BlogEnglishTop 50 The Crucible Quotes with Techniques and Analysis
Top 50 The Crucible Quotes with Techniques and Analysis
This article is going to give you all The Crucible quotes, techniques and analysis you need to write a Band 6 essay.
As someone who scored a Band 6 in HSC English Advanced and has now spent over 2 years tutoring students like yourself, I know that just listing random quotes isn’t enough to organise a solid essay plan, which is why I’ve sorted them by theme!
Keep scrolling to download the full list of 50 analysed quotes. Good luck! 💪
🤔 How do I incorporate quotes in my essay on ‘The Crucible’?
When looking for ‘The Crucible’ quotes to integrate into your responses, be sure to choose ones that clearly support your topic sentence.
Even though you may have a favourite quote that you’re eager to use, it must relate to the topic your essay is focussing on, with strong technique analysis that reinforces your argument.
Once you’ve found a range of ‘The Crucible’ quotes, use the TEEL structure to build the foundations of your paragraphs.
Luckily for you, ‘The Crucible’ quotes we have included in this guide are organised by theme so it’s easy for you to recognise the overarching idea each one relates to.
I like to colour code my quotes as well so that I can quickly find which ones relate to each specific theme (and because I think it looks nice!)
Looking to find out more about the context and background of The Crucible quotes? 🔎
Whether you need to analyse techniques or want feedback on your writing, our AI English tutor Artie can help you out in 4 easy steps:
Log in and press the “Explain quotes” option in the sidebar.
Pop in the name of the text, the author and the specific quote you need clarification on and press “Explain quote”.
Artie will give you a clear summary of the context for the quote and its significance in terms of the plot so that you can discuss it with confidence in your essay!
The Crucible Quotes about Hysteria
#1: “There are wheels within wheels in this village, and fires within fires!” (Act 1)
Analysis: The repetition of “wheels” and “fires” emphasises the intensity and urgency of the situation, creating a sense of chaos and confusion within the village. The phrase “wheels within wheels” can symbolise the complexity and interconnectedness of the events and characters in the village, suggesting that there are hidden motives and layers of deceit.
#2: “I’ll tell you what’s walking Salem—vengeance is walking Salem.” (Act 2)
Characters: Proctor (Speaker), Herrick, Elizabeth, Hale
Techniques:Personification, metaphor
Analysis: By stating that “vengeance is walking” Miller personifies vengeance, enhancing the idea that vengeance is an active, driving force in the community’s actions. The phrase “vengeance is walking Salem” serves as a metaphor, suggesting that vengeance is not just an action but a living force that influences the behaviour and decisions of the townspeople.
#3: “We are what we always were in Salem, but now the little crazy children are jangling the keys of the kingdom, and common vengeance writes the law! This warrant’s vengeance! I’ll not give my wife to vengeance!” (Act 2)
Characters: Proctor (Speaker), Herrick, Elizabeth, Hale
Techniques: Repetition, juxtaposition, imagery
Analysis: The juxtaposition of “we are what we always were in Salem” with the chaotic influence of “the little crazy children” highlights the tension between the established order and the new, disruptive forces in the community. This contrast underscores the theme of change and the loss of control in Salem, as the adults are now being overpowered by the children.
#4: “A fire, a fire is burning! I hear the boot of Lucifer, I see his filthy face! And it is my face, and yours, Danforth!…God damns our kind especially, and we will burn, we will burn together!” (Act 3)
Characters: Proctor (Speaker), Parris, Mary Warren
Analysis: The reference to “the boot of Lucifer” and the concept of burning evokes biblical imagery associated with hell and damnation, particularly in Christian theology. This allusion to Lucifer, often identified as the devil, connects the characters’ moral failings to the broader themes of sin and divine judgement found in the Bible.
Quotes about Fear
#5: “The Devil is precise; the marks of his presence are definite as stone.” (Act 1)
Characters: Hale, Reverend John Hale of Beverly
Techniques: Simile
Analysis:The comparison of the Devil’s presence to something “definite as stone” conveys the idea that the influence of the Devil is concrete and undeniable.
#6: “Don’t lie!..She comes to me while I sleep; she’s always making me dream corruptions!” (Act 1)
Analysis: The reference to “she” personifies the concept of corruption, suggesting that it has a tangible, almost female presence that actively influences the speaker. This technique adds depth to the idea of corruption as a force that can manipulate and control individuals.
#7: “The Devil is alive in Salem, and we dare not quail to follow wherever the accusing finger points!” (Act 2)
Characters: Hale, Francis, Giles
Techniques: Foreshadowing, synecdoche
Analysis:The phrase “the accusing finger” uses a part (the finger) to represent the whole action of accusation and blame within the community. This synecdoche highlights how individuals in Salem are quick to point fingers at one another, symbolising the broader societal tendency to scapegoat and condemn others without evidence.
#8: “Oh, the noose, the noose is up!” (Act 2)
Characters: Elizabeth (Speaker), Mary Warren, Proctor
Techniques: Metonym, repetition, metaphor
Analysis: The term “the noose” serves as a metonym for execution or death. Instead of directly stating “execution,” the noose represents the act and its consequences, allowing the audience to understand the gravity of the situation without explicitly mentioning death.
#9: “Elizabeth, with great fear: I will fear nothing.” (Act 2)
Characters: Elizabeth (Speaker), Proctor, Herrick
Techniques: Contradiction, irony
Analysis:The statement “I will fear nothing” is ironic because it follows the phrase “with great fear.” This creates a contrast between the expressed emotion of fear and the declaration of fearlessness, highlighting the complexity of Elizabeth’s emotional struggles between fear and courage.
#10: “I would to God it were not so, Excellency, but these people have great weight yet in the town” (Act 4)
Characters: Parris (Speaker), Judge Danforth
Techniques: Dramatic irony
Analysis: The speaker’s wish “it were not so” is ironic because it acknowledges the reality of the situation while expressing a desire for change. This irony highlights the tension between the speaker’s hopes and the harsh truths of their circumstances.
#11: “She sat to dinner in Reverend Parris’s house tonight, and without word nor warnin’ she falls to the floor. Like a struck beast, he says, and screamed a scream that a bull would weep to hear. And he goes to save her, and, stuck two inches in the flesh of her belly, he draw a needle out.” (Act 2)
Characters: Cheever (Speaker) to John Proctor and Elizabeth Proctor about Abigail Williams
#12: “I am not empowered to trade your life for a lie….Mr. Proctor, a score of people have already testified they saw this woman with the Devil.” (Act 4)
#13: “It is mistaken law that leads you to sacrifice. Life, woman, life is God’s most precious gift; no principle, however glorious, may justify the taking of it . . ..it may well be God damns a liar less than he that throws his life away for pride.” (Act 4)
Characters: Danforth (Speaker), Giles, Parris
Techniques: Paradox, repetition
#14: “I would to God it were not so, Excellency, but these people have great weight yet in the town.” (Act 4)
Characters: Parris (Speaker), Hathorne, Danforth
Techniques: Comparison, dramatic irony
#15: “Postponement now speaks a floundering on my part; reprieve or pardon must cast doubt upon the guilt of them that died till now. While I speak God’s law, I will not crack its voice with whimpering.” (Act 4)
#16: “I have trouble enough without I come five mile to hear him preach only hellfire and bloody damnation. Take it to heart, Mr. Parris. There are many others who stay away from church these days because you hardly ever mention God any more.” (Act 1)
Characters: Proctor (Speaker), Putnam, Parris
Techniques: Dramatic irony, contrast
#17: “My name is good in the village! I will not have it said my name is soiled! Goody Proctor is a gossiping liar!” (Act 2)
Characters: Abigail (Speaker), Parris
Techniques: Exclamation, motif
#18: “I speak my own sins; I cannot judge another…I have no tongue for it.” (Act 4)
Characters: Proctor (Speaker), Hale
Techniques: Paradox, tricolour
#19: “Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life.” (Act 4)
Characters: Proctor (Speaker), Danforth
Techniques: Metonym, motif, biblical symbolism
Autonomy Quotes from The Crucible
#20: “I want to open myself! . . . I want the light of God, I want the sweet love of Jesus! I danced for the Devil; I saw him, I wrote in his book; I go back to Jesus; I kiss His hand. I saw Sarah Good with the Devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil!” (Act 1)
Characters: Abigail (Speaker), Hale, Tituba
Techniques: Anaphora, biblical allusion
#21: “You are not undone! Let you take hold here. Wait for no one to charge you – declare it yourself.” (Act 1)
#22: “Peace. It is a providence, and no great change; we are only what we always were, but naked now…And the wind, God’s icy wind, will blow!” (Act 2)
Characters: Proctor (Speaker), Mary Warren
Techniques: Foreshadowing, imagery
#23: “I’ll plead no more! I see now your spirit twists around the single error of my life, and I will never tear it free!” (Act 2)
Characters: Proctor (Speaker), Elizabeth
Techniques: Imagery, metaphor
#24: “A man may think God sleeps, but God sees everything, I know it now. I beg you, sir, I beg you—see her what she is . . . She thinks to dance with me on my wife’s grave! And well she might, for I thought of her softly. God help me, I lusted, and there is a promise in such sweat. But it is a whore’s vengeance.” (Act 3)
Characters: Proctor (Speaker), Abigail, Danforth, Francis
Techniques: Parataxis, juxtaposition
#25: “He knows it is insane: No, it is not the same! What others say and what I sign to is not the same!” (Act 4)
Characters: Proctor (Speaker), Danforth
Techniques: Rhyme, repetition
#26: “You will not use me! I am no Sarah Good or Tituba, I am John Proctor! You will not use me! It is no part of salvation that you should use me!” (Act 4)
Characters: Proctor (Speaker), Danforth
Techniques: Allusion, epistrophe
#27: “Abby, I may think of you softly from time to time. But I’ll cut off my hand before I ever reach for you again.” (Act 4)
Characters: Proctor (Speaker), Abigail
Techniques: Juxtaposition, imagery
#28: “Great stones they lay upon his chest until he plead aye or nay. They say he give them but two words. “More weight,” he says. And died.” (Act 4)
Characters: Elizabeth (Speaker), Proctor
Techniques: Symbolism, metaphor
Quotes about Power
#29: “HALE, with a tasty love of intellectual pursuit...Here are all your familiar spirits – your incubi and succubi; your witches that go by land, by air, and by sea.” (Act 1)
Characters: Hale (Speaker), Rebecca, Paris
Techniques: Mythological imagery, juxtaposition
#30: “John – tell me, are we lost?” (Act 2)
Characters: Giles (Speaker), Proctor
Techniques: Direct address, symbolism
#31: “Oh, Elizabeth, your justice would freeze beer!” (Act 2)
Characters: Proctor (Speaker), Elizabeth
Techniques: Hyperbole, irony
#32: “Do you take it upon yourself to determine what this court shall believe and what it shall set aside? . . . .This is the highest court of the supreme government of this province, do you know it?” (Act 3)
Characters: Danforth (Speaker), Giles
Techniques: Metonym, rhetorical question
#33: “I came into this village like a bridegroom to his beloved, bearing gifts of high religion; the very crowns of holy law I brought, and what I touched with my bright confidence, it died; and where I turned the eye of my great faith, blood flowed up.” (Act 4)
Characters: Hale (Speaker), Danforth, Elizabeth
Techniques: Simile, symbolism
The Crucible Quotes on Violence
#34: “You will confess yourself or I will take you out and whip you to your death, Tituba!” (Act 1)
#35: “What work you do! It’s strange work for a Christian girl to hang old women!” (Act 2)
Characters: Proctor (Speaker), Mary Warren
Techniques: Irony, paradox
#36: “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 God’s fingers?” (Act 2)
Characters: Proctor (Speaker), Mary Warren
Techniques: Characterisation, simile
#37: “There is fear in the country because there is a moving plot to topple Christ in the country!” (Act 3)
Characters: Danforth (Speaker), Hale,
Techniques: Metaphor, personification
#38: “You must understand, sir, that a person is either with this court or he must be counted against it, there be no road between. This is a sharp time, now, a precise time—we live no longer in the dusky afternoon when evil mixed itself with good and befuddled the world. Now, by God’s grace, the shining sun is up, and them that fear not light will surely praise it.” (Act 3)
Characters: Danforth (Speaker), Francis, Hathorne
Techniques: Binary opposition, contrast
#39: “Now we cannot hope the witch will accuse herself; granted? Therefore, we must rely upon her victims – and they do testify, the children certainly do testify.” (Act 3)
Characters: Danforth (Speaker), Mary Warren, Hale
Techniques: Paradox, logical objective tone
#40: “HALE, to Parris, trying to contain himself: Is every defense an attack upon the court? Can no one—?” (Act 3)
Characters: Hale (Speaker), Parris
Techniques: Rhetorical question, characterisation
#41: “Excellency, it is a natural lie to tell; I beg you, stop now before another is condemned! I may shut my conscience to it no more.” (Act 3)
#42: “Life, woman, life is God’s most precious gift; no principle, however glorious, may justify the taking of it.” (Act 4)
Characters: Hale (Speaker), Elizabeth, Danforth, Hathorne
Techniques: Dramatic irony, symbolism
Good VS Evil Quotes
#43: “I look for John Proctor that took me from my sleep and put knowledge in my heart! I never knew what pretense Salem was, I never knew the lying lessons I was taught by all these Christian women and their covenanted men! And now you bid me tear the light out of my eyes? I will not, I cannot! You loved me, John Proctor, and whatever sin it is, you love me yet!” (Act 1)
Characters: Abigail (Speaker), Proctor
Techniques: Foreshadowing, symbolism
#44: “…if Rebecca Nurse be tainted, then nothing’s left to stop the whole green world from burning” (Act 2)
Characters: Hale (Speaker), Francis, Rebecca Nurse
Techniques: Hyperbole, characterisation
#45: “Until an hour before the Devil fell, God thought him beautiful in Heaven.” (Act 2)
Characters: Hale (Speaker), Giles
Techniques: Biblical allusion, allegory
#46: “I like it not that Mr. Parris should lay his hand upon my baby. I see no light of God in that man. I’ll not conceal it.” (Act 2)
Characters: Proctor (Speaker), Hale
Techniques: Dramatic irony, metaphor
#47: “Only this consider: the world goes mad, and it profits nothing you should lay the cause to the vengeance of a little girl.” (Act 2)
Characters: Hale (Speaker), Proctor
Techniques: Juxtaposition, connotation
#48: “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.” (Act 3)
Characters: Reverend Hale (Speaker)
Techniques: Characterisation
#49: “I do think I see some shred of goodness in John Proctor. Not enough to weave a banner with, but white enough to keep it from such dogs. Give them no tear! Tears pleasure them! Show honor now, show a stony heart and sink them with it!” (Act 4)
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Luka Russell is an English tutor at Art of Smart Education, and graduated from UTS in 2023 with a Bachelor of Communication, majoring in Journalism. Aside from educational content, she is passionate about health and beauty journalism, having written various articles on female health topics. She also loves to draw in her spare time.
Lynn Chen is a Content Writer at Art of Smart Education and is a Communication student at UTS with a major in Creative Writing. Lynn’s articles have been published in Vertigo, The Comma, and Shut Up and Go. In her spare time, she also writes poetry.
