A Streetcar Named Desire Flashcards

Flashcards covering key vocabulary and concepts from the lecture notes on Tennessee Williams's 'A Streetcar Named Desire.'

Tennessee Williams

Known as a 'wounded genius' due to personal trauma, mental illness, family conflicts, addiction, and social alienation influencing his writing.

A Streetcar Named Desire Themes

Themes explored in the play include mental fragility, desire, illusion vs. reality, and the harshness of the modern world.

Blanche DuBois

Embodies the wounded genius archetype—fragile, haunted, and seeking escape.

Irony

Inconsistency between appearance and reality.

Verbal Irony

Saying the opposite of what is meant; sarcasm.

Situational Irony

When an outcome contradicts expectations.

Dramatic Irony

When the audience knows something a character does not.

Anachronism

Something or someone out of place chronologically.

Anachronism in Streetcar

Blanche represents the old Southern aristocracy in modern New Orleans, highlighting tension between past and present.

Expressionism

Uses light, music, setting, and sound to communicate emotional truth beyond dialogue, showing characters' psychological experiences.

Epigraph (A Streetcar Named Desire)

Refers to a streetcar line and metaphorically represents the characters’ journey driven by desire leading to downfall.

Varsouviana

Music that plays repeatedly in Blanche’s mind, symbolizing her husband’s suicide and mental decline.

Flores para los Muertos

Cry that reminds the audience of death and mourning, reinforcing themes of loss and decay.

The Blue Piano

Symbolizes the city’s vibrancy, passion, and harshness, reflecting the environment that contrasts with Blanche’s fragile world.

Blanche’s Song (Scene 7)

Lyric revealing Blanche’s desperate need for others’ belief in her illusions.

Blanche’s Superiority (Anachronism)

Behaves as if she belongs to a refined, aristocratic Southern world, creating conflict with the working-class world of Stanley and Stella.

Blanche’s Style (Anachronism)

Dresses elaborately and speaks in a flowery, refined manner, emphasizing her inability to adapt.

Stanley Overhears Blanche (Irony)

Blanche’s insults increase tension; Stanley knows and uses it against her.

Blanche Bathes and Stanley Tells Stella (Dramatic Irony)

The audience sees Blanche’s façade crumbling while Stella and Stanley’s relationship is tested, heightening suspense.

Belle Reve (Situational Irony)

The estate is lost, symbolizing failed dreams and decay, highlighting illusion shattered by reality.

Blanche's Reliance on Kindness (Irony)

Her trust is misplaced, leading to exploitation, underscoring her tragic vulnerability.