.

That being said, Arthur Miller, in The Crucible, provides wonderful characterizations of those depicted in the play.

Perhaps the most intriguing character in the play is Abigail Williams. Abigail is the force responsible for putting the witch hysteria into action. She, by far, is the most deceiving and morally unjust character in the play. Miller provides perfect details which support her role as one of the true villains of the play.

Another character so perfectly characterized is Elizabeth Proctor. Elizabeth embodies the character of the true God-fearing Puritan. While there is only one place in the play where her good nature falters, it does so to protect the man that she loves.

Therefore, Miller uses characterization to provide the reader, or watcher, of the play with a very deep understanding of the characters and their role in the play's action. Not one character is questionable regarding their impact on the outcome of the play's end. Each is characterized so perfectly that one cannot question how the hysteria broke out and the reasons the accusations began to fly.

I think that Miller's use of language is effective because he is able to utilize it in a manner that links to both today and that of the times of Salem.  Miller's language usage in the drama is accurate in terms of the time period.  The phrasing and syntax is reflective of how speech in the time of Salem was articulated.  It is difficult to grasp from a modern point of view at specific moments.  Miller strives to create the speech from an authentic point of view in order to be able to give credence to the work as an example of historical accuracy. The strict and formal manner of speaking only serves to underscore the condition of Salem as one in which individuals must follow accepted protocol and standard.  Through this language based thematic pivot, Miller is able to connect the work to the modern setting.  Miller is not captive to being placed in a time pressurized vacuum.  He is able to use language in a manner that links what happens then in Salem to the modern setting.  The prose inserts that give almost a type of commentary to the backdrop of the drama help to enhance this.  Especially evident in Act I when the prose inserts describe Salem, in general, Miller is able to make modern connections through his of language in the context of the drama.  In being able to link critical moments' language with a sense of the real that makes the drama all the more appreciative to the modern audience, Miller is able to connect with the audience.  Miller's use of language is so effective because he is able to construct his drama with one eye on the past and another on the present/ future.  This helps to make the drama successful on multiple levels.

I think that Miller makes the drama about Proctor.  It is evident that he wishes to use the play as a type of morality drama that is explored through the eyes and actions of Proctor.  Miller develops this characterization throughout the play, almost as if it provides a cadence for the growth and emergence of the character of Proctor.  Miller is able to develop Proctor's character as one who wishes to not become involved with what is happening to one that has little choice to not only involve themselves, but stand up for the very same element that others abandon.  Miller develops Proctor's character as one who must move away from isolationism and silent.  As the play progresses, Miller's characterization of Proctor in this light is developed through Proctor becoming involved to save Elizabeth, and then to speak out against the nature of injustice that had enveloped the town.  It is this development that Miller enhances which helps to drive the play.  The merging of Proctor's characterization and the development of the play's themes enable the morality element of the drama to be fully seen by all.

Arthur Miller provides information about the characters and setting in the extensive stage directions and through the characters’ dialogue. In the beginning of act 1, there are several pages of background information. Miller introduces Reverend Parris and situates his character within the village where he is a minister. By taking time to situate one individual within his home and his social environment, Miller creates interest in Parris’s story so that the play has concrete elements, not merely abstract concepts. I

n addition, he presents Parris as a father who, ironically, had “no interest in…or talent with” children. Once we have read such a statement, we will continue to look for behavior that supports the playwright’s assertion. Parris’s inability to deal with the girls as children is clearly shown in the courtroom with his treatment of Mary Warren.

Those stage directions also present a general image of the social environment in Salem, which will help the reader understand Miller’s interpretation of the reasons that the “Salem tragedy” developed. He emphasizes the need for unity that the people of Salem desired and presents the paradox that this desire in fact drove them apart:

Evidently the time came in New England when the repressions of order were heavier than seemed warranted by the dangers against which the order was organized.

In the “Note on the Historical Accuracy” at the beginning, Miller points out that little concrete data was available about many individuals, and he merged some into composites. For some characters, Miller provides a brief biography when he introduces them. Others are developed primarily through their interactions with other characters and in group scenes.

While not all of the girls who make accusations stand out as individuals, each has some defining characteristics so that the audience understands the reasons they behave as they do while interacting with their peers. Although Abigail clearly has the personality of a ring-leader, we also need to be shown why other girls, especially Mary Warren and Mercy Lewis, would be persuaded to follow her.

Regarding other individuals, not just the girls, Miller says the witch-hunt provided an opportunity to express their own “guilt and sins,” disguised with the witchcraft accusations. As he presents the characters, he mentions grudges they had against neighbors and later shows how those long-standing resentments were expressed through the accusations. This is made evident in the conflict between Thomas Putnam and Giles Corey, which leads to Corey’s brutal killing.