--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Arthur Miller once payed me a great…" description: "\"Arthur Miller once payed me a great compliment saying that my plays were 'necessary.' I will go one step further and say that Arthur's plays are 'essen..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/641/edward-albee-1684_arthur_arthur-miller-once-payed-me-a-great-comp_1738601.jpg" --- # Arthur Miller once payed me a great compliment saying that… ![“Arthur Miller once payed me a great compliment saying that my plays were 'necessary.' I will go one step further and say that Arthur's plays are 'essential'” quote by Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/641/edward-albee-1684_arthur_arthur-miller-once-payed-me-a-great-comp_1738601.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/641/edward-albee-1684_arthur_arthur-miller-once-payed-me-a-great-comp_1738601.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/641/edward-albee-1684_arthur_arthur-miller-once-payed-me-a-great-comp_1738601.jpg) > “Arthur Miller once payed me a great compliment saying that my plays were 'necessary.' I will go one step further and say that Arthur's plays are 'essential'” [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Arthur Miller’s work is essential, not just useful, because it confronts fundamental human truths. **In simple terms:** Miller’s plays are essential. Key Takeaway Recognize art that challenges core values. Themes art essentialism human nature Mood thoughtful serious Type critical analytical When to use this quote - theatre criticism - academic study - personal reflection Key Concepts existentialism dramatic purpose Questions to Reflect On - How does a play become essential? - What makes a work indispensable? A Different Perspective Essential works may alienate mainstream audiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arthur/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arthur-miller/) [Arthur Plays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arthur-plays-1498408/) [Compliment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compliment/) [Essentials](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/essentials/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Plays Necessary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plays-necessary-841928/) [Say Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/say-arthur-575351/) [Saying Plays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saying-plays-1498409/) [Steps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/steps/) ## Related quotes > [“Arthur is no fit king. Uther's bastard, Merlin's pawn, he is lowborn and a fool. He is wanton and petty and cruel. A glutton…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-lawhead/arthur-is-no-fit-king-uther-s-bastard-merlin-s-pawn-he-is-lowborn-and/) [Stephen R. Lawhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-lawhead/) > [I do not want actors and actresses to understand my plays. That is not necessary. If they will only pronounce the correct sounds I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/i-do-not-want-actors-and-actresses-to-understand-my-plays-that-is-not/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“What did you say, Arthur?" "I said, how the hell did you get here?" "I was a row of dots flowing randomly through the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/what-did-you-say-arthur-i-said-how-the-hell-did-you-get-here-i-was-a/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [And then, all of a sudden, you're like, all that's great and fun, but Arthur Miller's in my dressing room. This is the third…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-krause/and-then-all-of-a-sudden-you-re-like-all-that-s-great-and-fun-but/) [Peter Krause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-krause/) > [I do a lot of American plays. I've done a lot of Arthur Miller, Tennessee Williams and Neil Simon. I was in 'Sisters Rosensweig,'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacki-weaver/i-do-a-lot-of-american-plays-i-ve-done-a-lot-of-arthur-miller/) [Jacki Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacki-weaver/) > [Most playwrights go wrong on the fifth word. When you start a play and you type 'Act one, scene one,' your writing is every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meredith-willson/most-playwrights-go-wrong-on-the-fifth-word-when-you-start-a-play-and/) [Meredith Willson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meredith-willson/) > [ I would have started writing a lot earlier if I hadn't been \[Arthur Miller's daughter\]. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-miller/i-would-have-started-writing-a-lot-earlier-if-i-hadn-t-been-arthur/) [Rebecca Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-miller/) > [ He \[Arthur Miller\] wouldn't have married me if I had been nothing but a dumb blonde. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-monroe/he-arthur-miller-wouldn-t-have-married-me-if-i-had-been-nothing-but-a/) [Marilyn Monroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-monroe/) > [The great writers like Chekhov know that tragedy and laughter are just a few steps from each other ... but it took me a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vanessa-redgrave/the-great-writers-like-chekhov-know-that-tragedy-and-laughter-are/) [Vanessa Redgrave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vanessa-redgrave/) > [Arthur Miller said one of my favorite lines ever, that he had the mother say to her two sons about a very unstable father…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mandy-patinkin/arthur-miller-said-one-of-my-favorite-lines-ever-that-he-had-the/) [Mandy Patinkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mandy-patinkin/) > [I come from the theatre where there are no boundaries to the style you're doing; you're doing Molière, then you're doing Chekhov and then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-ruffalo/i-come-from-the-theatre-where-there-are-no-boundaries-to-the-style/) [Mark Ruffalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-ruffalo/) > [I take pictures, and they are there for the taking. I'll tell you a quote that I have always thought about. Arthur Miller said,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-maisel/i-take-pictures-and-they-are-there-for-the-taking-i-ll-tell-you-a/) [Jay Maisel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-maisel/) > [Some playwrights are obvious influences on younger writers. Arthur Miller (realistic, politically engaged dramas) and Christopher Durang (satirical dark comedies) are examples. But August…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-j-sullivan/some-playwrights-are-obvious-influences-on-younger-writers-arthur/) [Daniel J. Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-j-sullivan/) > [Now that Marilyn Monroe is kosher, Arthur Miller can eat her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-levant/now-that-marilyn-monroe-is-kosher-arthur-miller-can-eat-her/) [Oscar Levant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-levant/) > [There was a play that was written by who I think is America's greatest playwright, and he wrote a small part in it for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-glenn/there-was-a-play-that-was-written-by-who-i-think-is-america-s/) [Scott Glenn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-glenn/) ## More by Edward Albee > [School curricula that ignore the arts produce highly educated Barbarians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/school-curricula-that-ignore-the-arts-produce-highly-educated/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [When a critic sets himself up as an arbiter of morality, a judge of the matter and not the manner of a work, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/when-a-critic-sets-himself-up-as-an-arbiter-of-morality-a-judge-of/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [When people don't like the way a play ends, they're likely to blame the play.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/when-people-don-t-like-the-way-a-play-ends-they-re-likely-to-blame/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [In a democracy you cannot stop public access to that art that will most misinform the people. You cannot stop people from being misinformed.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/in-a-democracy-you-cannot-stop-public-access-to-that-art-that-will/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [Creativity is magic. Don't examine it too closely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/creativity-is-magic-don-t-examine-it-too-closely/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [When people can't abide things as they are, when they can't abide the present, they do one of two things ... either they ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/when-people-can-t-abide-things-as-they-are-when-they-can-t-abide-the/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [“Lady, you can’t fuck a metaphor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/lady-you-can-t-fuck-a-metaphor/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [I write to find out what I'm talking about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/i-write-to-find-out-what-i-m-talking-about/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [I know playwrights who like to kid themselves into saying that their characters are so well formed that they just take over. They determine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/i-know-playwrights-who-like-to-kid-themselves-into-saying-that-their/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [The greatest problem with Irish Wolfhounds, though, is that they don't live very long: their great hearts give out. A good deal of this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/the-greatest-problem-with-irish-wolfhounds-though-is-that-they-don-t/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [Dashed hopes and good intentions. Good, better, best, bested.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/dashed-hopes-and-good-intentions-good-better-best-bested/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [Writing has got to be an act of discovery…I write to find out what I'm thinking about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/writing-has-got-to-be-an-act-of-discovery-i-write-to-find-out-what-i/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [I'm back in fashion again for a while now. But I imagine that three or four years from now I'll be out again. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/i-m-back-in-fashion-again-for-a-while-now-but-i-imagine-that-three-or/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [What people really want in the theater is fantasy involvement and not reality involvement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/what-people-really-want-in-the-theater-is-fantasy-involvement-and-not/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [Art should never try to be popular.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/art-should-never-try-to-be-popular/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) [Explore all 216 Edward Albee quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) ## More Arthur quotes > [... Arthur Gride, whose bleared eyes gloated only over the outward beauties, and were blind to the spirit which reigned within, evinced - a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/arthur-gride-whose-bleared-eyes-gloated-only-over-the-outward/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [Merlin' was awesome, but the costumes would drive you insane. Every day, you'd get into chain mail and wear 30 pounds of that stuff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eoin-macken/merlin-was-awesome-but-the-costumes-would-drive-you-insane-every-day/) [Eoin Macken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eoin-macken/) > [What a wonderfully exciting cough,' said the little man, quite startled by it, 'do you mind if I join you?' And with that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/what-a-wonderfully-exciting-cough-said-the-little-man-quite-startled/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [A guy called Arthur Brown... was a big influence of mine... and also Ian Anderson from Jethro Tull.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-dickinson/a-guy-called-arthur-brown-was-a-big-influence-of-mine-and-also-ian/) [Bruce Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-dickinson/) > [I have a sense of them being Easter religions, for some reason. Christianity, of course, is a mystery religion, too, and I believe that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-s-crisp/i-have-a-sense-of-them-being-easter-religions-for-some-reason/) [Quentin S. Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-s-crisp/) > [And then, all of a sudden, you're like, all that's great and fun, but Arthur Miller's in my dressing room. This is the third…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-krause/and-then-all-of-a-sudden-you-re-like-all-that-s-great-and-fun-but/) [Peter Krause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-krause/) > [For five hundred dollars, I'll name a subatomic particle after you. Some of my satisfied customers include Arthur C. Quark and George Meson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/for-five-hundred-dollars-i-ll-name-a-subatomic-particle-after-you/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [Arthur Conan Doyle was entranced by the notion of a brilliant detective who can deduce everything a stranger has been up to from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rafael-yglesias/arthur-conan-doyle-was-entranced-by-the-notion-of-a-brilliant/) [Rafael Yglesias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rafael-yglesias/) > [“That boy had wanted to be Ser Arthur Dayne, but someplace along the way he had become the Smiling Knight instead.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/that-boy-had-wanted-to-be-ser-arthur-dayne-but-someplace-along-the/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) > [The book that really, really shaped my politics and has forever is Arthur Koestler's "Darkness at Noon," which is a novel based on terrible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nat-hentoff/the-book-that-really-really-shaped-my-politics-and-has-forever-is/) [Nat Hentoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nat-hentoff/) > [Since I came here I have learned that Chester A. Arthur is one man and the President of the United States is another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-a-arthur/since-i-came-here-i-have-learned-that-chester-a-arthur-is-one-man-and/) [Chester A. Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-a-arthur/) > [“In the energies of the Green Knight, we have an Elder who comes to the entire court of Arthur to challenge and "open a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-chandler/in-the-energies-of-the-green-knight-we-have-an-elder-who-comes-to-the/) [Virginia Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-chandler/) > [“AT&T developed cross-country systems of microwave relay towers, which marched across the countryside from coast to coast and border to border, every 20 to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/at-t-developed-cross-country-systems-of-microwave-relay-towers-which/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Now that Marilyn Monroe is kosher, Arthur Miller can eat her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-levant/now-that-marilyn-monroe-is-kosher-arthur-miller-can-eat-her/) [Oscar Levant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-levant/) > [You don't have to believe that there was a King Arthur to get the significance of those stories, but Christians say we have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/you-don-t-have-to-believe-that-there-was-a-king-arthur-to-get-the/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) [Browse all 340 Arthur quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arthur/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Arthur Miller once payed me a great compliment saying that my plays were 'necessary.' I will go one step further and say that Arthur's plays are 'essential'", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edward Albee" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/arthur-miller-once-payed-me-a-great-compliment-saying-that-my-plays/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Arthur" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/arthur-miller-once-payed-me-a-great-compliment-saying-that-my-plays/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/641/edward-albee-1684_arthur_arthur-miller-once-payed-me-a-great-comp_1738601.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/641/edward-albee-1684_arthur_arthur-miller-once-payed-me-a-great-comp_1738601.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/641/edward-albee-1684_arthur_arthur-miller-once-payed-me-a-great-comp_1738601.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Arthur Miller once payed me a great compliment saying that my plays were 'necessary.' I will go one step…” — Edward Albee", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Edward Albee", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Arthur Miller once payed me a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/arthur-miller-once-payed-me-a-great-compliment-saying-that-my-plays/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/arthur-miller-once-payed-me-a-great-compliment-saying-that-my-plays/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```