International Research Journal of Education and Technology

Arthur Miller is one of the most celebrated playwrights of twentieth century America. He holds his unique identity in American literature in general and drama in particular. Miller combined realistic characters and social agenda together in his plays. He has been influenced by the democratic ideals and wishes to bring the spirit of democracy in his writings. As literature has been defined as the reflection of life, whatever that happens in life is bound to be reflected in literature. In this sense literature holds mirror to society. Hence, as time passes things automatically change in our social life. The society and its rules, the concepts of morality, what is good and what is bad, etc. depend on the rules of the society. Whatever changes occur in society get reflected in art and literature produced by the sensible and sensitive creative minds of the artists.

As a result of this, art and literature keep on changing as the society changes in the passage of time. Arthur Miller, a playwright occupies a significant place in the tradition of American drama. Miller does not believe in art for art’s sake. Most of his plays can be blown to a piece of advice. Most of his plays emerge from real images. His characters find their origin in the real, contemporary world of today. They face problems, predicaments and situations, which a common man might have to confront. His plays are realistic, naturalistic, and expressionistic. With Arthur Miller, American drama acquired new dignity and importance. Realism continued to be a primary form of dramatic expression in the twentieth century, even as experimentation in both the content and the production of plays became increasingly important. All his plays are concerned with sociological or psychological issues. The Depression gave him his compassion-ate understanding of the insecurity of man in modern industrialized civilization, his deep-rooted belief in social responsibility, and the moral earnestness that has occasioned unsympathetic and often unjust criticism of the age of the affluent society.

Keywords: Illusion, reality, American drama, society, death, tragedy, etc.