Arthur Miller

Arthur Miller (1915–2005) was one of the most influential American playwrights of the twentieth century. Born in New York City to a Jewish immigrant family, he came of age during the Great Depression, an experience that deeply shaped his lifelong preoccupation with economic pressure, family duty, and the moral compromises ordinary people make to survive.

Miller rose to national prominence with All My Sons (1947) and cemented his reputation with Death of a Salesman (1949), a landmark of American drama that won the Pulitzer Prize and introduced Willy Loman as one of the theatre's most enduring tragic figures. His 1953 play The Crucible, an allegory of the McCarthy-era communist witch hunts set during the Salem trials, remains a staple of school curricula and regional theatre worldwide. A View from the Bridge further confirmed his mastery of tightly wound domestic tragedy.

Beyond the stage, Miller was known for his outspoken political engagement, his refusal to name names before the House Un-American Activities Committee, and his marriage to Marilyn Monroe. His body of work continues to be staged, adapted, and studied as a cornerstone of modern realist drama, admired for its moral clarity and unflinching look at the American Dream's costs.