Commentary on Scene Eleven focusing on the speech in A Streetcar Named Desire.

Commentary on Scene Eleven focusing on the speech in A Streetcar Named Desire

Scene Eleven in A Streetcar Named Desire is significant. It depicts a concrete and clear view of Blanche’s character and highlights the theme of death. It, most importantly, generates the audience’s sympathy which is not depicted in the first part of the play.

The scene takes place a few weeks after the rape. This is indicated in the stage directions: “it is some weeks later.” The setting which is presented in the scene is typical in that poker is being played by Stanley and his friends while Stella and Eunice are conversing; however, the mood is tense and discreet. It is also highlighted that Blanche is taken into a mental asylum. This would be evident through her mental disorder from the rape. It is also depicted that all the characters have knowledge of her mental asylum although Blanche is not aware of it and that she presumes she is going on holiday.

The speech depicts the theme of death which is also present in Blanche’s speech in Scene One “I, I, I took the blows in my face and my body…”

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The speech depicts the theme of death which is also present in Blanche’s speech in Scene One “I, I, I took the blows in my face and my body…”

The depiction, however, contrasts the one earlier, in that the speech in Scene One represents something gruesome and dreadful: “So big with it, it couldn’t be put in a coffin! But had to be burned like rubbish;” on the contrary, the speech in Scene Eleven depicts death in a romantic manner: “I will die – with my hand in the hand of some nice-looking ship’s doctor…with a small blond moustache…” Also, she wishes to die peacefully after witnessing the deaths of Belle Reve. The sheer contrast in her illusion of death shows her incapability with reality, this would lead to her downfall.

The Scene, namely the speech highlights Blanche as a tragic heroine. Her weak mental state is one factor which contributes to the audience’s sympathy. The illusion of her death, to die romantically shows her apartness from reality, which again builds up sympathy for her. Her mental disease would be as a result of the rape and as indicated in her speech in Scene One the loss of Belle Reve. These facts portray sympathy for Blanche and could be labeled as a tragic heroine.

The speech plays significantly in depicting aspects of Blanche’s character. It highlights her educated and refined temperament in that the speech is brought in a very romantic and poetic form. This formal dialect is visible in all the significant speeches in the play. It highlights her dramatic nature as well as her wide imagination. She depicts the situation in a very real manner in that she “can smell the sea air” and she describes a vivid image of a “nice-looking ship’s doctor.” These facts portray her dramatizing characteristics which again is a typical trait of Blanche. Another example of Blanche’s character which is depicted is her vanity. She tries to retain her vanity before dying and wants to die young before losing her beauty. Also, she wants to die in the hands of a “very young” doctor, this can be related to her vanity and that she is concerned with it even at the stage of death. “That unwashed grape has transported her soul to heaven,” this highlights another aspect of her character in that she wishes a clean death apart from a life full of sins, also, it depicts salvation. The cathedral chimes symbolize the sound of death and a reminder of one’s sins. The last part of the speech: “And I’ll be buried at sea sewn up in a clean white sack and dropped overboard - at noon – in the blaze of summer…” depicts cleanliness and purity, complete irony to her end.

The tone throughout the scene is relatively tense; this is seen through the character’s dialogues. In the speech, however, the mood is very romantic where death is portrayed in clean images. Following the speech, the mood is contrasted as the doctor and matron appear. The characters seem emotionally detached and a sombre and tense tone is depicted. The specific tone depicted through Blanche greatly differs from the tense mood depicted in most of Scene Eleven; this could prove her apartness from reality.

The final scene plays a significant role in portraying Blanche’s characteristics; however the speech, itself, is of much significance. It portrays Blanche as a tragic heroine and would allow the audience to sympathize with her.

Peer Reviews

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groat

4th of Apr 2012

Quality of writing

The structure here is good. The introduction is concise and offers a clear line of argument. It is nice at GCSE level not to see an irrelevant paragraph full of context! I liked how this essay underlined "A Streetcar Named Desire" as this is the convention examiners are looking for. I've gotten scripts back where i've done this, and it's always had a positive comment contributing to quality of writing assessment objectives. Spelling, punctuation and grammar are fine.

Level of analysis

The analysis here is sound. There is a good knowledge of the text displayed through the number of quotes included. These are well embedded allowing for a flowing argument. I feel as if the essay is trying to explain Blanche's speech, rather than analyse it. There is a key difference in simply interpreting what Williams is having Blanche say, and looking at the language used, or the way she talks on stage (looking at stage directions). The latter will gain credit for analysis, for example by looking at Williams' use of Blanche's monosyllabic language to show her loss of control. The foundations for this sort of analysis is here, but there just needs to be a further exploration of why Williams' constructs Blanche's speech to change in this scene. I would note that talking about her tragedy and the climax of the play will suit well with any analysis of her speech. Sometimes the essay is retelling the plot, for example the paragraph after the introduction. This is a waste of time in an exam, and words in a piece of coursework. You will not gain credit for simply having knowledge of the play - you must analyse Williams' techniques. For example, why has he chosen to have this scene happen a few weeks after the rape is a question I'd address.

Response to question

This essay responds to the task well. There is a clear understanding of the significance of the scene in the context of the play, and this is what examiners are looking for when they set questions on a particular scene or extract. It is difficult to build an argument based on one element, but I feel this essay manages to look at speech and form a justified judgement. I particularly liked how there was a contrast to Blanche's speech in previous scenes, as this shows the ability to analyse the whole text. I would've liked to have seen more emphasis placed on the audience response. The introduction states it builds the audience's sympathy, but this idea isn't explored much throughout the essay.

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