Tennessee Williams

The Author: Tennessee Williams

You should not spend too long talking about the life of the author as you will not gain many marks for doing this. But it is still important to note a few things about the author for context.

Hometown

Thomas Lanier “Tennessee” Williams III was born in 1911 in Columbus, Mississippi.
Mississippi is a state in the south of the United State of America.
Some scholars have observed that he shares his southern roots with many of the characters in the play.

Williams' family

Williams had English, Welsh, and Huguenot ancestry.
His father was a travelling shoe salesman who became an alcoholic and was frequently away from home.
His mother, Edwina, was the daughter of a music teacher and the Reverend Walter Dakin, an Episcopal priest from Illinois who was assigned to a parish in Mississippi shortly after Williams’ birth.
Williams lived in his parsonage with his family for much of his early childhood and was close to his grandparents.

University life

Williams went to the University of Missouri, in Columbia, where he enrolled in journalism classes.
He was bored by his classes and was distracted by unrequited love for a girl.
He soon began entering his poetry, essays, stories, and plays in writing contests, hoping to earn both extra income and success.

Early career

After university, Williams had a set of menial jobs.
In 1939, he moved to New Orleans in Louisiana for the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a federally funded program begun by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
This brought him to the attention of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio. He worked for them for a while as a writer.

Sex life

Williams had several relationships with women, but during the 1930s he realised that he was homosexual.

We need to be careful about fully connecting the author’s life to the text of a play because this can be dangerous. What the author has written may be an ‘imagined construction’ only and have little to do with the author’s life.

The Glass Menagerie

During the winter of 1944–45, Williams' so-called “memory play” The Glass Menagerie, developed from his 1943 short story Portrait of a Girl in Glass, was produced in Chicago and gained good reviews.
It then moved to New York and was very successful.

A Streetcar Named Desire

His next play, A Streetcar Named Desire opened in New York in 1947. The play was an instant success.
It was directed by Elia Kazan – a director who worked closely with Williams.

Other plays

Several other successful plays followed including Summer and Smoke (1948), The Rose Tattoo (1951), Camino Real (1953), and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1955).

Blanche

Some critics have argued that the character of Blanche is based on Williams’ sister, Rose Williams, who struggled with mental health issues and became incapacitated after a lobotomy.

Films

During the early 1950s, The Glass Menagerie and A Streetcar Named Desire were adapted as major motion pictures and this brought Williams international acclaim.

Later life

After this early success, however, Williams' work declined following poor decisions.
He became an alcoholic. In 1963, his partner Frank Merlo died.
Williams wrote several later plays but few of these were appreciated by critics or audiences.
On February 25, 1983, Williams was found dead at the age of 71 in his suite at the Hotel Elysée in New York.

1Context & Overview

1.1The Author

1.1.1Tennessee Williams

1.2Social Context & Setting

1.2.1Social Context

1.2.2Social Issues

1.2.3Setting

1.3Tragedy

1.3.1Overview of the Tragic Genre

1.3.2Modern Domestic Tragedy

1.3.3End of Topic Test - Author, Context & Tragedy

2Scene Summaries

2.1Scene One

2.1.1Scene One: Summary

2.1.2Scene One: Tragedy Ideas

2.2Scene Two

2.2.1Scene Two: Summary & Tragedy Ideas

2.2.2End of Topic Test - Scenes One-Two

2.3Scene Three

2.3.1Scene Three: Summary & Tragedy Ideas

2.4Scene Four

2.4.1Scene Four: Summary & Tragedy Ideas

2.4.2End of Topic Test - Scenes Three & Four

2.5Scene Five

2.5.1Scene Five: Summary & Tragedy Ideas

2.6Scene Six

2.6.1Scene Six: Summary

2.7Scene Seven

2.7.1Scene Seven: Summary & Tragedy Ideas

2.8Scene Eight

2.8.1Scene Eight: Summary & Tragedy Ideas

2.8.2End of Topic Test - Scenes Five-Eight

2.9Scene Nine

2.9.1Scene Nine: Summary & Tragedy Ideas

2.10Scene Ten

2.10.1Scene Ten: Summary & Tragedy Ideas

2.11Scene Eleven

2.11.1Scene Eleven: Summary & Tragedy Ideas

2.11.2End of Topic Test - Scenes Nine-Eleven

3Character Profiles

3.1Blanche DuBois & Stanley Kowalski

3.1.1Blanche DuBois - The Past & Illusions

3.1.2Blanche DuBois - Relationship with Men & Breakdown

3.1.3The Dynamic Between Blanche & Stanley

3.1.4End of Topic Test - Blanche & Stanley

3.2Stella Kowalski & Harold Mitchell (Mitch)

3.2.1Stella Kowalski

3.2.2Harold Mitchell (Mitch)

3.3Minor Characters

3.3.1The Hubbels & Other Characters

3.3.2End of Topic Test - Stella, Mitch & Others

4Key Ideas

4.1Sex & Gender

4.1.1Sex & Desire

4.1.2Masculinity & Femininity

4.1.3End of Topic Test - Sex, Desire & Gender

4.2Appearances, Fantasy & Reality

4.2.1Outer & Inner Appearances

4.2.2Fantasy & Reality

4.2.3End of Topic Test - Appearances, Fantasy...

5Writing Techniques

5.1Structure

5.1.1Structure & Stage Design

5.1.2Linking Devices

5.1.3Recurring Motifs

5.2Genre, Form & Language

5.2.1Genre

5.2.2Form & Language

5.2.3End of Topic Test - Writing Techniques

6Critical Debates

6.1Early & Modern Reception

6.1.1Interpreting Blanche & Self-Pity

6.1.2Contemporary & Modern Reviews

6.2Feminist, Psychoanalytic & Marxist Approach

6.2.1Feminist Approach

6.2.2Psychoanalytic Approach

6.2.3Marxist Approach

6.2.4End of Topic Test - Critical Debates

7Ideas About Tragedy

7.1Ideas About Tragedy

7.1.1Tragic Ideas & Villain

7.1.2Tragic Structure & Language

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