Weekly Classics Discussions

Arthur Miller

Special thanks to @LunarStarlet for recommending Arthur Miller!

❝Everything we are is at every moment alive in us. ❞

-- Arthur Miller

Arthur Miller is known as one of the most greatest American playwrights of the 20th century. He was born in Harlem, New York in 1905. He received the Pulitzer Prize, the New York Drama Critic's Circle, and the Tony for Best Play for Death of a Salesman (1949). He also gained more praise with his Tony Award Winning play called The Crucible (1953), which his play displayed his refusal to cooperate with the House Un-American Activities Committee. 

Here are some of his plays arrange in chronological order:

The Man Who Had All the Luck (1944), All His Sons (1947), The Misfits (1961), After the Fall (1964), The Price (1968), The Creation of the World and Other Business (1972), The American Clock (1980), and Broken Glass (1994).

In his personal life, Miller was married three times. His second marriage was to Marilyn Monroe, they were married for five years. Monroe and Miller met in 1951 at a Hollywood party. Miller had penned The Misfits as a gift to Monroe. Around the time screenplay was released, Miller and Monroe divorced.

Discussion Questions:

What are the advantages to writing a play versus a novel? What tools and methods does plays give? And what advantages is a book? Imagine, Death of a Salesman or The Crucible were written as a novel or short story, would there be additional scenes, internal dialogue, or less of something? 

Always open to additional questions and comments on about Arthur Miller and his works. 

If there is another author you would like to see a discussion on, please post your suggestion in the comments below for a chance to be featured in a future chapter!

Resources:

Arthur Miller Quotes

Arthur Miller | Crucible, Plays, and Marilyn Monroe | Biography