Why did Arthur Miller name his play "The Crucible"?

A
crucible can be defined as a container capable of withstanding intense heat. In the play
a number of characters finds themselves having to do much the same thing.
Heat in this sense is not just allegorical; it's also literal. The standard punishment for those
convicted of witchcraft was public burning. Anyone so condemned effectively had to go through
three crucibles, or trials: first, the trial of public opinion; then, a formal criminal trial in
a court of law; and finally, the trial of the actual execution itself.

Each
test is significant as it removes the individual's outer...