who influenced arthur miller

Arthur Miller's Influences

Full Answer

Who was Arthur Miller influenced by?

Influenced by the social-problem plays of the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, the experimental poetics of Clifford Odets and Tennessee Williams, and the inventive staging of Thornton Wilder, Miller created his own brand of drama that often explored macrocosmic social problems within the microcosm of a troubled family.

What was Arthur Miller and involvement with McCarthyism?

Arthur Miller was affected by McCarthyism in that he was subpoenaed to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee, or HUAC, as were many of those in the entertainment industry of the era. His play "The Crucible," though ostensibly about the Salem witch trials, was a veiled condemnation of McCarthy's hunt for communists.

What is Arthur Miller best known for?

Arthur Miller was an American playwright and essayist best known for his play Death of a Salesman. He was born Arthur Asher Miller on October 17 th, 1915 in Harlem, New York, to Augusta and Isidore Miller. Following the Wall Street Crash in 1929 his family moved to Gravesend, Brooklyn where Arthur earned his high school diploma.

What other literature was Arthur Miller famous for?

Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist and screenwriter in the 20th-century American theater.Among his most popular plays are All My Sons (1947), Death of a Salesman (1949), The Crucible (1953), and A View from the Bridge (1955, revised 1956). He wrote several screenplays and was most noted for his work on The Misfits (1961).

See more

Which playwright was Miller most influenced by?

All My Sons (1947; film 1948), a drama about a manufacturer of faulty war materials that strongly reflects the influence of Henrik Ibsen, was his first important play.

Which historical events influenced Miller's work?

In the period immediately following the end of World War II, American theater was transformed by the work of playwright Arthur Miller. Profoundly influenced by the Depression and the war that immediately followed it, Miller tapped into a sense of dissatisfaction and unrest within the greater American psyche.

What novel inspired Arthur Miller to become a writer?

novel The Brothers KaramazovArthur Miller was inspired to become a writer by the novel The Brothers Karamazov. The novel, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, was first published in 1880. Miller, who enrolled in Michigan University to study journalism, was inspired to change his major to English literature because the novel piqued his interest in literature.

What did Marilyn Monroe say about Arthur Miller?

Marilyn Monroe wrote of her devastation at discovering that Arthur Miller had written in his diary that she was an embarrassment to him. The actress recorded her anguish in a poem in which she appeared to call the playwright a “peaceful monster” after finding the entry during their 1956 summer stay in England.

What was Miller's basis or inspiration for writing The Crucible?

During the tense era of McCarthyism, celebrated playwright Arthur Miller was inspired to write a drama reflecting the mass cultural and political hysteria produced when the U.S. government sought to suppress Communism and radical leftist activity in America.

What two major historical events were the inspiration for Arthur Miller's play The Crucible?

Inspired by the House Un-American Activities Committee and the McCarthy trials of the 1950s, Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible, a play set in 1692 Salem, Massachusetts during the height of the mass hysteria known as the Salem witch trials.

What inspired Arthur?

Littleton and Malcor argued that Artorius and the Sarmatian cavalry were the inspiration for King Arthur and his knights, but that many elements of Arthur's story derive from Caucasian mythology, ostensibly brought to Britain in the 2nd century by Sarmatians and Alans.

What was Miller's main purpose for writing?

Arthur Miller's main purpose for writing was to earn a living, like most writers. Miller did choose some of his topics in order to critique or raise awareness of issues. For example, Miller wrote that his play, The Crucible, was written 'as an act of desperation.

What style did Arthur Miller write in?

Arthur Miller, being a realist writer, adopted the expressionist and symbolist mode of writing. In his writing, expressionism turned out to be most dominant in his writing style. Death of a Salesman is the perfect example of the integration of realism expressionism in Miller's writing style.

Were Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller happy?

Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller Had an Instant Connection, But Quickly Grew Apart Once Married. The actress and playwright were once enamored with each other — even writing love letters — but their relationship wasn't strong enough to endure.

How long were Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller together?

five yearsMarilyn Monroe married Arthur Miller on June 29th, 1956. The marriage lasted five years.

What was the age difference between Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller?

Miller didn't end up getting a divorce until 1956 and that same year, he married Monroe at a courtroom in White Plains, New York. She was 30; he was 40. Their bond hit a few roadblocks.

What major historical event shaped Arthur Miller's childhood?

What major historical event shaped Arthur Miller's childhood? The Great Depression. His father was a successful ladies' wear manufacturer and shopkeeper. His business got ruined due to the Depression.

Why would Miller include the historical explanations?

Arthur Miller started The Crucible with a "Note on Historical Accuracy" because he didn't want people trying to learn the history of the Salem Witch Trials to read his play and assume it to be a true representation of events.

What was Miller's main purpose for writing?

Arthur Miller's main purpose for writing was to earn a living, like most writers. Miller did choose some of his topics in order to critique or raise awareness of issues. For example, Miller wrote that his play, The Crucible, was written 'as an act of desperation.

How did Miller's social conscience affect his work?

How did Miller's social conscience affect his work? His social conscience led to his voiced opinions which affected how much his work was publicized. His play "The Man Who Had All The Luck" was only preformed 4 times before it was closed down and stopped running.

What is playwright Arthur Miller best known for?

American playwright Arthur Miller is known for combining social awareness with a searching concern for his characters’ inner lives. He is best know...

What was Arthur Miller’s early life like?

American playwright Arthur Miller was born and raised in New York City, where his father owned a successful manufacturing business. The Great Depre...

When did Arthur Miller die?

American playwright Arthur Miller died on February 10, 2005, in Roxbury, Connecticut. He was 89 years old. He died of heart failure.

What is Arthur Miller's personal life?

Through his plays, Death of a Salesman and The Crucible, Arthur Miller expresses his own personal life and criticizes the events of the second Red Scare after World War II. As a young adult, Arthur Miller worked in his father’s textile mill and would observe the behaviors of the employees. Miller would analyze his father, relatives or other hired business men working for his father, and saw how these men tried so hard to become successful because some couldn’t even sell anything.

What is Arthur Miller's most famous play?

One of his best known works is The Death of a Salesman which is about a man named Willy Loman who tries to emerge in the business industry and present a better image of him in society. Another important play is The Crucible which is about the Salem witch trials in Massachusetts where people blame one another of being witches to save themselves.

How did Miller create allusions?

Miller creates allusions through real life experiences that he has been through which is one of the reasons why his works have been so influential and prestigious . McCarthyism played a big role on The Crucible reflecting a modern society with the old Puritan era society saying that society has and never will change. As for The Death of a Salesman we can see how much the American dream has blinded people to try and achieve something they most likely never will and try to be fake to achieve it. People need to learn to face reality and accept it how it is because many people are lost only because they won’t accept their own.

Why did Miller write The Crucible?

Millers The Crucible first started because of the accusations in United States which reflected upon the Salem witch trials in 1692. “Millers play employs these historical events to criticize the moments in human kinds history when reason and fact became clouded by irrational fears and the desire to place blame for society’s problems on others. ” (DISCovering Authross,2003). Puritans accepted accusations and anything that might seem unreal so people could easily tell lies.

What did Arthur Miller do during the Puritan era?

Arthur Miller was a playwright and had plays to show his work live during this time and they felt that he projected communism at his own plays. “He admitted that he had attended a meeting of communist writers, he refused to identify anyone he had met there and denied ever having been a member of the communist party” (Baughman 3). This made Arthur miller realize that the society then was like the society during the Puritan Era when people blamed each other of being witches.

Why was McCarthy a member of the House Un-American Activities Committee?

As a result the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) was created which attacked anybody who was blamed of being communist and Joseph McCarthy was a member of this Committee because he was the first to raise this paranoia even more. He took the advantage of the second Red Scare to make himself seem like a more productive senator. “HUAC members would browbeat their prey-some of whom were there on the basis of the flimsiest of evidence. Admitting their own past ties to the communist party…others who participated with them. (McCarthyism 2009). HUAC had the right to question anybody for any suspicion and invade their privacy.

Who was Arthur Miller?

Arthur Asher Miller was born on October, 17, 1915 in Harlem, New York, to a Jewish couple, Gittel “Augusta” and Isidore Miller. Isidore had come to America from Poland as a child to work in the family’s clothing business, while Augusta was a first-generation immigrant whose family was also in the clothing industry. She had thought about becoming a teacher but was instead persuaded by her family to marry in 1911. Arthur was the second of their three children, with an older brother, Kermit, and a younger sister, Joan, who would become the actress Joan Copeland.

What is Arthur Miller's most famous play?

Arthur Miller (1915–2005) was the author of essays, journals, short stories, a novel, and a children’s book, but is best known for his more than two dozen plays, which include the seminal American dramas Death of a Salesman and The Crucible. A staunch patriot and humanist, Miller’s work conveys a deeply moral outlook whereby all individuals have a responsibility both to themselves and to the society in which they must live. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Miller maintained his optimism that despite humanity’s unfortunate predisposition toward betrayal, people could transcend this and be better. In the creation of Death of a Salesman, along with its director Elia Kazan and designer Jo Mielziner, Miller brought a new style of play to the American stage which mixes the techniques of realism and expressionism; this has since been dubbed “subjective realism” and provoked a redefinition of what tragedy might mean to a modern audience. Influenced by the social-problem plays of the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, the experimental poetics of Clifford Odets and Tennessee Williams, and the inventive staging of Thornton Wilder, Miller created his own brand of drama that often explored macrocosmic social problems within the microcosm of a troubled family. Though he is viewed as a realist by some critics, his work rarely conforms to such limitations, and his entire oeuvre is notable for its experimentation in both form and subject matter, with only his inherent philosophical beliefs to provide connection. For Miller, people need to understand that they are products of their pasts, and that it is inevitable that “the birds come home to roost,” but through acknowledging this and actively owning any guilt attached, individuals and society can improve.

How does Miller's work affect the present?

Miller’s work constantly acknowledges the ways in which history affects and informs the present, from the Salem witch trials in The Crucible during the height of the Red Scare, to the Holocaust references in Broken Glass, written in the shadow of genocidal atrocities in Rwanda and Bosnia. The 1692 witch trials reflected the unfairness of the HUAC hearings, just as anti-Semitism at home and abroad in 1938 highlights ethnic problems that continue to plague society. Miller insists that the past should not be ignored; major events like the depression or the Holocaust reverberate through the lives of everyone. To ignore or deny this will reduce those lives. Miller strongly believed that the job of the artist “is to remind people of what they have chosen to forget because it’s too hard to remember.” 30 His characters are encouraged to remember everything they have been in the past to help define who they are in the present: those who achieve the connection are rewarded, and those who do not suffer the consequences.

What was the name of the play that Miller wrote in 1949?

About a man who tries to cover up selling faulty aircraft parts to the Air Force but is finally forced to face the moral consequences, All My Sons won major awards and gave Miller the theatrical success he desired, as well as the leeway to experiment more freely with his next play: Death of a Salesman ( 1949 ).

What is Mielziner's design?

As Brenda Murphy explains, Mielziner’s designs “combined translucent scenery, expert lighting effect, and sets that went, as the eye travelled upward, from drab realistic interiors to light, delicate frameworks that were mere suggestions of buildings,” which she terms “subjective realism.” 2 Miller wanted a set that would convey aspects of both the claustrophobic present and the idealized past within the same space, and Mielziner obliged with an inventive use of scrims and lighting in a design that allowed all the scenes to be played out with minimal stage management. The forestage was essential to allow for breakout space to play the scenes beyond the Lomans’ house. Through this format, Miller, Kazan, and Mielziner suggested a whole new way of presenting a play on stage, and it would become increasingly influential.

Why is Miller considered America's conscience?

Miller has been both hailed and scorned as “America’s conscience,” for the exploration of moral choices that underlies much of his work. Philip Gelb once claimed Miller as a prophet, describing him as a man who “warns us of the possible bitter harvest that may be reaped from our present limited way; he calls attention to the moral and ethical decisions that must be made; and he dramatizes the problem and the need for individuality and will. These may well prove to be the ultimate meanings of hope.” 9 Miller’s works are certainly rooted in a profoundly humanistic philosophy that is fiercely patriotic, but just as determined to bring attention to America’s flaws. His driving concern was always to make a difference, and he was convinced that theater was a public art which could do that. For example, his translation in 1950 of Henrik Ibsen’s Enemy of the People (done for Fredric March), was a means of allowing both playwright and actor to highlight what they saw as the growing mob hysteria against the left during the Cold War. Not for the first time, Miller would be accused of creating anti-American propaganda, even though his intent had been to strengthen a nation in which he fiercely believed; similar charges had been made against All My Sons for its indictment of war profiteering that many refused to accept existed.

Why is Miller's work important?

Miller’s work remains important and is often produced because of its strong, transcultural human resonance and breadth of subject. As Ben Brantley points out, Miller “makes us look and listen, and feel the problems and pain of others as if they were our own.” 18 Miller wrote about things that mattered—on both a microcosmic and macrocosmic level. He wrote about families and the societies of which they are a part. While his individual characters resonate in the audience’s memory, he never presents them as disconnected from the ongoing society to which they are inextricably bound, and so his plays become larger than mere snapshots in time.

What was Arthur Miller’s early life like?

American playwright Arthur Miller was born and raised in New York City, where his father owned a successful manufacturing business . The Great Depression, however, brought financial ruin onto his father, demonstrating to the young Miller the insecurity of modern existence.

How did Arthur Miller die?

American playwright Arthur Miller died on February 10, 2005, in Roxbury, Connecticut. He was 89 years old. He died of heart failure.

What was the impact of the Great Depression on the life of Miller?

Miller was shaped by the Great Depression, which brought financial ruin onto his father, a small manufacturer , and demonstrated to the young Miller the insecurity of modern existence . After graduation from high school he worked in a warehouse.

Where was the Crucible based?

Miller based The Crucible (1953) on the witchcraft trials in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692–93, a series of persecutions that he considered an echo of the McCarthyism of his day, when investigations of alleged subversive activities were widespread. Though not as popular as Death of a Salesman, it won a Tony for best play.

When was I Don't Need You Any More published?

I Don’t Need You Any More, a collection of his short stories, appeared in 1967 and a collection of theatre essays in 1977. His autobiography, Timebends, was published in 1987. In 2001 Miller received the Japan Art Association’s Praemium Imperiale prize for theatre/film. Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable in The Misfits.

Who wrote about the left out?

> Arthur Miller, in particular, both wrote movingly and even courageously about the lives of the “left-out” Americans, demanding attention for the outcasts of a relentlessly commercial society. Viewing them from the 21st century, however, both seem more traditional and less profoundly innovative than their contemporaries…

What was the Archbishop's ceiling about?

The Archbishop’s Ceiling, produced in Washington, D.C., in 1977, dealt with the Soviet treatment of dissident writers. The American Clock, a series of dramatic vignettes based on Studs Terkel ’s Hard Times (about the Great Depression), was produced at the 1980 American Spoleto Festival in Charleston, South Carolina. Miller’s later plays included The Ride Down Mount Morgan (1991), Mr. Peters’ Connections (1998), and Resurrection Blues (2002).

What was Arthur Miller's social realism?

During the 1930s—Arthur Miller’s formative years as a young playwright —social realism was popular on American stages, largely due to the the Federal Theatre Project (for whom Miller worked as a staff playwright) and the Group Theatre. Miller was moved to write plays that grappled with contemporary social and economic issues; however, with his breakthrough hit All My Sons (1947), and later in Death of A Salesman  (1949), he also used elements of classical theatre, especially Greek tragedy and the plays of Henrik Ibsen. Such influences allow his plays to transcend their specific social milieus, having universal resonance for American and international audiences alike.

What was Arthur Miller's essay about tragedy?

In 1949, shortly after the premiere of Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller wrote an essay called “ Tragedy and the Common Man .” He asserted that while the subjects of Greek tragedy were traditionally characters of high societal rank (like Oedipus the King), tragedy could and should address the concerns of the common man. Miller, who had come of age during the Depression, was concerned with the psychological and social conflicts of ordinary people. In the years after World War II, he explored how tragedy could speak to average Americans who were grappling with their place in the world and struggling with self-judgement. Miller’s updated vision of tragedy was secular and social: while the ancients saw their tragic heroes in conflict with the Gods or the forces of Fate, Miller pitted his common-man heroes against societal forces, such as capitalism (in All My Sons and Death of a Salesman) or McCarthyism (in the allegory of The Crucible ). Miller’s ability to apply a tragic perspective gave his plays an epic quality. While the Kellers and Deevers of All My Sons may seem like unexceptional, “common” Americans, their tragedy transcends the individual suffering of a single community and connects to the overarching human experience.

Why did Miller lay down his life?

Miller’s ordinary heroes lay down their lives to preserve their integrity and fight the oppressive forces in their society.

Who was Arthur Miller?

few have succeeded. Arthur Miller was an inventive, determined playwright who made a lasting impression on theatre in the 20th century. He was a head-strong, willful individual who conquered obstacles when they presented themselves. Through a brief examination of Arthur Miller’s personal life, career as a playwright, and influence on theatre, it is clear to see that he was a very innovative and impactful individual whose effects can still be seen today. Arthur Miller’s life began on October 17

What is Arthur Miller's role in the American clock?

Because he was so deeply impacted by the Depression and the government’s role in it, Miller mocks the idealism of the American dream in “De ath of a Salesman” and “ A View from the Bridge”. Due to his unjust condemnation as a Communist during the McCarthy Era he accuses the faulty court system as culpable

Why does Miller mock the idealism of the American dream?

Because he was so deeply impacted by the Depression and the government’s role in it , Miller mocks the idealism of the American dream in “Death of a Salesman” and “A View from the Bridge”. Due to his unjust condemnation as a Communist during the McCarthy Era he accuses the faulty court system as culpable. Read More.

What was the impact of the Great Depression on the United States?

According to Helge Normann Nilsen, author of “From Honors At Dawn to Death of a Salesman: Marxism and the Early Plays of Arthur Miller,” the Great Depression had a profound impact in forming the political identity of Arthur Miller: “The Great Depression created in him a lasting and traumatic impression of the devastating power of economic

What was the effect of Arthur Miller's work on American theater?

In the period immediately following the end of World War II, American theater was transformed by the work of playwright Arthur Miller. Profoundly influenced by the Depression and the war that immediately followed it, Miller tapped into a sense of dissatisfaction and unrest within the greater American psyche.

Where was Arthur Miller born?

Arthur Miller was born in Manhattan in 1915 to Jewish immigrant parents. By 1928, the family had moved to Brooklyn, after their garment manufacturing business began to fail. Witnessing the societal decay of the Depression and his father’s desperation due to business failures had an enormous effect on Miller. After graduating from high school, Miller worked a number of jobs and saved up the money for college. In 1934, he enrolled in the University of Michigan and spent much of the next four years learning to write and working on a number of well-received plays.

What was the first play by Arthur Miller?

In 1944, his first play, “The Man Who Had All the Luck”, opened to horrible reviews. A story about an incredibly successful man who is unhappy with that success, “The Man Who Had All The Luck” was already addressing the major themes of Miller’s later work.

What themes did Miller's plays return to?

Both plays returned to the themes of success and failure that he had dealt with in earlier works. Concerning himself with the American dream, and the average American’s pursuit of it, Miller recognized a link between the poverty of the 1920s and the wealth of the 1980s.

Who Was Arthur Miller?

Playwright Arthur Miller attended the University of Michigan before moving back East to write dramas for the stage. He earned widespread praise for Death of a Salesman, which opened on Broadway in 1949 and won the Pulitzer Prize along with multiple Tonys. He received more acclaim for his award-winning follow-up, The Crucible, which reflected his unwavering refusal to cooperate with the House Un-American Activities Committee. Miller's public life was painted in part by his rocky marriage to Hollywood sex symbol Marilyn Monroe. The playwright died in 2005 at the age of 89, leaving a body of work that continues to be re-staged internationally and adapted for the screen.

Where was Arthur Miller born?

Early Life and Education. Miller was born in Harlem, New York, on October 17, 1915, to an immigrant family of Polish and Jewish descent. His father, Isidore, owned a successful coat manufacturing business, and his mother, Augusta, to whom he was closer, was an educator and an avid reader of novels.

Why was Miller cited in contempt of court?

His 1953 play, the Tony Award-winning The Crucible, a dramatization of the Salem witch trials of 1692 and an allegory about McCarthyism, was believed to be one of the reasons why Miller came under the committee's scrutiny. Miller refused to comply with the committee's demands to "out" people who had been active in certain political activities and was thus cited in contempt of Congress.

How old was Arthur Miller when he was a playwright?

He was 89 years old. In March 2018, HBO aired the documentary Arthur Miller: Writer. Directed and narrated by his daughter Rebecca, the piece chronicled the life of the great American playwright, from the creation of his iconic plays, to his marriage to Monroe to his relationships with family members.

What was the name of the play that Miller wrote for the student paper?

While in college, he wrote for the student paper and completed his first play, No Villain, for which he won the school's Avery Hopwood Award.

Why did Miller refuse to renew his passport?

Miller refused to comply with the committee's demands to "out" people who had been active in certain political activities and was thus cited in contempt of Congress.

What are some of the plays that Miller wrote?

Miller's other plays include A View From the Bridge (1955), Incident at Vichy (1964) , The Price (1968) , The Creation of the World and Other Business (1972), The American Clock (1980) and Broken Glass (1994).