Arthur Miller chose a powerful and deep Title for his play The Crucible. Not only does it have many obvious meanings in which stem from the word "Crucible," but underlying ones as well. These meanings relate to significant points in the play, making the title The Crucible a very symbolic and excellent choice.
The word Crucible may be defined in many ways, as a porcelain container in Chemistry, or a dire and severe trial/test. Each definition in someway, relates to each other. Quite, possibly the most important aspect of the play may be the severe trials and tests, in which the innocent villagers had to go through. Although, this is the most obvious connection between the play and one definition of the Title, it still notions the importance to these trials. Arthur Miller wanted to point out the severity and intensity of these trials and how they persecuted innocent people and forced others to turn against each other. This draws a connection to the fear and hysteria created by Communism in America during the 50's, the decade .
Arthur Miller wrote the play, just as Witchcraft did in Salem. It turned people against each other and provided ample chances to strike out against hated ones in heated anger. This heated anger can be symbolized by the second definition of a Crucible, the tools used in Chemistry. .
Chemists use this tool to subject materials to high degrees of heat, in order to melt or cause chemical reactions. During the accusations of witchcraft throughout the book, the townspeople of Salem were subjected to intense anger and hate, which was multiplied due to the hysteria created by the accusations, just as a Crucible multiplies the intensity of heat. This is shown throughout the trials as well, where Judge Hawthorne and Danforth were pressured under the intensified situation of hate, to appease the people and their anger. It was as if the two were thrown into a Crucible and put under an intense heat, so in order to save themselves they fell to the people's ways and hysteria.