A streetcar named desire - Exploration notes context/structure/language/plot&subplot/visual aural spatial.

A Streetcar Named Desire

Exploration Notes: Context

The play Streetcar Named Desire (hereafter SND) was written in 1947 at a very unstable time in American society. A time of ‘American Realism’, which was about the corruption of the American dream. The events of the time clearly had a big influence on Williams’ work and inspired a lot of his writing.

Part of context of the play is the concept of the civil war and the North- South divide on the issue of slavery, with Blanche representing the southern states of America, and Stanley representing the North. Before the civil war, the south of America was incredibly rich, in comparison with the North, due in the greater part to cotton production. The North was poor at this time and struggling economically. However, after the war, with the abolition of slavery the economic balance power shifted, as the prosperity had depended on slave labour. Production fell and with it the wealth of the South.

The parallels between the above and the relationship between Blanche and Stanley are very clear. Initially Blanche, as a guest in the house, has the power. Her behaviour reflects this and earns her some respect from Stanley. A further parallel can be drawn between the wealth of the North as opposed to the South and the way in which, at the beginning of the play it is implied that Blanche has some money and this has a great bearing on Stanley’s respect for her. Also, Stanley and Blanche are almost at war at one point in the play, when he surreptitiously finds out things about her old life, and just as in the civil war the North was victorious, Stanley comes out on top. Just as the fortunes of the South declined following their defeat and inability to move on from their slave-labour past, Blanche’s mental state, too, declines and she is taken away, unable to move on from her past.

Some key events from 1940’s and 50’s that have affected Williams:

Politics: – at this time, there was a great deal of political unrest and suspicion in America. A senator called Joseph McCarthy had started what in the end became to a virtual witch-hunt. He wanted to seek out all the communist sympathisers: people that were members of left wing clubs in school, people who had admitted to voting communist in the past. Many American people, influenced by vast amounts of propaganda, were so scared by the events in places like Russia and Eastern Europe. America was extremely anti-communist at this time. In the play, it is obvious that all this mistrust and doubt affected Williams’ view of the world, and maybe even of humanity, relating to the realist genre that he writes in. We can see the themes of deceit and suspicion in Blanche and Stanley’s relationship, and even in Stanley’s relationship with Stella. There are also links to the cold war, which was basically competition with different countries in order that they develop the quickest, that was contextual for SND as Blanche cannot let go and develop, where as Stanley can.

History: – this was a very important time for world history, as two years before this play was published, the Second World War had finally ended, after many years of suffering and hardship, and things were starting to look up again for civilisation and humanity as a whole. This affected Williams’ writing of SND because the death toll of the war had been extremely high, post war spirits were low. Sacrifices and changes had been made. This almost certainly had a huge effect on Williams because the theme of death plays a very prominent role in the play. Blanche’s whole family, bar Stella, have died, and this has changed Blanche’s character very significantly. This was possibly the early foundation for her mental decline.

Culture:– there was a depression in American society after the war and much of the American culture at that time was designed to lift spirits and give people a sense of well-being, trying desperately to fake everything being alright, but of course all this was just a false shell over the real America. American Realism was a movement that tried change this. The playwrights/ authors/ painters who were involved in this style aimed to show life how it really is, and not to sugar-coat the truth of society. They gave reality and truth using a lot of symbolism over the fabricated portrayal of society that had been created.

Williams’ background also had a major impact on his work and what he wrote about. His family life and his personal experiences helped him to write in the naturalistic genre.

His father - Cornelius Coffin Williams, was an alcoholic and is said to have been very abusive towards his son. He was often violent towards most of his family. There are such clear links between Cornelius and Stanley – the drinking, the violence etc - there it is hard to imagine that Stanley was based on anyone else. Tennessee, too, became an alcoholic in later life, so this obviously had great effect on his work and what he wrote.

His mother Edwina – was a depressive, especially after the family moved from a rich life in the South to a very poor one in the North (a huge link with the play and the differences between the South and the North). After his Williams’ sister Rose was operated on, she was admitted to a mental institution. Again, the link between this and Blanche’s descent into madness is striking, and the theme of insanity is very clear.

His sister Rose – Like her mother descended into madness. She was lobotomized in 1937. Clearly Williams seems to have close links with the insanity of a loved one, and can therefore identify well with Stella at the end of the play when she thinks she herself has done something wrong.

Family Madness – Both Edwina and Rose underwent lobotomy for mental illness. Lobotomy became a popular treatment in America for women at this time. Women were diagnosed as mentally ill on the flimsiest of evidence and could be subjected to lobotomy at the request of their husband or father. Their own consent was not required. It is interesting that Williams appeared to share the popular belief in the fragility of the female mental state, based, perhaps on his own family’s experience.

Exploration Notes: Form and Structure

Structure

The play is only written in ...

This is a preview of the whole essay

Family Madness – Both Edwina and Rose underwent lobotomy for mental illness. Lobotomy became a popular treatment in America for women at this time. Women were diagnosed as mentally ill on the flimsiest of evidence and could be subjected to lobotomy at the request of their husband or father. Their own consent was not required. It is interesting that Williams appeared to share the popular belief in the fragility of the female mental state, based, perhaps on his own family’s experience.

Exploration Notes: Form and Structure

Structure

The play is only written in one act. This is very important, as for a naturalistic play this is very odd. It is symbolic of the rise and fall of Blanche’s dreams. Though having lived in denial for the majority of her life, when the truth is ultimately uncovered it is clear that she has ruined the one chance she had. This emphasises the theme of reality as opposed to dreams.

The scenes are closed. The scenes have clearly defined beginnings and endings, as is true to its genre and they improve clarity to anyone watching/ reading the play.

The play is written in a series of episodic scenes. The play is formally grounded in reality, the plot shows progressing emotion. It is also part of the filmatic style that was popular at the time. This keeps the audience on edge, they want to know what’s going to happen next, and drawing them into the play heightens the feeling of reality. The fourth wall has been removed, and for the audience it is like looking into someone else’s life. This is very important in a naturalistic play: it captures the audience’s empathy and opens their emotions, which is what is intended.

Form

Pathetic fallacy – The pathetic fallacy, which is where the weather and surroundings are used to reflect the emotions of the characters, is very important in this play. The play can be divided into three sections. Scenes 1-6, 7-8 and 8-11. Each of the sections is a different stage of Blanche’s progression and decline throughout the play. Scenes 1-6 are full of optimism and hope: Blanche meets Mitch and Stella announces she is pregnant. All this section of the plot takes place in the springtime. Spring is traditionally a time for new birth, growth, happiness. This clearly matches what is happening in the play.

Scenes 7-8 are bridge chapters: they take place during the summer months, which helps to show the intensity of the heated emotions and passion. The scenes are set in an enclosed space which causes the temperature to rise, the heat making Stanley become more angry and more untrusting. Blanche becomes more showy and conceited, and their relationship starts its descent.

The last chapters (9-11) are the main part of the decline. They are based in Autumn months. The slow dying of trees and flowers, and the weather getting colder, just like the attitudes of the characters. This enhances the key themes of life and death, Blanche’s sanity is wilting, and Stanley is growing powerful over this. Autumn is also harvest time, and the saying ‘you reap what you sow’ fits in this play well. Blanche has lied and caused trouble, and she’s declining and wilting because of this. This reflects the last couple of scenes very well.

Memory recall – Williams regularly uses a memory recall technique throughout the course of the play, which is very true to the naturalistic genre, as it gives the characters a chance to show that they have a background, producing some empathy from the audience. It gives the audience the chance to get a deeper insight into the characters as opposed to adding flashbacks. Memory recall also links closely to the idea of past and present that is so prominent in the play. Blanche is unable to let go of her past, and move on: that in the end is her downfall. Memory recall is about the truth of the past, yet because Blanche can’t let it go she lives in an illusion; her deluded past world.

Parallel scenes – Some scenes in the play appear in couplets. This is where the characters and setting are the same, but the contents may differ. Parallel scenes in the play are scenes 6 and 9, and scenes 3 and 11, the polka scenes. The purpose of these similar scenes is to show the audience the progression of the people and their emotions throughout the scenes, because the emotions will start to change. Scenes six and nine show Blanche’s relationship with Mitch, and how wrong it goes: in scene six they are open and friendly with each other, whereas in scene nine it turns into an argument. These two scenes help the audience to see how the theme of fresh spring love has withered just like everything else has in autumn. Scene 11 is a reference to scene 3, and therefore links Blanche’s arrival to her departure, and shows the audience the differences in circumstance between them.

In our practical work, we explored the form of memory recall to show depth and background to a character we create. We created a character, and developed it into a real person that we can relate to and understand with these memories and feelings. I focused first on my expressions and worked on them and then I started to include movement. I then stepped inside the new character and visualised exactly what I was going to say in order to enhance the idea that my character actually remembers this from an important past experience. I found it very effective and very helpful in understanding the genre I was studying.

Exploration Notes: Language

The language in Streetcar Named Desire is very true to its naturalist genre and incorporates deep symbolism in its purely naturalistic speech very effectively. It ends by being realistic yet reminiscent.

Firstly the title of the play ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ is very symbolic. It suggests an emotional journey. ‘Desire’ suggests some place where dreams come true, whilst also suggesting a sexual aspect linking to Blanche’s background. When she arrives at Stanley’s and Stella’s apartment in ‘Elysian Fields’ number six-thirty-two, the audience has been given a picture of a heavenly home, but both these images are proved wrong throughout the play, as more raw dirt clouds Blanche’s dreams and journies.

The short sentences and bad grammar add to the very transactional language the men use. The frankness they use whilst speaking relates very much to the themes of truth and reality that seem to be associated with the men in this play.

This again gives Stanley a sense of power over the women, especially Stella. In one part of his speech he states how Stella loved the fact that he was “common” until Blanch showed up. This shows that this kind of rusty bad grammar and short sharp, to the point talking, had a power over Stella which she had been prepared to accept.
An example of this occurs in one of his speeches when he’s talking to Stella about Blanche ‘How right you was baby’.

Another use of language in this play is Low Lexis. This happens most in particular when the men talk among themselves. This gives a contrast between the poetic language often used by the women. This speech is purely functional and nothing else, it does what it’s there to do; communicate. It almost has the effect of bringing the poetic world sharply away, which is probably intended, as this is what happens to Blanche throughout the course of the play

The males in general tend to use simpler language like this more, because they are less poignant than characters like Blanche and this is reflected in their dialogue, to inflate the differences between these types of characters.

Stanley, more than others, seems to use a lot of basic language, giving him almost a sense of power and straight forward strength, which is what his character is about: he’s direct about things and uses force to get what he wants. His earthy tones, in contrast to Blanche’s poetic speeches, separates the characters very well and it also to increases his dominance over her.
An example of low Lexis is ‘Mitch: Mother is sick…She won’t live long’ the language is simple and serves purpose to communicate exactly what Mitch wants to say.

Poetic language is also used a lot in the play. Though as I stated earlier, mostly only with the female characters. Its main purpose is to fortify the theme of dreams as opposed to reality, and shows the way Blanche thinks her way through things. It sets Blanche apart from most of the other characters, and almost adds to the superiority that she feels towards Stella in her humble home, and other characters.

Using this kind of language shows how pointedly different she is from the other characters, and how she can’t keep her head out of her dreams. Towards the end it seems that this is possibly all she had left, her dreams still clouded with her poetic language.
A good example of poetic language in the play is in one of Blanche’s main speeches: _______

Symbolic language in the play is mainly used by the women, namely Blanche. She makes long, emotive speeches about her feelings and about death and about Belle Reve, the place she can’t seem to let go of. The number of adjectives and the juxtaposition she uses when she talks creates a very dreamlike haze around her, which draws in people like Mitch, which also links with her background. All the imagery and illusion she uses in her speech is highly emotive and allows us to see deeper into Blanche’s character. We can also see tragedy behind these fallacies she creates.

‘Don’t you just love these long rainy afternoons in New Orleans when an hour isn’t just an hour – but a little bit of eternity dropped in your hands – and who knows what to do with it?’

Slang and American idiom are used right away, as they set the beginning scene. This encourages the viewer to accept the types of people that you see on stage, and the differences in cultures that you’re going to come across. The slang also makes the play seem almost casual and relaxed, because the kind of language might be something you hear in every day speech. The American idiom also gives of a sense of casualness, whilst setting the scene. Every region will have its own idiom, its own slang words and that helps give a background to the characters, because you will be able to place them on the map. This, however, is probably of more relevance to an American audience.

This adds to the naturalistic genre as it gives the characters a kind of background straight away, and makes you feel as though they are real people, rather than actors/actresses. The empathy it evokes is important to this particular genre because it relies on genuine and believable emotion in the language to convey the emotion that’s being put across. Otherwise the message may be lost.

An example of slang is when Negro Woman sells ‘Red Hots’, and in scene three, a ‘wrapper’ is mentioned meaning a dressing gown. An example of idiom in scene eight, the description ‘cursed a blue streak’ is used, in Blanche’s monologue about the parrot, meaning ‘swore a lot’.

Exploration Notes: Plot and Subplot

When I first read ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ (hereafter SND), I felt that the plot was interesting and exciting. It was fast moving, yet it conveyed a lot of emotion, and I felt immediately involved with the characters as I could relate to a lot of the emotions.

Tennessee Williams wrote SND during the artistic movement: American Realism. The main feature of American Realism is that it shows life how it really is, and with true emotion and events, as opposed to false shells over the truth. The idea of this was to deflate the idea of America’s free country, and get rid of the thought that nothing was wrong, and to put across the corruption that is the American Dream.

Plot Overview of SND:

In the first scene, Blanche DuBois arrives at Elysian Fields number 632: the home of her sister Stella, and brother in law Mr Stanley Kowalski.
Blanche reveals that Belle Reve, their home in the country, has been lost and Stanley voices his suspicions of Blanche to Stella.
Scene three: a poker game which introduces Stanley’s friends, namely Mitch. Blanche meets Mitch for the first time.
Stanley hits Stella when he is drunk, after gambling.
Stella tells Blanche she still loves Stanley, and reveals to her that she is pregnant.
Blanche and Mitch return from a date quite late in the evening, and Blanche reveals her past experiences with love and marriage.
Stanley tells Stella what he has discovered about Blanche’s ‘colourful past’, including her involvement with one of her students. Stella doesn’t want to believe this about her sister.
Stanley tells Mitch what he has discovered (offstage), who consequently ‘stands her up’ at her birthday party.
Mitch comes over to confront Blanche and tears the paper lantern off the light; a revelation.
Mitch leaves and Stanley returns home. We learn that Stella is in hospital in labour. Stanley takes advantage of Blanche’s low mental state and rapes her.
Two weeks later all seems to be forgotten/ ignored and Blanche appears to be getting ready to see Shep, a man who is supposedly going to take her on a cruise. In reality, Stella and Stanley have organised for Blanche to go to a mental institution, and the doctors are coming to collect her.

The main themes in the play run parallel with the events almost exactly and it works as a sort of subplot. They surface at important moments in the main plot which reminds us of the message Williams conveys.

The main themes in the Subplot are:

Sexual desire, love and lust
Power and subservience
Poverty and wealth
Past and Present Illusion Vs Reality

Key moments in subplot:

In scene seven, Stanley reveals to Stella what he has discovered about Blanche’s past while Blanche sings ‘paper moon’ in the bath. This is a key point in the plot because Stanley now knows that he was always right in doubting Blanche, increasing his perception of power. Also, this decides Blanche’s fate later on in the play. The contrast between the themes of illusion and reality here is clear and important. Blanche is still in her little fantasy world, singing, seemingly without a care in the world, completely oblivious to Stanley who is divulging the harsh reality of her past which deflates the innocent white persona she has created for herself. The fact that the song is used whilst Stanley is speaking enhances the realism that Blanche is desperately trying to escape.

Scene six shows Blanche and Mitch returning from a date late in the evening. Blanche is telling Mitch about her past experiences with men/ boys the form of a long speech of memory recall beginning ‘He was a boy….’. This is a key moment because it is the first real insight into Blanche’s life and it reflects what happens later on in the play. The length and apparent sincerity of the speech indicate it is all actually true, which is rare in Blanche. It also seems to be important because so many of the previously introduced themes and subplots are evident at this point, such as illusion and reality, sexual desire and love. Blanche’s denial is shown in this speech, and this determined denial is the main fuel for the way she continues. What she is recalling is about her first experience with death, and she still seems she cannot face up to it. Her raw emotion is shown and it allows the audience a very clear insight into her character, which is very important to the interest of the plot.

Scene ten is the rape scene. The theme of sexual desire here is at it’s height in the play. Stanley shows no restraint, compassion or consideration, showing his brute force and animal feelings, he is completely conquered by his animalistic lust for a new woman, who he knows he can have without difficulty. It shows clear physical and mental power in every way over Blanche, helping the complete emotional destruction and physical degradation of Blanche in this scene and overall.

Considering all this, I believe that the purpose and message of the text portrays it’s genre well and it shows life in America how it truly can be for a lot of people. Smiling on the outside doesn’t stop problems like these, it just gives a false impression to the society. The streets are no longer paved with gold, as implied in the impression government was trying to create. The plot deals with loss of money and land in some places, and a disgusting gain in others. It also deals with loss of loved ones, such as in the war, and loss of sanity, clearly depicting the reality of America at this time.

Exploration Notes: Visual, Aural, Spatial

The visual aural and spatial effects are very important in a play of a naturalistic genre for setting the scene, and for enhancing the themes from the text. Tennessee Williams uses numerous effects and techniques to achieve a realistic effect in SND.

Visual effects

Costume – the costume that is described in the stage directions is very important in order to portray the characters as well as the themes. The men’s costumes are basic and unadorned, as also reflected in the language and in their personalities. The primary colours described in the stage directions at the beginning of scene three shows them to be very up-front and not afraid to show their true colours, which relates to the theme of reality. Their being primary colours also shows their simple and unadorned nature in language and how their minds work. They aren’t hiding anything, in complete contrast to Blanche’s ‘Mardi Gras’ outfits.

The simplicity of their costumes also gives away something about their manner, their being fairly simple-living and particularly common. The plain clothes also reflect the theme of poverty in the play. In scene one, they wear blue denim work clothes which are masculine, powerful and functional: they serve a purpose for work and that’s it. Appearances aren’t a problem to them, they’re comfortable: their power is shaped by this.

Blanche’s outfits are in stark contrast to those of the men (which helps to widen the chasm and divide between her and Stanley). She often wears white, in attempt to show herself as pure and innocent (it is, after all, the colour of virginity) which adds to her completely false façade as she is far from any of these things. In scene ten, at the peak of her mental decay, she wears a white satin evening gown which is described in the directions as ‘soiled’, with ‘cheap’ jewellery. The implication that Blanche herself is soiled and cheap is evident. The deterioration of her costume throughout the play is clear and it reflects the deterioration of her sanity and quality of life. She constantly dresses to impress others, which reflects her instability, though maybe she is dressing more so to impress herself as she is so wrapped up in her dreams.

Props - When Mitch and Blanche return from their date at the fair in scene six, Mitch carries a statue of Mae West that supposedly he has won at the fair. This is obviously a very important visual point because it says straight in the stage directions that he carries it upside down. Mae West, at the time, was a very well known sex symbol, and the fact that Mitch carries it upside down suggests that these ideals are inverted for him, he needs love and reassurance, but Blanche is far ‘too dirty’ for him, in the end. Love and sensitivity, primarily, are things that are more important to him. This relates to the important themes of truth and love that come up frequently throughout the play.

Aural effects

Noises outside – the noises on the street assist in the creation of the idea that they are in real surroundings surrounded by real people. This helps the naturalistic genre and also enhances the smallness of the set, giving a sense of crowded emotions.

Dialogue – slang and colloquialisms used in speech improve the sense of reality already created by the visual effects Williams suggests. This adds to the commonness of Stanley, and helps you understand Blanche’s dreamy attitude. Also, accent is quite important. The characters are all American, and therefore use their own regional American accents. However, Blanche would probably have a different accent to the others as she is from Mississippi. This is another one of many differences between her and the men.

Music – probably one of the most important aural methods in the play/ film. Firstly the songs that Blanche sings; Paper Doll immediately suggests a sense of fragility, and evokes a lot of empathy from the audience. The Blue Piano, another song, is played over the scene rather than one of the characters performing it. This gives is a sense of threat and heightens the theme of illusion and unreality. And again, it reflects the overall mood of the scene. In the stage directions for one particular scene, it says ‘the blue piano comes in, in a minor key’. The minor key creates a sad and yearning feeling. The Versouviana is probably the most important piece of music in the play. It is the polka tune that was playing at the moment Blanche’s life changed forever, when Allan shot himself; probably the start of her decline. It seems to surface at times of very high emotion for Blanche, for example when she is recounting the story of that night to Mitch in chapter six. The tune definitely symbolises her gradual descent into madness. The sound reiterates the themes of madness, illusion, corruption and even of love, if one considers Blanche’s early love in life.

Spatial effects

Size of Set – The set is very small, which is important because the confined space places the characters in very close quarters with each other. This adds to emotional tension between them. I think this is the reason why Stanley takes out his frustration on Stella, as there is nowhere else for him to go. The theme of sexual desire, along with the pent up emotion in the house plays a huge part. There is a big difference between this place and the grand Belle Reve where Stella and Blanche used to live. This highlights the difference in classes and the difference between wealth and poverty, as also evidenced between the North and the South during and after the civil war.
We explored the visual, aural and spatial elements in the ‘work in progress’ we performed. We had a very limited available space, and were very close to the audience, so we had to work in very close quarters with other performers. For the visual elements, we were able to choose our own simple elements towards the costume. Aurally, projecting appropriately to an audience at such close quarters was a skill to be mastered.