Definition Essay on: The Crucible

Crucible is a word that mixes many feelings and emotions where most words tend to be more vague. Because the word crucible has multiple meanings, Arthur Miller chose The Crucible as a title to try to express the many meanings of the play’s message.

The usual and most widely used definition for the word crucible, according to the New Oxford Dictionary of English, is: “a pot or vessel made of a substance, such as porcelain, that will withstand extreme heat for the use of melting various materials.” This definition is easily connected to the play. First off, witches supposedly use cauldrons to brew their magic potions, and a synonym for cauldron is crucible. Not only do witches use cauldrons, but the word crucible also could have some meaning as a metaphor. The actions in Salem were like that in a brewing cauldron, there were many heated arguments, and people were being ‘stirred’ and ‘mixed’ around like a vile potion.

A severe test is another definition for...