"A Streetcar Named Desire"

Paper Summary:

A paper which examines the theme and structure of Tennessee Williams' influential play "A Streetcar Named Desire," and relates its development to the playwright's own history and to the times in which it was written. Its evolution from stage play to film was a singularly significant one, as by doing so it captured an enormous and highly receptive audience for Williams' message. It continues to be one of the most consistently revisited dramas of the twentieth century, on stage, remade as a film, as made-for-television movies, and even as opera. This paper explains both its historical significance and its seeming timelessness.

From the Paper:

"Williams drew heavily on his own experiences and his family;s problems as subject matter for his plays, while not specifically making the material autobiographical. He created original, distinctive characters, then placed them in a familiar setting: the South at a time when the antebellum aristocratic culture was fading and being replaced by a crude, vigorous, entrepreneurial society. His thematic structures were intrinsically tragic, and like Greek tragedy, the downfall of the protagonist is due to a tragic flaw, some form of hubris."

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