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Discover more about The Crucible in this quiz.

The Crucible - Language

This GCSE English Literature quiz explores language in The Crucible, including courtroom terms, religious references and powerful dialogue that reveal fear, power and control in Salem.

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Fascinating Fact:

Legal and courtroom language, including words like “evidence”, “affidavit” and “examination”, reinforces the sense of a trial, but also shows how justice is twisted by fear.

In GCSE English Literature, you are expected to analyse Arthur Miller’s language choices in The Crucible, including formal courtroom terms, religious references and emotional dialogue. You should explain how these features shape mood, reveal conflict and influence the audience’s response to key moments in the play.

Key Terms

Register: The level of formality in language, such as the serious, official style used in courtroom scenes.
Religious language: Words and phrases linked to faith, sin and salvation that reflect Salem’s strict Puritan beliefs.
Emotive language: Words chosen to create strong feelings, for example anger, fear or guilt in the audience and characters.

Frequently Asked Questions (Click to see answers)

How does Arthur Miller use language in The Crucible?

Arthur Miller mixes formal courtroom phrases, everyday speech and religious references to show power struggles and fear in Salem. Changes in tone, repetition and exclamations help to build tension and reveal when characters are under pressure.

How can I analyse language in The Crucible for GCSE?

Choose a short quotation, pick out key words and comment on their meaning, tone and effect. Then link your ideas to a bigger point about character, theme or audience reaction, rather than just retelling the plot.

Why is courtroom and legal language important in The Crucible?

Courtroom and legal terms remind the audience that lives depend on the court’s decisions, but they also show how justice is controlled by fear and reputation. This contrast is central to the play’s criticism of unfair trials and public hysteria.

Try These Related Quizzes

1 .

"It's a bitter woman, a lying, cold, snivelling woman, and I will not work for such a woman!" What is significant about Abigail's use of the word "it's"?

She does not know the name of John Proctor's wife

She is so distressed she temporarily forgets Elizabeth's name

She shows her contempt for Elizabeth

Abigail speaks rudely about everyone

Elizabeth and John Proctor also refer to Abigail as "it", rather than "she", when they are most angry

2 .

"Here is all the invisible world, caught, defined, and calculated. In these books the Devil stands stripped of all his brute disguises." What is significant about Hale's use of the word "caught"?

Hale knows that invisible entities cannot be "caught" and dissected in the way he describes

Hale hopes that the accusers themselves will be "caught"

Hale reveals that he does not believe in the existence of devils

Hale naively believes his books can contain evil

Evil reveals itself to be more nebulous than Hale's books and learning can accommodate. Evil is located everywhere in Salem, and most especially in the motivations of those who accuse others

3 .

DANFORTH: Have you compacted with the Devil? Have you?
MARY WARREN: Never, never!
GIRLS: Never, never!
DANFORTH (growing hysterical): Why can they only repeat you?
What is the effect of repetition here?

It bewilders Danforth

It appears that Mary has bewitched the other girls

The audience recognises it as a bullying form of mockery

All of the above

The girls are behaving in a typical form of bullying. They, Mary and the audience know this. Danforth remains ignorant, however, and believes that Mary is responsible for the bizarre behaviour

4 .

PROCTOR: If she is innocent! Why do you never wonder if Parris be innocent, or Abigail? Is the accuser always holy now? Were they born this morning as clean as Salem's fingers? I'll tell you what's walking Salem — vengeance is walking Salem.
With what is "vengeance" implicitly contrasted?

Justice

Satan

The law

The Inquisition

Hale, along with the court, believes Satan to be stalking Salem. Proctor's echoing of the phrase replaces Satan with "vengeance". Proctor does not believe that justice prevails in Salem, although this is not the metaphor he chooses

5 .

"I have this morning signed away the soul of Rebecca Nurse, Your Honour. I'll not conceal it, my hand shakes yet as with a wound!" Which of the following is true of Hale's statement?

He believes his actions are spiritually harmful to him

He believes that the witches are invisibly affecting his health

He trusts that Rebecca Nurse will be saved by God

All of the above

Although Hale seeks honesty and integrity, his concern shows here as rather self-centred. Rebecca will lose her life and, as he believes, her soul. He worries that if any errors are made in the convictions, he will be harming his own soul

6 .

"Believe me, Mr. Nurse, if Rebecca Nurse be tainted, than nothing's left to stop the whole green world from burning." What does Hale's statement imply?

The accusations might have gone too far

No one is safe from suspicion

Outward goodness cannot be taken as proof of inward goodness

All of the above

Hale's statement signals his contradictory beliefs. He believes Rebecca to be innocent and is confident that the court will release her. He also distrusts the human capacity to perceive goodness and the idea that people can vouch for the innocence of their friends and neighbours. Even Satan, he states, appeared good to God before his fall from heaven

7 .

MARY WARREN: We must tell the truth, Abby! You'll only be whipped for dancin', and the other things!
ABIGAIL: Oh, we'll be whipped!
What effect does Abigail's emphasis on the word "we'll" have?

A supernatural effect

An ominous effect

A reassuring effect

No effect

Abigail reveals her character by threatening to implicate Mary if she is made to suffer for her actions. She has no intention of taking all of the blame for the activities in the forest. When Mary insists that she did not take part, but only watched, Mercy and Abigail mock her for her objections

8 .

"Oh, Elizabeth, your justice would freeze beer!" What is the meaning of Proctor's metaphor?

Elizabeth's response to his adultery has been cold and rational

Elizabeth's anger at him has been overwhelming and passionate

Elizabeth does not think he should be judged in any way

Elizabeth wishes him ill

John Proctor longs for warmth, which to him will represent true forgiveness. Elizabeth tells him that his own conscience judges him, rather than she. John's passion and anger is at odds with Elizabeth's more contained emotions

9 .

Which of the following lines best illustrates the danger to human bodies when too much emphasis is placed on the power and value of the invisible?

HALE: We shall find him out if he has come among us, and I mean to crush him utterly if he has shown his face!

REBECCA: Will it hurt the child, sir?

HALE: I cannot tell. If she is truly in the Devil's grip we may have to rip and tear to get her free

REBECCA: I think I'll go then. I am too old for this

When greater emphasis is placed on the immortal, invisible soul and on the invisible forces which threaten it, the body itself is of less concern. Pain and neglect are therefore seen as less harmful than activities which will damn a soul

10 .

"Only be sure of this, for I know it now: Whatever you will do, it is a good man does it." What does Elizabeth try to achieve with this statement?

She wishes John to be resolute and to face death courageously

She wishes John to lie and confess in order to survive

She wishes John to make his decision freely in the confidence that she believes him good

She wishes John to know that she still refrains from judging him

Elizabeth tries to tell John that her judgement does not matter when he judges himself so harshly, but ends by offering a form of forgiveness for whatever path he chooses, acknowledging the utter impossibility of the situation in which he has been placed

Author: Sheri Smith (PhD English Literature, English Teacher & Quiz Writer)