What do you believe Tennessee Williams is saying about human sexuality in ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’? ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ is a play in which the themes of both male and female sexuality are explored, and their destructive and vitalizing forces are analysed. The play, which caused shockwaves in the literary world when it hit the theatres in 1947 was subject to much controversy and was one of the first to portray the basic elements that drive humanity as a whole: death, violence and sex. The distinction between these factors is fine, and the nature of their intertwinement is examined by Tennessee Williams. Throughout the course of the play, the playwright seems to define sexuality in terms of winners and losers; Stanley a ‘winner’, is a powerful man who is assertive in his sexuality, and who eventually triumphs over Blanche both morally and sexually, whereas Allan, Blanche’s late husband is a ‘loser’.
The Henry V Chorus asks those present to look beyond the limitations of the small Elizabethan stage and imagine it as grander than it actually is. In the Prologue to Act 1, the Chorus asks “…Can this cockpit hold / The vasty fields of France? Or may we cram / Within this wooden O the very casques / That did affright the air at Agincourt?” (I.Prologue.11-14). Shakespeare also uses the Chorus before each of the acts to continually remind the audience of a need for imaginative cooperation. For example, in the Act III Prologue, the Chrous requests that the audience gives their imagination free rein: “Play with your fancies and in them behold” (III.Prologue.7) and supplement the performance with their own imaginings: “And eke out our performance with your mind” (III.Prologue.35).
The character of Blanche in William’s ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ is a complex one. She has countless unusual and intriguing traits which not only interest an readers but also influence a lot of the action of the plot, causing numerous tensions and moments of drama throughout the story. It is undeniable that Williams presents the character of Blanche in a fascinating way, especially when the reader makes their first impression of her in Scene One. Upon her entrance, Williams describes the character of Blanche as having a “delicate beauty” which “must avoid a strong light.” He also makes a very thought-provoking comparison, where “her uncertain manner, as well as her white clothes… suggests a moth.” Williams is depicting her as a fragile creature, accustomed to darkness but attracted to light which may be seem as her downfall, as she may be seen to be seeking out a better life in New Orleans with Stella, but is in fact walking right into an even worse situation, of tension and heart-ache. She later backs this portrayal up by hysterically saying, “And turn that over-light off!
The neighbor also laugh over the packaging of meat describe as an obvious sex symbol. This scene therefore shows Stanley as the crude man. We can also note that the laughing can be used as a means of Seduction. The relationship between Stanley and Stella says, “I can hardly stand it when he’s away one night…” We can also see that Stella and Stanley’s relationship is very friendly. Even if they always good relations in a very short time.
Yet upon digging deeper, the savvy viewer would soon realize that Venus in Fur is more than what meets the eye. Beneath the veneer of light-heartedness, humor and theatricality, the play reveals itself to be in fact a complex “play-within-a-play” that contemplates and evaluates more serious matters, as seen in the engendered themes of the play: power play between gender, the debunking of gender constructs and the “oppressiveness” of the patriarchal society. The opening scene of Venus in Fur was indeed a sight to behold - it was an audio-visual cacophony of flashing lightning, clapping thunder, lashing rain, flapping paper and frenzied rattling of windows, which threw the audience immediately into a world of seeming chaos. Undoubtedly, my interest was immediately piqued as I was enthralled by this rich audio-visual feast that was executed with such striking and remarkable resemblance to a scene out of a movie (and perhaps even reality! ), despite the “incompleteness” (the audition room lacks a roof and proper walls) and
Desdemona is a privileged, white lady and it is this colouring that symbolises her innocence and angelic nature. There are numerous racial slurs throughout the play that suggest that being of coloured descent is not a desired characteristic. With the constant repetition of slurs, negative connotations are developed and suggest that the audience agree with the character’s racial attitudes. Iago delivers the line, “an old black ram Is tupping your white ewe.” Associating the black symbolism with animalistic imagery, suggests that a black man is savage and lustful, and creates the sense that Othello is a bad, evil person. Similar imagery is used throughout to align black with evil and white with good.
It Has Been Argued That Scene 10 is The Tragic Climax, to What Extent do You Agree With This Statement? Whilst Scene 10 of A Streetcar Named Desire is the physical climax of the play, it is clear from the language used in the book and the emotions of the characters in scene 11 coupled with Blanche's "faintly hysterical vivacity", that scene 10 is not the tragic climax. For, it is during scene 11 that the audience feels most "pity and fear" both for Blanche and the other protagonists of the play and therefore, according to Aristotle, is a perfect example of tragedy. Williams breaks the book down into several key parts which build up the audience's pity for Blanche and ultimately lead to a total catharsis of emotion from them in Scene 11. From the beginning of the play, there is a building of tension amplified by the use of stage direction and music.
Lighting contributes to the mood and atmosphere; which assess the effect on the set and the costume designs. With the lanterns, the lights should start with the colour of white and throughout the play; it would gradually start to get darker as it’s connecting to Blanche and her illusions growing. So the more Blanche fantasizes, the darker the light will get to set out the mood of the scene and the main character. Locations of action should be in the centre of the stage where the light follows them as known as profile spots, which concentrates when saying the scripts and is essential when acting monologues. The set appearance and style should account the requirements of the directional concept.
Marcus Aurelius once said, “Whosoever does wrong, wrongs himself…” Othello by William Shakespeare and A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams both illustrate the critical lens. Both authors use literary devices to convey the critical lens. Both authors use characterization and theme of deception in their literary works. The critical lens means that if a person does wrong or bad thing it will eventually affect them at the end. The quotation is true because when someone does wrong thing it comes back to them.
The “grey dust laden displays” of the shops in the alley are described perfectly, as the word “grey” in itself can be used as an adjective to express dismal and dank settings or objects. Colour is often used to intensify the attributes of certain characters throughout the novel, just as it is used link personalities or "temperaments" to the body types of the characters. The colour “white” is often used to augment the pragmatic nature of Therese Raquin herself. Her persona, when around Madame Raquin, Camille