Arthur Millers use of the stage directions Essay Example

Arthur Millers use of the stage directions Essay Example Arthur Millers use of the stage directions Paper Arthur Millers use of the stage directions Paper Explore Arthur Millers use of the stage directions in Act 1 of The Crucible to create drama and inform the audience about the nature of the society in Salem The Crucible is a play written in the early 1950s based on the truth of the accusations and trials of witchcraft in Salem around 1692. The main story line of the Crucible concentrates on a group of girls who are believed to have had an encounter with witchcraft. People of Salem were unable to find any evidence of medical illness, which these days we may class as psychosomatic, so they had no other option but to blame the dramatic change of behaviour of these girls on the Devil or Satan. This led to trials and convictions, hanging and jail sentences. Miller used real data and facts, from past convictions and court records to create characters based on the actual events. He admits however that very little was known of the characters; They may therefore be taken as creations of my own, drawn to the best of my ability in conformity with their known behaviour. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller uses drama to capture the audience in an exciting play based on witchcraft and lies. Although history tells us that the events and the people were real, he develops and manipulates the facts and characters to suit his interpretation of events. Miller uses stage directions to set the scene; he describes the tone of voice as being either loud or quiet to reflect the characters personality or emotion, such as calm, despair, anger, fear etc. Miller is able to manipulate the audience by setting these scenes giving the story a highly charged emotional feel to it. The sets and costumes are used to depict the 1600s and the attitudes and beliefs of the Puritans. Miller leads us to believe with his descriptions that this was a simple life style and any type of luxuries would be seen as sinful. The direction is excellent in the way it describes the characters tone of voice, the screaming, the shouting and the rising panic as the story progresses. To fully understand the story, it is important to have knowledge of the social and historical context.

Word Choice Allusion vs. Illusion

Word Choice Allusion vs. Illusion Word Choice: Allusion vs. Illusion â€Å"Allusion† and â€Å"illusion† are both fairly rare words. They also sound similar, making it is easy to confuse them if you’ve never seen them written down. But these terms have very different meanings, so make sure your work is error free by checking out our guide to how they should be used. Allusion (Indirect Reference) An â€Å"allusion† is an indirect reference to something. For example, the title of David Foster Wallace’s novel Infinite Jest is taken from a line in Hamlet. This is an â€Å"allusion† to Shakespeare – rather than a direct reference – because Wallace does not mention Shakespeare or Hamlet in the novel. And while â€Å"allusion† is a noun, the verb form of this word is â€Å"allude†: The title of the novel alludes to Act 5, Scene 1 of Hamlet. Again, the key here is the idea of referencing something indirectly. Illusion (Mistaken Perception or Belief) The word â€Å"illusion† usually refers to a mistaken sense perception, such as a mirage. As such, we could say something like: He saw the hazy outline of an oasis, but he knew it was an illusion. This idea of seeing or sensing something that isn’t really there is also why we say magic tricks are â€Å"illusions,† as well as why we call trick images optical illusions. But we can also use â€Å"illusion† to describe a false belief: I was laboring under an illusion to think I could run a marathon. Here, â€Å"laboring under an illusion† means acting on a mistaken belief. Summary: Allusion or Illusion These words have many letters in common, but they differ in meaning: An allusion is an indirect reference to something. An illusion is a mistaken sense perception or belief. One trick to remembering this difference is the phrase â€Å"Optical illusions will make you ill.† This can remind you that â€Å"illusion† starts will an â€Å"i,† like the word â€Å"ill.† But if you’d like to make extra sure your writing is always error free, you can always ask a proofreader.