2. Major Works
• The Glass Menagerie (1944)
• A Streetcar Named Desire (1947)
• A Rose Tattoo (1951)
• Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1955)
• The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond
(1957)
3. Williams Writing Style
• Southern Gothic
• Poetic Dialogue
• Reality/Realism
• Autobiographical Elements
4. A StreetCar Named Desire: Summary
• Main Characters: Blanche DuBois, Stanley Kowalski, Stella Kowalski, and
Mitch
• Deals with cultural clash between Blanche Dubois (fading relic of the Old
South) and Stanley Kowalski (rising member of the industrial, urban
immigrant class)
• Blanche mask the reality of her situation with alcohol and fantasy
• Stanley Kowalski “manliness” reveals his true character
6. A StreetCar Named Desire: Themes
• Inability of fantasy to cover reality
• Dependence on men
7. What do The Critics say?
• “Poetic innovator who, refus[ed] to be confined to the usual sterilities of
playwriting patterns.”
• “[referring to A Streetcar Named Desire] a revelation of what superb theater
could be…Williams remembrance of things past gave the theater distinction
as a literary medium.”
8. Discussion Questions
• How does Williams depict “desire” through the Characters of Blanche,
Stanley and Stella?
• Some critics have debated the issue of whether or not Williams characters in
some of his works are believable. Do you think Williams presents realistic
characters in A Streetcar Named Desire?
9. Works cited
Henthorne, Susan. "A Streetcar Named Desire." Masterplots, Fourth Edition (2010):
1-4. Literary Reference Center. Web. 5 Apr. 2012.
“Southern gothic." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online Academic
Edition. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. 05 Apr. 2012.
“Tennessee Williams." : The Poetry Foundation. Web. 02 Apr. 2012
