Character and Action:

  • John & Elizabeth do not spend time with each other
  • They have cold conversations with each other which eventually turns into an argument.
  • John starts to be sarcastic when he adds salt to the food Elizabeth made him which shows he is complimenting himself.
  • Talk of Abigail Williams makes him angry and he feels as if Elizabeth doesn’t want to let go.
  • He upsets her. As it is their relationship is cold and there are a lot of silences between one another – this shows that awkwardness of their relationship.
  • She receives it with a certain disappointment (cold relationship) → (blushing with pleasure) → shows that she loves him.
  • Characters:
  • Elizabeth Proctor
  • John Proctor
  • Mary warren

Themes and context:

  • Status – Proctor calls her ‘Woman’ when they ague also links with power. -How dare you question me woman?
  • Status + Power – John Proctor
  • Proctor cuts Elizabeth off ‘I have no – ‘   representing power once again.
  • Status- I’ll not have your suspicion any more’ – demands her.

Language/structure and effects:

  • Archaic – ‘I were planting for out to the forest edge’ – Aye. The word ‘aye’ represents how they spoke back in the day, and how that language has changed throughout as now instead of aye people say yes.
  • Clipping – Droppin’, Dewitchin’, ‘She’s weepin’! – clipping shows that what time they were in and they used to always drop a letter for example the ‘g’ and the end of words and how the pronunciation was like then.
  • Religion – ‘pray god’, ‘I would to go she were’
  • I am sick, ‘I am sick… pray, pray hurt me not’ – believe that god looks after them.
  • Foreshadowing – ‘it’s a fair poppet – poppet (hysteria) seen as part of witchcraft. Miller created foreshadowing in this play to give us an idea of something later on to happen in the play.