The Glass Menagerie (Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Tennessee Williams
- First Published: 1945
- Type of Work: Play
- Genres: Drama, Psychological drama, Tragedy
- Subjects: United States or Americans, Mothers, Parents and children, South or Southerners, 1930’s, Disabilities or physically challenged persons
- Locales: St. Louis, MO
Williams begins The Glass Menagerie with a comment by Tom Wingfield, who serves as both narrator of and character within the play: “Yes, I have tricks in my pocket, I have things up my sleeve. But I am the opposite of a stage magician. He gives you illusion that has the appearance of truth. I give you truth in the pleasant disguise of illusion.” In one sentence, Williams has summarized the essence of all drama. To the very end of the play, he maintains a precarious balance between truth and illusion, creating in the process what he contends is the “essential ambiguity of...
[The entire page is 1254 words long]
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