StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...

Symbolism, Poetic Realism and Poetic Tragedy in 'A Streetcar Named Desire' - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
When examining the 'poetic tragedy' to which Williams refers, we need to recognize that Blanche DuBois is the person whose tragedy we are about to witness, and that it contains the elements of a universal human experience. To involve the audience, make them think deeply about what is unfolding, Williams uses symbols, poetic lyricism and brilliant characterization…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER91.8% of users find it useful
Symbolism, Poetic Realism and Poetic Tragedy in A Streetcar Named Desire
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Symbolism, Poetic Realism and Poetic Tragedy in 'A Streetcar Named Desire'"

Download file to see previous pages

Rather than let go of her illusions, or lose herself, Blanche descends into insanity, telling the doctor at the end of the play, Blanche has a poetic quality in her speech, whereas Stanley is down-to-earth, crude and cruel, reflecting the brutality Williams has given him. When they talk together, they might really be trading punches or throwing stones at each other. In Scene 2, when he demands the papers regarding the loss of Belle Reve (Beautiful Dream, a major symbol) their exchange suggests a fight with more than mere words.

Her language never loses refinement, grammatical correctness or poetic inference, while Stanley appears to have little education or regard for the proper use of English. He relies on fact, she, on fantasy. Blanche, white, for purity and truth, and light. She fears light, it will show her as she truly is and destroy the pure and beautiful facade she wants to create, especially for Mitch, yet she refers to the death of her young husband as, She considers that time and that light in her life to constitute the purity and innocence she pretends to still possess.

Making Mitch cover the light bulb with the Chinese lantern symbolizes her fear of exposure, her aging, her past, and her loss of all illusions. Her constant singing of 'Paper Moon is almost a cry for acceptance - 'but it wouldn't be make believe if you believed in me'. How poignant those words become when Mitch confronts her with her lies and tries to rape her. Both the polka and 'flores para los muertes' come together in Scene 9 as a powerful symbolic message of Blanche's loss. Sex and death are threaded throughout the play, and Blanche sees desire as the opposite of death to explain her sexual encounters with the young men back in Laurel.

She is signing the death warrant of her dreams, of a life with Mitch. The polka, or Varsoviana Waltz is introduced on the night her husband killed himself, again sex and death linked, and it appears each time she speaks of him. As Stanley goads her closer to madness, we hear it, and she hears it in her head, together with the voices, music and noises of life outside Blanche's illusory 3.world. The sounds are symbolic of her diminishing sanity, existing only in her head, or are they telling the audience what a harsh, wild place the real world can be Conversely, the 'blue piano' symbolizes life, sex, love and vitality for Stella and Stanley.

It means life, the polka means death. Elysian Fields, from Greek mythology is a happy resting place for

...Download file to see next pages Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Symbolism, Poetic Realism and Poetic Tragedy in 'A Streetcar Named Essay”, n.d.)
Symbolism, Poetic Realism and Poetic Tragedy in 'A Streetcar Named Essay. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1499936-symbolism-poetic-realism-and-poetic-tragedy-in-a-streetcar-named-desire
(Symbolism, Poetic Realism and Poetic Tragedy in 'A Streetcar Named Essay)
Symbolism, Poetic Realism and Poetic Tragedy in 'A Streetcar Named Essay. https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1499936-symbolism-poetic-realism-and-poetic-tragedy-in-a-streetcar-named-desire.
“Symbolism, Poetic Realism and Poetic Tragedy in 'A Streetcar Named Essay”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1499936-symbolism-poetic-realism-and-poetic-tragedy-in-a-streetcar-named-desire.
  • Cited: 1 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Symbolism, Poetic Realism and Poetic Tragedy in 'A Streetcar Named Desire'

Aristotle's Poetics Paper

hellip; Aristotle defines poetry as an ‘imitation' and illustrates that there are different kinds of poetry which include tragedy, Comedy, Epic poetry, Ditherambic poetry, lyre playing and flute playing.... Aristotle considers ‘tragedy' as an important kind of poetry and elaborates the function and nature of tragedy briefly.... He explains the nature and qualities of a tragic hero comprehensively that he carries in a well constructed tragedy....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

A Streetcar Named Desire: The Modern Embodiment of Tragedy

A streetcar named Desire: The Modern Embodiment of Tragedy As such, many plays throughout the course of the centuries have utilized tragedy as an approach with regards to relating a particular story, and/or delineating a particular message to the viewer/reader.... The futility of such an effort to return to a bygone era or set things according to the way in which the protagonist sees fit is dully represented within “A streetcar named Desire”.... At its most basic level of definition, a tragedy can be defined as a play that deals with tragic events and/or as an unhappy ending....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay

A Streetcar Named Desire

In the paper “A streetcar named Desire” the author discusses Tennessee William's play where Blanche Dubois decides to visit her sister Stella Kowalski.... As she tells Mitch (Scene 9) "I don't want realism.... She is practically thrown out, relations between the characters deteriorate steadily, with Blanche....
4 Pages (1000 words) Book Report/Review

Critique: A Streetcar Named Desire

 This report discusses a romantic onomasticon "A streetcar named Desire" by Tennessee Williams's.... Despite the critical attention that the names in streetcar have received, two important personal names have gone unglossed, those of the Laurel connections Kiefaber and Shaw, whose testimonies about Blanche's misdeeds convince Mitch that she is not the woman for him and provoke his fiery attack on her....
6 Pages (1500 words) Book Report/Review

Tennessee Williams: Symbolism in Streetcar Named Desire and Cat On a Hot Tin Roof

An essay "Tennessee Williams: Symbolism in streetcar named Desire and Cat On a Hot Tin Roof" outlines that he was able to translate this information in a way that people could relate to their own lives, he became one of the most renowned playwrights of his time.... hellip; Tennessee Williams was a tortured man who lived at a time when he could not fully express himself in his early life....
13 Pages (3250 words) Essay

A Streetcar Named Desire

The purpose of this essay “A streetcar named Desire” is to compare and contrast the characters Blanche DuBois and Stanley Kowalski from the film “A streetcar named Desire.... rdquo; This essay will cover both the history and back-story of the characters....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

A streetcar named desire

On The Lips: The Censorship of A streetcar named Desire.... This was followed by another cinematic change that entailed a release of unedited and uncensored version in A streetcar d Desire A streetcar d Desire What changes were made that were Cinematic in Nature?...
2 Pages (500 words) Movie Review

Prosady and Poetic Devices

The researcher will begin with the definition of an allegory as one of the more significant poetic devices.... Symbolism is one of the most common poetic devices, as well as a device often seen in regular forms of literature.... The researcher states that an allegory is the representation of abstract ideas or concepts by characters, figures, or narrative events....
6 Pages (1500 words) Assignment
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us