Blanche uses criticism and reprimand to lead Stella into thinking that she is the fundamental basis to which opened the access of death, degeneration and fatalities at Belle Reve. The white building with the columns built of prospects, power, richness, liberty and hierarchy crumbled when the loss of an acute figure created a hole in which death could thrive, inflicting a dire incarnation that had been heavily implanted into Blanche’s mind. Blanche then compares the beauty and “warm breath” of Elysian Fields to that of Edgar Allan Poe’s “Weir”, creating a dramatic tension in the beliefs of likeability that the audience has seen exposed in the town, and the intimate frictions influenced by two sisters in an argument.
The unmodified language that Blanche uses to portray her disbelief of the town’s heterogeneous influences and the reproachful bitter-sweet attitude that she has over the nature of Stanley’s job, indicate to the audience that dramatic tension will mount because Blanche is ultimately filled with aristocratic arrogance.
The scene ends with a dramatic and disconcerting candour, leaving the audience reminiscing about the scene and hearing the polka music enhance a tense abrupt period of elusive mourning.
In scene two, the audience sees that Stanley is bequeathed with a conceited, magnanimous and untarnished view of himself. The “vision” of the “pinnacle” of mankind. He is blinded by the insatiable and enticing tyrannical constitution that is; the satiated self-embrace of a lordly composure, of which is the “praetorian key” to unlock Blanche’s past and sexual tensions as well as her eventual downfall. The audience is filled with a sense of distaste towards this “sub-human” “anthropological study” and immediately perceive dramatic tensions that the two superiority figures will collide. The audience eventually sees that their fervent reservations are exact, and the dramatic tension swells in their erudition that they know the future of the two condescending characters.
When the masculine game of poker, a game full of risk, deceit and chances arise, the men wear bright silk bowling shirts which symbolise their uncouth, masculine behaviour. Primary colours show the simplicity of the men’s thoughts and behaviours; illuminating desires, hatred and power. When the sisters appear and interfere with the game, the audience can feel a vivid dramatic tension between the drunken Stanley and the insignificant appearance of “hens cackling” through the portieres. In contrast to the men, Blanche wears white, an immaculate costume free from scandal, free from responsibility, guilt and blame, consumed by absurd and imitation jewelleries, trying to flaunt what is not there.
Music plays an important role in this scene as the audience sees; it acts as a catalyst to Stanley’s unwarranted tirade. The jazz music that flows from the radio exasperatingly encourages Stanley to expose his domineering wrath and the audience who, listening to the frank music and seeing Stanley fall back into the depths of evolution, or step forward into primeval consumption, know that as a consequence, dramatic tensions will be evident, that will collect and proliferate and end with heartbreak.
In scene four, the early morning “confusion of street cries” reflects and increases the ebbing dramatic tension that the audience had felt earlier, but it contrasts with the narcotic serenity that is; a new day.
The penetrating sounds of a locomotive strengthen the audience by indicating a dramatic tension. The locomotive that preposterously, irregularly, and yet ingeniously tarnish the intense situation between the exploitation of Blanche’s feelings, guaranties a short freedom, rendering the tense situation and sisters unconscious to hear or say anything, involuntarily perfecting a contaminated quietude about the area of Elysian Fields, hiding Stanley from sight and sedate him not to disturb this confrontation so he can use this knowledge to his advantage. For the audience this ultimately is the pinnacle of dramatic tensions through out the play. By knowing that Stanley has the power to metaphorically slay Blanche, stimulates the audiences need to know when, and the agitation of exploitation.
In scene five, the abrupt laughter yielded by Blanche over the peripheral nature of writing to a man who is obviously unreal, rouses the audience into a state of frustration as this behaviour is of no consequence and the aggravation of knowing Blanche’s demise when she doesn’t, ultimately leads to dramatic tension, because the absence of manipulation provokes the gripping and dramatic tension.
The mentioning of the police, a towering authority leads to dramatic tension because the audience can link unruly behaviour not only with Steve but with Stanley and the risk of incarceration, being oppressed, or the masterful power of a corporation creates a questioning dramatic tension.
With the closed proximity of which Blanche and Stanley are in in this situation, reveals not only dramatic tensions, but sexual tensions. The audience is prepared for Stanley’s confrontation with Blanche. By the “wincing” and nervous routines that Blanche invokes, tells the audience that she knows what is about to happen and therefore creates a now uncovered and stirring dramatic tension. However, Stanley cunningly forges an obliterating answer to soil Blanche’s self-consciousness and figures “Shaw, must’ve got you mixed up,” again leaving the audience, like Blanche, feeling “faint” because there is still a impenetrable aura of dramatic tension that is still not broken and the fact that Stanley can merely play with Blanche’s mind at will, induces a hatred toward this fiend.
The lantern surrounding the light in this scene evokes a discard for the profound and impassioned hurtful truth of maturity. The audience sees that Blanche acquires to be in pristine condition, forever washing to rid the body of ominous memories and the guilt that suffocates the ‘pores’ of predictability, love and rationality. Not only does this inclination that accumulates Blanche’s existence provoke dramatic tensions, but the fact that Stanley is agitated by this as well, also provokes a strong dramatic tension between the audience and the two cautious characters.
In this scene, Blanche fills herself with self-compassion and cries of “Ah me”. The Negro woman outside, reflects Blanche’s sexual propensity, as she confronts a young man. When the same young man appears through the portieres there is a dramatic and sexual tension that is aroused as the audience can see that Blanche is full of interest. Whilst being flirtatious, the audience encounters more lies that Blanche threads through her web of deceit, and dramatic tensions mount not only because the lies inflict exasperation and inquisitiveness, but music encourages the sexual tension and Blanche openly admits after kissing the young man that she has been with many “children” before, leaving the audience, full of tension questioning her “dreamy” aspect of true love. She says she is looking for “love”, but she is really looking for someone she can merely hide with, a manifestation of safety that she can use to escape the drudgery of her anguished life.
In scene six, there is another dramatic tension that saturates the audience’s convictions. Not only is there a dramatic tension that appears favourable due to Blanche telling the truth, but again, the locomotive tarnishes the situation, leaving Blanche regretting having shared her intimate and tormented past that she disperses the reality by trying to seduce Mitch in French. The audience’s arousal is heightened as sexual intimacies are immanent, but are dismayed by Mitch being a symbol of credulity, easily inveigled to fall for the “beauty”, uncertainty and flirtation of the enigmatic moth in hiding.
In scene seven preparations for Blanche’s birthday are tainted by the behaviour of Stanley. The audience’s provocation is once again heightened as Stanley uses his authoritarian self –embrace of legitimacy to reveal Blanche’s disturbing past and uses this to induce Mitch to repulse her, and to tell Stella with an air of self-arrogance the disconcerting image that Blanche refuses to attain on her pallid, ‘well-proportioned’ impression. The dramatic tension is relieved only to be adapted once again with Stella’s uncertainties and conflict to Stanley’s inquisitions, and is reinforced and potent once more when Blanche abruptly appears at the end of the scene with a false sense of contentment that does not even attenuate the air of concern. The music mourns with an inspired lyricism, leading into a hectic breakdown, motivating the uncomfortable tension that has arisen from Stanley’s meddling.
In scene eight, dramatic tension ferments and arouses. The audience can see that Blanche retains the ascendancy to discriminate Stanley, leaving him immobilized to make a reply. With a pseudo air surrounding the party, Stanley, once sullen, engages in an overbearing ballad of annihilation and perseveres with obscenities about Blanche and her influence over Stella. The audience effortlessly and definitely respond to this act with an awe-inspiring sense of dramatic tension, derived from the poker night and the fundamental primeval instincts of Stanley. The scene ends abruptly with Stanley’s orders that Blanche has to leave, seething the audience’s dramatic tensions to see what will happen next.
Scene nine is perturbed with a precariously high realisation that Mitch is confronting Blanche. The dramatic tension fluctuates from thrilling to sexual tension, with the constant revelation of hidden truths. The audience, not wishing to “miss one syllable of it” hear the insensitive, callused and raucous tongue of Blanche.
The audience captures a critical dramatic tension when the shouts of an old Mexican woman selling “Flores” are heard. Blanche capitulates to her “regrets and recriminations”, telling her rutted tale of sorrow with the old woman expressing her formulaic dispossessions, forming one speech of death. The audience demoralized by the dramatic tension inflicted by a friction between the two opposite upholders of death, are shocked when Mitch resorts to animalistic sexual needs. The music that is ostensible throughout the scene gets vociferous with the desperate need of freedom, and the slow, blue tune sets the dramatic tension to a heart-rending misdemeanour.
In scene ten, sexual tensions are now fully inaugural, however now only existent in Stanley’s mind. The audience is filled with dramatic tension as they first perceive Stanley as sedated by the narcotic lore of being a father; his exhilaration recoiled off of the drunk, depressing existence of Blanche. The music slowly getting louder induces the audience with a feeling of growing dramatic tension. The roar of an approaching locomotive produces lurid images and a copious atmosphere representing the sexual vapour of prostitutes and embezzlement that were once outside but have now flowed into the apartment. The audience is imbued with an increasing incentive, from catching the “grotesque and menacing” shadows, to Stanley’s increasing sexual desires symbolised by his strident shirt and silk pyjamas.
Again, the sound of a police whistle tells the audience that what is happening isn’t meant to be so, yet they know due to the tensions that have arisen; no-one is able to stop the “inhuman jungle voices” the animalistic, hot, desirable and dictatorial music that incites the dramatic tension of the audience’s realisation that Stanley has carried Blanche to her ultimate sexual demise.
In the final and emotionally disturbing scene, dramatic tensions capitalise the requirement of the audience. Whilst the atmosphere is subdued, dramatic tensions still remain. The troubling apprehension that the strict, profound and sited behaviour of Stella is the down fall of Blanche, rather than her own escapism or fleeing from reality and hysterical uncertainty. The audience’s exasperation and the traumatized alarm was that Blanche really had to “rely on the kindness of strangers” as she was taken away by doctors, as she did not really understand her situation due to the disintegration of her mind, and her constant flight from reality. Dramatic tensions are still evident at the very end of the play when it abruptly ends with Stanley’s brusque feelings, trying to make love to Stella, shocking the audience with disbelief. The music played is muted, slow and blue, the materialization of miserable heart-rending feelings. The final words that are said show a hindsight of the entire play, that the life of Blanche and the disturbance that she created was like a poker game; full of risk, chance and bluff, where nothing is never what it seems, and after all is said and done, everything is forgotten or hidden by shame, arrogance or pride.
