Arthur Miller

Arthur Miller was born in New York in October 1915. His family, middle-class Jews, were prosperous manufacturers until they were ruined by the economic crash which hit America in 1929. As a young man Miller worked at a number of poorly-paid jobs to pay his way through college, and his experiences are reflected in much of his written work. At the University of Michigan he studied journalism, and later English. He also took a course in playwriting and won a number of important drama prizes.

When Miller graduated in 1938, the effects of the Depression were still being felt. Miller worked for a time for The Federal Theatre Project. Later he made a living by writing scripts for radio. His first Broadway play, The Man Who Had All The Luck (1944), ran for only one week, but his next, All My Sons (1947), was a great success. This was followed, in 1949, by the even more successful Death of a Salesman. These plays explore the tensions created by a materialist society. All My Sons investigates basic assumptions about capitalist society. Death of a Salesman is about a common man defeated by a society which uses him up and then discards him.

In 1950 Miller adapted Ibsen's play An Enemy Of The People for the American stage. This play, although unsuccessful, posed questions that Miller was to investigate later in The Crucible (1953). Both plays deal with the conflict that is created when the individual's right to follow his conscience is challenged by authorities in society who see the individual as a threat, particularly if he questions their authority. When The Crucible first appeared in 1953 many critics failed to see the merits of the play because it appeared too closely concerned with current political events, but as these events have faded from memory the play's themes can be seen to have a universal significance, and many critics now consider The Crucible to be Miller's finest work.

Since The Crucible Miller has written a number of plays, the best being A View From the Bridge (1955). He has also written a novel, Focus (1945), dealing with anti-Semitism in New York. His other works include short stories, essays and interviews. Several of his early plays were made into successful films. The Crucible was made into a film in 1957 under the title The Witches of Salem.