Hale: Pay for your sin
The law cannot make you pay for your sin. Only God can do that.
Direct Address. Contradiction. Symbolism
Shift from blind faith in the court to a realisation of its corruption, symbolising his moral awakening.
Inconsistency: Court acts for god, Only God alone judges sin
Elizabeth: Judge you
I do not judge you, The magistrates sits in your heart that judges you. I never you but a good man
- Restrained tone (contrast hysteria)
- Metaphor
- Characterisation
Reflect personally on how guilt and integrity shape identity,
love and forgiveness emerge to oppose collective hysteria
Anomaly: Elizabeth’s forgiveness subverts Puritan ideals of confession
Proctor: Cannot Mount the Gibbet
I cannot mount the gibbet like a saint. It is a fraud and I am not that man
- Self-depriciation
- High modality
Expresses internal conflict and moral integrity (refuses to falsely claim honour)
Anomaly: Stands out from collective obsession with righteousness
Proctor: I will not change my life, I will not
High modality language and repetition
Evoking defiant qualities of proctor: opposition in the face of societal pressure
Anomaly: Not falling into mob mentality / Challenging assumptions of strength in numbers
Hale - Denounce / Quit
I denounce these proceedings, I quit this court!
Declarative / exclamatory tone, symbolism
Prioritises human ethics over blind religious following
Paradox: Reverend opposes rellgious court
Proctor: Judge me Danforth
I cannot think you may judge me Mr Danforth
- Direct Address
Contrast (human conscience vs insititutional power),
Paradox / Irony (proctor as a sinner demonstrates greater moral clarity) + Anomaly
Critiques misuse of divine authority to justify injustice, epxression of truth
Parris: Cannot leap to witchcraft, howl out of Salem
We cannot leap to witchcraft, they will howl me out of salem for such corruption in my house!
- Animalisitc connotation
- Urgent tone
- Foreshadowing of escalating hysteria
Fear of social judgement and reputation over ethics
Anomaly: Reverand pritises status of duty
Proctor: I Have known her
I have known her, sir. I have known her
- Repetition, confessional tone, characterisation
Tension as he balances truth, morality and social pressure
Paradox: Confession of sin is courageous but guilt remains
