Twentieth Century Interpretations of the Crucible: A Collection of Critical Essays

by John H. Ferres (Editor)

Contemporary critics analyze historical background, themes, structure, and characterization in Arthur Miller's study of the Salem witch trials.

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1972

Reviews

[Mikey]

"Contemporary" (1972) critics analyze historical background, themes, structure, and characterization in Arthur Miller's study of the Salem witch trials.

These reviews, interpretations and viewpoints extend beyond the standard McCarthyism allusions, intimating on its ongoing relevance over the decades.

Miller, himself, relates: “It was not only the rise of ‘McCarthyism’ that moved me, but something which seemed much more weird and mysterious. It was the fact that a political, objective, knowledgeable campaign from the far Right was capable of creating not only a terror, but a new subjective reality, a veritable mystique which was gradually assuming even a holy resonance.”

The prescience of such 50-year-old interpretations of a nearly 70-year-old play continue to reverberate thus underscoring the need to record new, 21st-century interpretations.

[Charles Bill McKenny]

It is called Twentieth Century Interpretations... so it probably could use an update. Pretty good survey of what some were thinking about the play up to 1972. Essayists taking this very seriously. The brief samples sometimes were so condensed that they were hard to follow. Certainly a lot of ideas to consider.

[Valarie]

Perfect for the student writing a lit paper, or a director wanting a deeper interpretation of the text.