Tennessee-Williams

ThomasLanierWilliamsIII(March26,1911–February25,1983),betterknownbythepennameTennesseeWilliams,wasoneoftheprominentplaywrightsinthetwentiethcentury.ThenameTennesseewasgiventohimbycollegefriendsbecauseofhissouthernaccentandhisfather'sbackgroundinTennessee.HewasborninColumbus,Mississippiin1911.Hisfatherwasatravellingshoesalesmanaheavydrinkerwhobecameincreasinglyabusivetohischildren.DaughterofaMinister,hismotherwasaneducated,refineddescendantofgenteelsouthernlife,andwassomewhataggressiveandsmothering.DakinWilliams,Tennessee'sbrother,wasoftenfavoredoverTennesseebytheirfather.Hissister,RoseWilliams,hadperhapsthegreatestinfluenceonhim.Shewasanelegant,slimbeautywhowasdiagnosedwithschizophrenia精神分裂,andspentmostofheradultlifeinmentalhospitals.TennesseeWilliams'familylifewasatroubledoneandprovidedinspirationformuchofhiswritings.Charactersinhisplaysareoftenseentobedirectrepresentationsofhisfamilymembers.Manyofhischaractersareconsideredautobiographical.Thefailureofhissister’soperationmayhavebeenoneofthefactorsthatdrovehimtoalcoholism.Thecommonmadheroinethemethatappearsinmanyofhisplaysmayhavebeeninfluencedbyhissister.HeattendedtheUniversityofMissouriin1929.Williamswrotehisfirstpubliclyperformedplay,Cairo,Shanghai,Bombay!in1935.In1938,afterreceivingadegreefromtheUniversityofIowa,WilliamsmovedtotheFrenchQuarterofNewOrleans,LouisianatowritefortheWPA(WorkProgressAdministration).Williams’weakphysicalconditionasaboy,combinedwiththeinfluenceofhisdelicate，protectivemother,earnedhimtheridiculeofbothotherchildrenandhishighlymasculinefather,whonicknamed,“MissNancy”.WilliamsmetFrankMerlo,hislongtimesecretaryandloverin1947.Homosexualityplaysasubtlebutimportantpartinmostofhislaterplays.Inthe1940s,asanestablishedwriter,Williamsfloodedhisworkwithsex,violence,andpersonaldestruction.Hisgreatestcharactersareoutcasts—usuallybecausetheirsexualdesiresputthematoddswithconventionalsociety.WilliamsdiedintheElyseeHotelinNewYorkattheageof71afterhechokedonaplasticbottlecap.However,somebelieveWilliamswasmurdered.Thepolicereportfromhisdeathseemstoindicatethatdrugswereinvolved,asitstatesthatpillswerefoundunderhisbody.HewonthePulitzerPrizeforDramaforAStreetcarNamedDesirein1948andforCatOnaHotTinRoofin1955.Inadditiontothosetwoplays,TheGlassMenageriein1944andTheNightoftheIguanain1961receivedtheNewYorkDramaCritics'CircleAwards.His1952playTheRoseTattooreceivedtheTonyAwardforbestplay.TheGlassMenagerie(1944)AStreetcarNamedDesire(1947)TheRoseTattoo(1951)CatonaHotTinRoof(1955)Manyofhisplaysareautobiographical,includingreferencestoelementsofhislifesuchashomosexuality,mentalinstabilityandalcoholism.Hewroteaboutsensitive,poeticmisfitswhoescapefromrealityintoaworldofillusion/art.WilliamspropoundedthefeminizingofAmericancultureasacountertoasocietybuiltonmasculineidealsofstrengthandpower.LikeEugeneO'Neill,TennesseeWilliamswantedtochallengesomeoftheconventionsofnaturalistictheatre.Williamsisknownasapoeticrealist.Hisplaysexplorewaysofusingthestagetodepicttheinteriorlifeandmemoriesofacharacter.Heusesmusic,screenprojections,andlightingeffectstocreatethehauntinganddream-likeatmosphereappropriatefora“memoryplay”回忆剧inTheGlassMenagerie.Theplayhittheatersin1946.BlancheDuBoisisanagingsouthernbelleslightlymelodramaticandhasbuiltthisallusionaboutherself,inwhichsheisstillawealthy,lovelysocialite.Inreality,Blancheisaclosetalcoholicwhohaslittlemoneyorrealdignityleft.Shepaintsapictureofherselfasafrail,tragicfigureandrequiresherpregnantsister,Stellatodoteonher.StanleyKowalski,Stella’shusband,isano-nonsense,Polishblue-collarworkerwhoseesthroughBlanche’scharade,hasnorespectforheranddoesnottrusther.AsStanleylearnsofBlanche’slessthanhonorablereputation,hebecomesincreasinglyangeredatheractofinnocenceonemomentandflirtingthenext.TheclimaxoftheplaycomeswhenStanleyrapesBlanchewhileStellaisinthehospitalafterhavingthebaby.ThisdrivesBlanche,whomayhavealreadybeenmentallyunbalanced,overtheedgeespeciallywhenStellarefusestobelieveheraccusations.TheplaycementedWilliams’reputationasoneofthegreatestAmericanplaywrights,winninghimaNewYork'sCriticsCircleAwardandaPulitzerPrize.Amongtheplay‘sgreatestachievementsisthedepictionofthepsychologyofworkingclasscharacters.Williamstriestoportraytheblue-collarcharactersontheirownterms,withoutromanticizingthem.BLANCHESTELLASTANLEYMITCHALLANSHEPHUNTLEIGHInStreetcar,stageeffectsareusedtorepresentBlanche‘smadness.Themaddeningpolka波尔卡music,junglesoundeffects,andstrangeshadowshelptopresenttheworldasBlancheexperiencesit.Onstage,theseeffectspowerfullyevoketheterrorandisolationofmadness.Theseeffectsareadeparturefromtheconventionsofnaturalisticdrama,althoughinthisrespectStreetcarisnotasinnovativeasTheGlassMenagerie.ThemovieAStreetcarNamedDesire（1951）:StanleyKowalski(MarlonBrando),BlancheDuBois(VivienLeigh)PlaybeginswithBlanchecomingtovisitStella(thoughtheaudienceisunsurewhy).AlthoughBlanchefeelsStellahasmarried“beneath”her(theywereraisedinawealthyfamily)andconstantlycriticizesStanley,BlanchelongsfortheloveandintimacythatdefineStellaandStan