el like to be caught up in such madness.^^^^^^^^^^THE CRUCIBLE: FORM AND STRUCTUREFor the published version of The Crucible, Arthur Miller has inserted passages of prose in which he comments on the background of the story or the characters. These comments tell you a lot about Miller's thinking, but they interrupt the flow of the action, and you may want to skip them the first time you read the play. Then you can go back and read them all together, or pick them up along the way on your second read-through. You should always read a play twice: you'll be amazed how much you missed the first time, and how much more sense it makes the second time around when you know what's going to happen next.The Crucible has a lot of characters, 21 speaking parts in all, plus quite a few people who are talked about but never appear onstage, like Ruth Putnam and Martha Corey. Each of these characters has a story to tell, and every story is important. It's easy to become lost unless you can see how each subplot ties into and advances the main plot, which is the flareup of witch panic in Salem.The story is indeed complicated, but Arthur Miller makes it easier to follow by the way he has designed the play. He begins each act by setting up a terrible possibility, and ends each act by bringing that terrible thing to pass.In Act I the question is: "Will the town leap to witchcraft?" The curtain falls on Tituba, Abigail, and Betty ecstatically "crying out witches."In Act II the question is: "Will the Proctors get caught up by the witch-hunt?" The act ends with Elizabeth Proctor being led away in chains.In Act III the question is: "Will Abigail foil John Proctor's attempt to discredit her?" The answer is, yes, and more, for Proctor himself is arrested as a witch.Then in Act IV the question is: "Will John Proctor hang?" He does.This repeated pattern of question and answer--"Will the worst happen?" "Yes."--is the rhythm of the play. You can think of what happens bet...
