Introduction


Tennessee Williams

The South looms large in the work of Tennessee Williams. Soaked in heat, sexuality, and liquor, his plays are populated by desperate, fragile belles (A Streetcar Named Desire, The Glass Menagerie) and brooding, conflicted, often alcoholic men (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Night of the Iguana). Like many playwrights, his later work was largely rebuffed, but many of his plays from the 1940s and 1950s are considered seminal. Streetcar remains of particular importance because of the intersection of Williams, actor Marlon Brando (whose performance in it was iconic and launched his career), and director Elia Kazan, who brought some of Williams’ best works to both stage and screen.

Essential Facts

  1. Williams’ mentally ill sister, Rose, was lobotomized and provided the inspiration for tragic characters in Suddenly, Last Summer and The Glass Menagerie. His domineering, unstable mother was the basis for Amanda Wingfield in Menagerie and Blanche DuBois in Streetcar.
  2. His real name is Thomas Lanier Williams. His friends gave him the nickname “Tennessee” because of his thick Southern drawl.
  3. Williams caused controversy with his screenplay for Baby Doll, a Lolita-esque drama about a middle-aged man’s obsession with a teenage girl.
  4. One of his most famous plays, A Streetcar Named Desire was originally titled The Poker Night.
  5. Williams succumbed to the addictions he so often portrayed in his plays. Alcohol and prescription drugs contributed to his death by choking in 1983.
 

Recommended Resources

  1. A Streetcar Named Desire Study Guide (eNotes)
  2. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Study Guide (eNotes)
  3. The Glass Menagerie Lesson Plan
  4. The Glass Menagerie Study Guide (eNotes)

All Resources

Display as: Categories, List
  1. (Lula) Carson McCullers Criticism | Tennessee Williams
  2. A Streetcar Named Desire Lesson Plan (Teaching Unit)
  3. A Streetcar Named Desire Study Guide (eNotes)
  4. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Study Guide (eNotes)
  5. Orpheus Descending Summary & Essays - Tennessee Williams
  6. Paul Bowles Criticism | Tennessee Williams
  7. Sweet Bird of Youth Summary & Essays - Tennessee Williams
  8. Tennessee Williams : Movie Reviews
  9. Tennessee Williams Biography
  10. Tennessee Williams Biography / Profile
  11. Tennessee Williams Biography / Profile
  12. Tennessee Williams Biography / Profile
  13. Tennessee Williams Biography / Profile
  14. Tennessee Williams Biography / Profile
  15. Tennessee Williams Biography / Profile
  16. Tennessee Williams Criticism
  17. Tennessee Williams Criticism (Vol. 1)
  18. Tennessee Williams Criticism (Vol. 11)
  19. Tennessee Williams Criticism (Vol. 111)
  20. Tennessee Williams Criticism (Vol. 15)
  21. Tennessee Williams Criticism (Vol. 19)
  22. Tennessee Williams Criticism (Vol. 2)
  23. Tennessee Williams Criticism (Vol. 30)
  24. Tennessee Williams Criticism (Vol. 5)
  25. Tennessee Williams Criticism (Vol. 7)
  26. Tennessee Williams Criticism (Vol. 8)
  27. Tennessee Williams Review - Ronald Hayman
  28. The Glass Menagerie Lesson Plan
  29. The Glass Menagerie Study Guide (eNotes)
  30. The Night of the Iguana Summary & Essays - Tennessee Williams
  31. The Oxford Companion to American Literature Article on Tennessee Williams
  32. The Oxford Companion to English Literature Article on Tennessee Williams
  33. The Oxford Dictionary of Plays Article on Night of the Iguana
  34. The Rose Tattoo Summary & Essays - Tennessee Williams