Sweet Bird of Youth (Masterplots II: Drama, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Tennessee Williams
- First Published: 1959
- Type of Plot: Realism
- Time of Work: The 1950’s
- Setting: A fictional Gulf coast town called St. Cloud
- Principal Characters: Chance Wayne, Princess Kosmonopolis, Boss Finley, Tom Junior, Heavenly Finley, Aunt Nonnie, Miss Lucy, Scudder, The Heckler, Fly
- Genres: Realism, Naturalistic literature, Drama, Psychological drama
- Subjects: 1950’s, Acting or actors, Parents and children, Sex or sexuality, South or Southerners, Fathers, Politicians, Corruption, Mortality, Aging
- Locales: St. Cloud (fictive)
The Play
Sweet Bird of Youth opens on Easter morning in the bedroom of an old-fashioned grand hotel, the Royal Palms. Chance Wayne rises from bed, where Princess Kosmonopolis (the alias of actor Alexandra Del Lago) is sleeping uneasily. Fly comes to the door with coffee and recognizes Chance, who has just returned to his native St. Cloud. Fly leaves, but immediately another voice is heard outside the door; it is Scudder, who enters and warns Chance that he is unwelcome in St. Cloud because he disgraced Heavenly Finley. Chance says he will stay until he can get Heavenly...
[The entire page is 2251 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
Navigate
See Also
