Context Flashcards
How has Stanley’s character been influenced by the characteristics of William’s father
His father was a heavy drinker
and abusive
Similarly to Blanche how what characteristics did William’s mother have
His mother was prone to hysterical attacks,
Similarly to Stella how what characteristics did William’s mother have
She married someone which was lower in class
Similarly to Blanche and Stella’s relationship how was William’s relationship with his sister?
Rose and Tennessee were close when young but soon after William began to part with his sister saying how he disliked the fact hat she was always around male suitors.
Rose, who had begun suffering from mental illness later in life, she had a surgical procedure involving the damaged areas of her brain which Tennessee disagreed with. It had left his sister institutionalized for the rest of her life.
What did William base his plays on?
The epigraph to A Streecar Named Desire is taken from a Crane poem titled “The Broken Tower.” Crane was also gay
William based his plays on his life . Alcoholism, depression, forestalled desire, loneliness, and insanity
Why did Blanche’s disgust for S & S’s house inspire Williams?
Williams’ family cramped apartment and the ugliness of the city life seemed to make a lasting impression on him
When was streetcar written?
in 1947 the final version of the play was published
how does the post war setting contribute to the lives of the characters
- Post World war II and great depression (characters try to rebuild their lives in postwar USA→ describes a broken world) - streetcar was funded by the WPA
The war made it easier for Stanly to “climb up the social ladder” and marry Stella.
Also during the war women became more independent because they had to do all the jobs, which men used to do, before they went to war.
Symbols in Streetcar
0) Streetcar - the fate is destined by desire
1) Shadows and Cries
2) The Varsouviana Polka
3) “It’s Only a Paper Moon”
4) Meat
5) endless baths - to wash of guilt
6) musical themes - provide a local color but more importantly mark the change of mood, convey a menace, and underline a tragic development
!!7) Stanley - as new America of the immigrants - urban, egalitarian, ruthless, vibrantly alive
!!8) Blanche - the decadent old plantation culture rooted in the slavery system
describe plastic theatre
Plastic theatre is the method williams employs to heighten awareness of certain events or characterisations. Plastic theatre is the use of props or staging to impress upon the audience more abstract ideas. It is often very blatent and seems unrealistic, but this just adds to the drama of the scene.
racial context
New Orleans - cosmopolitan setting
Jazz
slavery had been abolished 50 years prior to the play but racism was still very apparent
alternative titles for streetcar
- the poker night
- the moth
- the primary colours
- electric avenue
- the passion of a moth
- blanche’s chair in the moon
- go, said the bird
how did the film adaptation differ from the play
it was censored, the rape was cut out and allan’s homosexuality was cut
