The Varsouviana Polka

• This is the polka tune which often reminds Blanche of the last day she spent with her young husband- Allen Grey.

• The polka music often arouses a sense of loss and regret for Blanche

• First heard distantly in Scene 1. Reappears throughout scene 6 (polka shifting to minor key). Increasingly heard after then, as Blanche loses mental control.

• In scene 8, when Stanley gives her the Greyhound ticket, the music plays. Williams depicts how the music foreshadows the imminent disaster for her.

• When Blanche is discovered alone in scene 9, the polka is rapid.

• The polka draws upon the mental deterioration of Blanche, which was evoked by the suicide of her husband.

• Williams thus uses the music to bring about Blanche’s loss of the grip of truth and reality.