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The Crucible, Act III, by Arthur Miller
Build Vocabulary
Spelling Strategy When adding an -ly suffix to a word that ends in a consonant, do not
double or change the consonant. The Word Bank words deferentially and incredulously illustrate this strategy.
Using Legal Terms
A. DIRECTIONS: Scenes that take place in courtrooms—whether in books, on television, or in real
life—are usually full of special words and phrases that have particular meaning for the judges,
lawyers, and others present. This is true of Act III of The Crucible. Find out what the following
words mean. Then use each in a sentence about the action in Act III.
1. affidavit _________________________________________________________________________________
2. warrant _________________________________________________________________________________
Using the Word Bank
contentious
deposition
imperceptible
deferentially
anonymity
prodigious
effrontery
confounded
incredulously
blanched
B. DIRECTIONS: Each item below consists of a Word Bank word followed by four lettered words
or phrases. Choose the word or phrase that is most nearly opposite in meaning to the Word
Bank word. Circle the letter of your choice.
1. anonymity: a. obscurity b. fame c. solitude d. recklessness
2. blanched: a. darkened b. fair c. delayed d. eaten
3. confounded: a. established b. at risk c. angered d. clear-headed
4. contentious: a. competitive b. agreeable c. inclusive d. smoldering
5. deferentially: a. defensively b. imperceptibly c. disrespectfully d. differently
6. deposition: a. shifting b. trial c. putting in place d. informal chat
7. effrontery: a. decoration b. rearward c. politeness d. lying
8. imperceptible: a. obvious b. untouchable c. understandable d. off track
9. incredulously: a. contemptuously c. skeptically
b. dismissively d. trustfully
10. prodigious: a. luxurious b. cheap c. bountiful d. meager
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Grammar and Style: Subject and Verb Agreement
in Inverted Sentences
Whenever you write a sentence, the subject must agree with the verb in number. This means
a singular subject must have a singular verb and a plural subject must have a plural verb. In
most sentences the position of the subject is before the verb, as in this example.
S
V
Mr. Nurse announces that the girls are frauds.
In an inverted sentence, the subject comes after the verb. The subject and verb agreement is sometimes difficult to “hear” in an inverted sentence. Look at these examples.
V
S
Singular subject and verb: Critical to Elizabeth’s case is the credibility of Abigail.
V
S
Plural subject and verb: Critical to Elizabeth’s case are the lies she tells about Abigail.
When you write inverted sentences, be sure not to mistake a word in the opening phrase as
the subject. This can lead to errors in subject and verb agreement.
A. Practice: The following sentences are about Act III. Underline each main subject. Circle
each main verb. Then identify the one sentence that contains an error in subject and verb
agreement. Correct that sentence by crossing out the incorrect verb and writing the correct one
above it.
1. There are many people in the vestry room.
2. Here are the husbands of the accused women.
3. Why is Proctor so stunned by Mary’s behavior?
4. Continually arguing and getting in the way is Reverend Parris.
5. Hurting Elizabeth’s chances are her ignorance of John’s confession.
B. Writing Application: In each of the following sentences, the subject comes before the verb.
Rewrite each sentence in inverted order, choosing the verb that agrees in number with the subject.
1. Abigail’s behavior (is/are) highly persuasive.
2. Corey and Nurse (is/are) riled up about the treatment of their wives.
3. Mary Warren (recalls/recall ) her confession in near hysterics.
4. Danforth (gazes/gaze) at Abigail in astonishment.
5. Mary desperately (shrieks/shriek) that John Proctor is doing the Devil’s work.
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Reading Strategy: Categorize Characters by Role
When you read stories or plays with many characters, it is easy to lose track of just exactly
who thinks what, who does what, and who offends whom. Categorizing characters according
to their roles can help you keep track of any number of players. In addition, categorizing may
lead you to a discovery about a character’s motives or a plot development.
DIRECTIONS: Categorize the characters in Act III by answering the following questions.
1. Three different roles are played out in the court scene.
Who are the court officials? ______________________________________________________________
Who are the accusers in Act III? __________________________________________________________
Who are the accused in Act III?___________________________________________________________
2. Some characters tell the truth, and some do not.
Who lies in Act III? _______________________________________________________________________
Who tells the truth in Act III? ____________________________________________________________
3. Into what other category or set of categories do the characters in Act III fit? Label the categories and list the characters in the space provided.
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Literary Analysis: Dramatic and Verbal Irony
In real life, things are often different from what they seem. When this occurs—both in life
and in literature—it is called irony. Writers and playwrights make use of two forms of irony to
surprise and entertain their readers and viewers.
In dramatic irony, the characters think one thing to be true, but the audience knows something else to be true. This creates interest and tension in a story or play. In verbal irony,
words seem to say one thing but mean something quite different.
DIRECTIONS: Explain the verbal or dramatic irony that exists in the following passages.
1. Upon hearing Proctor’s and Mary’s statements, Danforth is shaken by the idea that Abigail
and the girls could be frauds. Danforth challenges Proctor with this: “Now, Mr. Proctor,
before I decide whether I shall hear you or not, it is my duty to tell you this. We burn a hot
fire here; it melts down all concealment.”
2. Parris, to save his own reputation, is eager to support Abigail’s claims and the court’s decisions. He accuses several people of making attacks upon the court. Hale’s response is this:
“Is every defense an attack upon the court? Can no one—?”
3. Proctor reminds Mary of a biblical story about the angel Raphael and a boy named Tobias.
In the story, the boy frees a woman from the devil and cures his father of blindness.
4. Hale feels there is weight in Mary Warren’s deposition. He cautions Danforth about not examining it closely: “Excellency, I have signed seventy-two death warrants; I am a minister
of the Lord, and I dare not take a life without there be a proof so immaculate no slightest
qualm of conscience may doubt it.”
5. Proctor is informed that Elizabeth has said she is pregnant. Proctor says he knows nothing
of it but states that his wife does not lie. Later, when questioned about her husband’s fidelity, Elizabeth lies, thinking she is protecting her husband and his reputation.
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Name _____________________________________________________