“The Crucible” – Essay Tips
Here are some tips to help you answer Section A of your exam –“The Crucible” essay.
 Opening scene – from the very beginning up to the Putnam’s entrance
 Closing scene/final scene – from Proctor’s entrance in the prison until the very end
 Climax – in Act 3 – the court. You may decide it’s when Proctor admits sleeping with
Abigail or when Elizabeth tells a lie
 Establishment – the theocracy of Puritan Salem
 Individuals against the establishment- Proctor, Rebecca, Giles
 Conflict/dramatic tension – between the people who show integrity and the people who
are corrupt
 Complex characters – Proctor, Abigail
 Minor characters who affect the action – Mary Warren, Rev Parris
 Characters who develop in the course of the play – Proctor, Elizabeth, Hale
 Motivation of characters – why they do what they do
 Time in which it was set – 1692
 Time in which it was written – 1950’s
 Themes/issues – fear, individual in society, power, good v evil, religion etc.
 Structure – the way events are laid out
1. Act 1 – introduction - Parris’ house
2. Act 2 – build up – Proctor’s farm
3. Act 3 – climax– the vestry off the courtroom
4. Act 4 - denouement– the prison
 Developing a character – exploring what you will do in rehearsal – hot-seating,
improvising, thought- tracking, research, work on voice and movement, reaction to
events, relationship with others, planning costume, make-up and any personal props
 Portraying or communicating a character – carrying out your decisions in
performance – use of voice, positioning, eye contact, movement, costume, make-up,
personal props, reacting to events, relationship to others, actor/audience relationship
 Staging – stage positioning, use of silence/pause/freeze and pacing, the actor/audience
relationship
 Design aspects – lighting, sound, costume, set design, props, special effects, use of media
(projections, video footage etc.)
 Directorial concepts/ as a director – pre-performance (programme), direction of the
actors, character inter- relationships, voice, pacing, movement, gesture, facial expression,
eye contact, stage positioning, actor/audience relationship, theatre arts
 Genre – tragedy (see notes)
“The Crucible” – Essay Plan
Before writing any essay you should plan out HOW you are going to answer the question and
WHAT you are going to say. Plan your essay in the space below under the relevant headings.
QUESTION:
“Choose a character in your prescribed text who you consider manipulative
and/or controlling. Give reasons for your choice. As an actor, how would you
perform this role?”
INTRO:
State the author and text you are studying. State which character you are
selecting and give a brief explanation of why you have chosen them.
MAIN
PART:
Section A –
Give evidence of this character being manipulative/controlling.
Refer to:
Their actions and consequences
Themes/Issues (relate their manipulation and control to these)
Relationship to/influence on other characters
Importance in the plot
The character’s development in the play
Section B –
Describe how you would communicate these characteristics through
performance concepts by referring to a range of acting concepts and
justifying how the concepts would communicate aspects of manipulation and
control.
Refer to:
Voice
Movement
Actor/audience interaction
Use of space
Costume/Props/Make-up
CONC:
Briefly, sum up your argument as you why this character is manipulative and
controlling.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------You should refer back to the question throughout and make sure you refer to
the text. Don’t forget to quote but only where appropriate and where you feel
you have a suitable quote to support your point.