The Crucible of Art: Poetry, Ritual, and Parable in Arthur Miller

Arthur Miller claimed to prize what he called “the poetic” above all else in theatre, and yet few productions of his plays foreground this quality, which is so prominent in The Crucible. This article examines what Miller means by “the poetic,” and reveals some elements of rhythmic language, ritual, and abstraction that are often overlooked in his plays. Miller’s debt to Greek tragedy has been noted, but this essay shows that in The Crucible the debt is formal as well as thematic. The 2022 National Theatre of London production (dir. Lyndsey Turner), broadcast and streamed around the world, did recognize these features of the play, so it provides illustration throughout. In approaching The Crucible as a parable rather than an historical reenactment, allegory of the McCarthy era, or fixed moral tale, I identify the many inversions of expectation, the enigmatic elements of the story, and the room for interpretation that are characteristic of parable forms both ancient and modern.