A Streetcar Named Desire Quotes

Scene 1

Theme: Illusion
Quote: "They told me to take a streetcar named Desire, and then transfer to one called Cemeteries... and get off at—Elysian Fields!"

Technique: Symbolism, Metaphor

Context: Blanche's journey through Desire, Cemeteries, and Elysian Fields encapsulates the trajectory of her life—desire leading to destruction and ultimately a false paradise (Elysian Fields). The names of the streetcars serve as a metaphor for her tragic arc.

Lexical Features: Abstract nouns (Desire, Cemeteries, Fields) used metaphorically.

Grammatical Features: Complex sentence structure; past tense

Spoken Language Features: Pausing indicated by dashes

Dramatic Features: Dramatic irony and foreshadowing in place names Literary Features: Allusion to Greek mythology (Elysian Fields)

Theme - Masculinity

Quote: “[Stanley] heaves the package at her. She cries out in protest but manages to catch it: then she laughs breathlessly again and touches her forehead.”

Technique: Stage direction / Symbolism

Context: Introduces Stanley’s brute masculinity, using meat as a phallic symbol.

Lexical Features: Verbs like "heaves" and nouns like "package" reinforce his aggressive dominance.

Grammatical Features: Complex sentence with multiple clauses to show sequence and reaction.

Dramatic Features: Movement and physicality establish character roles.

Spoken Language Features: N/A (Stage direction)

Literary Features: Symbolism (meat = masculinity), foreshadows power dynamics.

Theme - Memory

Quote: “I, I, I took the blows in my face and my body! All of those deaths! The long parade to the graveyard!”

Technique: Listing / Anaphora / Metaphor

Context: Blanche reflects on her family’s demise, consumed by memory.

Lexical Features: Repetitive pronouns show internal turmoil; dramatic diction (“blows”, “graveyard”).

Grammatical Features: Exclamatory sentences and short clauses mirror hysteria.

Spoken Language Features: Unintentional repetition; heightened tone.

Dramatic Features: Emotional crescendo; monologue draws sympathy.

Literary Features: Allusion to wartime language (“took the blows”), metaphor for trauma

Sociolect & Idiolect

Observation: Blanche vs. Stanley

Quote: Blanche: “I was fishing for a compliment,

Stanley.” / Stanley: “You're simple, straightforward and honest, a little bit on the primitive side I should think.”

Technique: Contrast in diction and syntax

Context: Highlights their cultural and class differences.

Lexical Features: Blanche = elevated diction, indirect; Stanley = blunt, direct.

Grammatical Features: Stanley uses simple sentence constructions; Blanche uses subordinate clauses.

Spoken Language Features: Blanche uses hedging and indirectness (Lakoff); Stanley flouts maxims (Grice).

Dramatic Features: Establishes early antagonism.

Theme - Illusion vs. Reality

Quote: “I can't be alone! Because—as you must have noticed—I’m not very well…”

Technique: Confession / Hedging

Context: Blanche struggles with truth, hinting at her instability.

Lexical Features: Euphemism (“not very well”) to veil mental distress.

Grammatical Features: Interruptions, dashes = broken thoughts.

Spoken Language Features: Voiced pauses, hedging, self-repair.

Dramatic Features: Builds unease; foreshadows later unraveling.

Literary Features: Subtle revelation of mental fragility.

Figurative Language

Quote: “I stayed and fought for it, bled for it, almost died for it!”

Technique: Hyperbole / Triplet

Context: Blanche defends her past.

Lexical Features: Violent verbs express sacrifice.

Grammatical Features: Listing for emphasis.

Spoken Language Features: Rising prosody, impassioned tone.

Dramatic Features: Suggests her sense of victimhood and martyrdom.

Stage Direction

Direction: “She begins to speak with feverish vivacity.”

Technique: Foreshadowing / Tone indicator

Context: Reveals instability masked by performance.

Lexical Features: Adverb “feverish” implies mania.

Spoken Language Features: Prosodic cue for performer.

Dramatic Features: Hints at psychological disintegration.

Direction: “The light fades on them.”

• Technique: Symbolism

• Context: Light often tied to truth; darkness suggests concealment.

• Dramatic Features: Visual metaphor for deception.

Direction: “She is daintily dressed in a white suit…”

• Technique: Symbolism

• Context: Blanche’s costume reflects purity facade.

• Lexical Features: “Daintily”, “white” = innocence illusion.

• Dramatic Features: Visual metaphor.

Turn-Taking

Exchange: Blanche often interrupts, Stanley overlaps

Technique: Violation of adjacency pairs

Context: Reflects power struggle.

Spoken Language Features: Interruptions, lack of co-operation.

Grice’s Maxims: Stanley flouts Quantity and Manner.

Non-Fluency Features

Quote: “I—I—thought you would be glad to see me!”

Technique: False starts / hesitation

Context: Nervousness and insecurity.

Spoken Language Features: Repetition and voiced pause.

Dramatic Features: Builds pathos.

Allusion

Quote: “And turn that over-light off! Turn that off! I won’t be looked at in this merciless glare!”

Technique: Allusion to light as truth

Context: Blanche fears exposure.

Lexical Features: “Merciless glare” = metaphor for scrutiny.

Dramatic Features: Foreshadows mental fragility.

Scene 2:

Theme: Masculinity

Quote: "The Napoleonic code... what belongs to the wife belongs to the husband and vice versa."

Technique: Legal allusion / Dialogue

Context: Stanley uses patriarchal law to assert control over Stella and investigate Blanche's past. He assumes ownership over her family’s estate, reflecting traditional masculine dominance and territoriality.

Theme: Illusion

Quote: "A woman's charm is fifty percent illusion."

Technique: Dialogue / Character revelation

Context: Blanche openly admits to crafting an illusion about herself. This moment highlights how much of her persona is shaped by deception in order to survive in a world that devalues aging women.

Theme: Memory

Quote: "Poems a dead boy wrote."

Technique: Symbolism / Tragedy

Context: Blanche reveals her deep emotional scars from her young husband's suicide. The letters are a tangible connection to her past and symbolize her inability to let go of memory.

Theme: Masculinity

Quote: "I don't like to be swindled."

Technique: Direct speech / Tone

Context: Stanley's assertiveness borders on aggression. His concept of justice is filtered through a masculine lens of pride, ownership, and suspicion, setting up future conflict.

Theme: Illusion

Quote: "Genuine fox fur-pieces, a half a mile long!"

Technique: Irony / Symbolism

Context: Stanley assumes the furs are valuable, not recognizing them as cheap imitations. This irony underscores Blanche’s need to fabricate wealth and status.

Theme: Memory

Quote: "Belle Reve was lost... piece by piece... for their epic fornications."

Technique: Hyperbole / Euphemism

Context: Blanche provides a romanticized yet cynical account of the estate’s decline, blaming male ancestors. It’s an attempt to reframe the past with grandeur despite its sordid truth.

Theme: Masculinity

Quote: "What is these here? Fox-pieces!"

Technique: Colloquial language / Mockery

Context: Stanley mocks Blanche’s wardrobe in crude terms, asserting masculine scorn over feminine ornamentation and further dismantling her illusion of refinement.

Scene 3:

"Get y’r ass off the table, Mitch." (Stanley to Mitch)

Informal, aggressive register reflecting Stanley’s dominance and working-class speech.

Use of the contracted "y’r" instead of "your" aligns with Stanley's idiolect.

Use of second-person pronoun "your" makes the command direct and personal.

"You hens cut out that conversation in there!" (Stanley to Balnche & Stella)

"Hens" is a dismissive, gendered insult, reinforcing the play's theme of toxic masculinity.

The imperative structure shows Stanley’s attempt to exert control.

"Miss DuBois? It's a French name. It means woods, and Blanche means white, so the two together mean white woods." (Blanche to Mitch)

Blanche elevates her status by emphasising her French heritage, contrasting with Stanley’s crude, Americanised language.

The elaborate explanation of her name reflects her performative and refined persona.

"raw colors of childhood's spectrum" (Stage directions)

Adjective "Raw" evokes something unfiltered, intense, mirroring the men’s primal energy.

"sensitive look" (Blanche on Mitch)

Adjective “sensitive“, contrasts with the rough masculinity of the other men.

"softly" (Blanche’s tone when speaking to Mitch)

Her voice contrasts with Stanley’s loud aggression.

"sharply" (Stage Directions, Stella when scolding Stanley for slapping her thigh)

Adjective “sharply“, shows her resistance, albeit brief.

"You all are married. But I'll be alone when she goes." (Mitch)

Plural Pronoun "You all" contrasts with "I'll be alone" (singular pronoun), reinforcing his isolation.

"I want my baby down here." (Stanley to Eunice)

The possessive pronoun "my" emphasises his belief in ownership over Stella.

"lurches up" (Stanley’s movement)

Verb “lurches” suggests drunkenness and lack of control.

"moans" (Final reunion of Stanley and Stella)

Stateive Verb “moans” reflects Animalistic imagery, reinforcing their physical relationship.

Short, abrupt sentences in poker game dialogue:

"One. / I'm out again. / Shut up." (Mitch and Stanley)

Mirrors the fast-paced, tense atmosphere.

Longer, descriptive sentences in Blanche’s speech:

"I attempt to instill a bunch of bobby-soxers and drug-store Romeos with reverence for Hawthorne and Whitman and Poe!"

Grandiose, academic tone contrasts with Stanley’s bluntness.

Tense Usage

Present tense dominates dialogue, Reflects real-time conversation.

Past tense in Mitch’s story about his lost love, Creates a reflective, melancholic tone.

Repetition for emphasis:

"Stella! Stella, sweetheart! Stella!"

Emphasises Stanley’s desperation

Rhetorical question:

"Is he a wolf?" (Blanche about Mitch)

Implies she is gauging his romantic potential.

Hedging:

"I believe you are right about that." (Mitch to Blanche)

Tentative, careful phrasing showing his politeness.

Voiced pauses:

"You’re not—?" (Mitch to Blanche about marriage)

Shows hesitation, possibly due to nervousness.

False Starts:

"We've—been drinking beer." (Mitch)

Hesitation as he speaks to Blanche, revealing shyness.

Interruptions show power dynamics:

"Deal!" (Stanley cuts off Steve’s racist joke)

Shows impatience and dominance.

Blanche and Stella’s laughter overlaps as they mock the wives upstairs

Female bonding contrasted with Stanley’s aggression

Blanche flouts Maxim of Quality (truthfulness):

"I'm an old maid schoolteacher!"

Exaggeration to shape perception.

Stanley flouts Maxim of Manner (clarity):

"Turn it off!" (Referring to radio without specifying it clearly)

His abruptness reflects his lack of patience.

"Stanley stalks fiercely through the portieres into the bedroom."

"Stalks" suggests aggression, foreshadowing his violent outburst.

"Blanche waltzes to the music with romantic gestures."

Shows her fantasy world clashing with Stanley’s reality.

Lighting:

"The kitchen now suggests that sort of lurid nocturnal brilliance."

The unnatural brightness contrasts with the bedroom’s dimness, symbolising Blanche’s fading world vs. Stanley’s dominance.

Props/Clothing:

"She takes off the blouse and stands in her pink silk brassiere."

Exposes Blanche’s vulnerability and femininity under male scrutiny.

Foreshadowing

"Poker shouldn't be played in a house with women."

Ironic, as poker is symbolic of Stanley’s aggression affecting the women.

Figurative Language / Allegory

1. "He throws back his head like a baying hound and bellows his wife's name."

2. "You hens cut out that conversation in there!"

1. Animalistic imagery emphasizes Stanley’s primal nature

2. Metaphor reducing women to animals.

Allusion

"And if God choose, I shall but love thee better—after—death!" (Mitch’s cigarette case inscription from Elizabeth Barrett Browning)

Romantic idealism contrasts with the gritty reality of the play

Listing

"Cards, chips, and whiskey."

Stanley's essentials for poker night, reinforcing his crude, pleasure-driven lifestyle.

Triplets / Rhetorical Devices

"A very strange girl, very sweet—very!" (Mitch describing his past love)

Triplet emphasises his emotions.

Scene 4:

"Baby, my baby sister!" (Blanche to Stella)

Repetition of "baby" emphasises Blanche's protectiveness, infantilising Stella.

Personal pronoun "my" reinforces her possessiveness.

"Hey! Hey, Stella!" (Stanley calling from outside)

Informal, commanding, almost animalistic in tone, asserting his dominance.

"Hiyuh, Blanche." (Stanley, grinning at Blanche)

Colloquial, almost mocking tone, signaling his awareness of Blanche’s hostility.

Adjectives:

"Serene," "tranquility,", "narcotized" (Stage directions describing Stella)

Contrasts with Blanche’s agitated state, suggesting Stella’s submission to her reality

Adjectives:

"Bestial," "sub-human," "ape-like" (Blanche’s description of Stanley)

Dehumanising language presents him as a primitive force.

Adverbs:

"Slowly and emphatically" (Stella responding to Blanche’s insistence on leaving Stanley)

Shows her firm, measured resistance.

"You’re married to a madman!" (Blanche to Stella)

The direct address ("you") makes her accusation personal.

"We’ve got to get hold of some money, that’s the way out!" (Blanche)

First-person plural pronoun ("we") reveals her dependence on Stella to escape.

"Tremble," "cling to," "march" (Blanche’s speech on human progress)

Strong action verbs evoke movement and urgency.

"Smashed," "rushed about" (Stella on Stanley's wedding night)

Violent regular verbs frames Stanley’s violence in an almost romanticised way.

Short, forceful sentences for confrontation:

1. "What? What?" (Blanche demanding an answer)

2. "What are they, in your opinion?" (Stella challenging Blanche’s perception of reality)

1. Emphasises her disbelief.

2. Subtle resistance.

Long, poetic monologues for Blanche:

“What such a man has to offer is animal force, and he gave a wonderful exhibition of that!"

Her elaborate phrasing turns Stanley into a symbol of raw masculinity.

Tense Usage

Present tense dominates the dialogue → Keeps the urgency of the conversation.

Past tense in Blanche’s reminiscences (Shep Huntleigh, Belle Reve, Stanley’s wedding night) → Nostalgia vs. reality.

Repetition for emphasis:

"I take it for granted… / You take entirely too much for granted."

Stella flips Blanche’s accusation back at her.

Rhetorical questions:

"Didn't run, didn't scream?" (Blanche on Stanley’s violence)

Expresses disbelief at Stella’s tolerance.

Hedging & Hesitations:

1. "I was--sort of--thrilled by it." (Stella about Stanley’s violence)

2. "Would you be--interested--in…" (Blanche writing to Shep Huntleigh)

1. Her pause suggests uncertainty or reluctant admission.

2. Hesitation reveals her insecurity and reliance on fantasy.

False Starts:

"Oh, let me think, if only my mind would function!" (Blanche)

Shows her anxious, scattered thoughts.

Blanche frequently interrupts Stella:

"How could you come back in this place last night?" (Blanche cuts off Stella’s explanation)

Reflects her urgency and disbelief.

Stanley interrupts dramatically at the end:

"Hey! Hey, Stella!" (His call silences the conversation)

His presence overpowers Blanche’s arguments.

Simultaneous Speech / Overlaps

Blanche’s frantic monologues contrast with Stella’s calm, creating emotional tension.

Blanche flouts the Maxim of Manner (clarity):

"Night falls and the other apes gather!"

Her poetic, metaphor-heavy speech contrasts with Stanley’s directness.

Lakoff’s Politeness Principle – Blanche disregards Stella’s autonomy:

"You can get out."

Imposing directive that assumes Stella's unhappiness.

Stage Directions:

1. "One hand rests on her belly, rounding slightly with new maternity."

2. "Blanche presses her knuckles nervously to her lips."

1. Stella’s pregnancy is emphasised, making her choice to stay with Stanley even more significant.

2. Physicalises her stress

Props:

1. "Stanley’s gaudy pyjamas lie across the threshold."

2. "Blanche snatches her purse open."

1. Symbol of his dominance, marking his territory.

2. Desperation as she exposes her financial ruin.

Foreshadowing

1. "You take it for granted that I am in something that I want to get out of." (Stella to Blanche)

2. "I tremble for you!" (Blanche to Stella)

1. Ironic, given the tragic end of the play.

2. Foreshadows Blanche’s eventual breakdown.

Figurative Language / Allegory

1. "Stanley Kowalski—survivor of the Stone Age!" (Blanche on Stanley)

2. "That rattle-trap streetcar that bangs through the Quarter"

1. Extended metaphor depicting Stanley as primitive.

2. "Desire" as both literal transport and metaphor for impulsive passion.

Allusion

"Don't hang back with the brutes!"

Biblical echo, likening Stanley to a fallen state of humanity.

Listing / Triplets

"Eats like one, moves like one, talks like one!" (Blanche on Stanley)

Builds an overwhelming picture of his primitiveness.

Symbolism

"The train passes outside."

Stanley’s entrance is masked by industrial noise, symbolising his power over the domestic sphere.

Scene 5:

"Honey, you precious thing, you!" (Blanche to Stella)

Southern, affectionate idiolect.

"Precious" infantilises Stella, reinforcing Blanche’s need for connection.

"Young man! Young, young, young man!" (Blanche to the newspaper collector)

Repetition emphasises her fascination with youth and her desire to reclaim it.

"My Rosenkavalier!" (Blanche to Mitch)

Literary allusion (Richard Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier), elevating their meeting to a romantic fantasy.

Adjectives:

1. "Soft," "shimmer," "glow," "butterfly wings" (Blanche describing femininity)

2. "Rutting hunk!" (Steve about Eunice)

1. Highlights her belief in delicate beauty as a form of survival.

2. Crude, animalistic language reinforcing male sexuality.

Adverbs:

1. "Nervously and brightly" (Blanche laughs while lying about her letter to Shep Huntleigh)

2. "Faintly" (Blanche’s reaction to Stanley’s veiled threat)

1. Contradictory, exposing her fear.

2. Suggests physical weakness, paralleling her emotional fragility.

Pronouns:

"What have people been telling you about me?" (Blanche to Stella)

Her paranoia is evident in the shift from "you" to the vague "people."

Verbs:

1. "Swoop down" (Blanche in her letter to Shep Huntleigh

2. "Foams over" (Coca-Cola spilling on Blanche’s skirt)

1. Predatory imagery; ironic, given her later behavior with the young man.

2. Symbolic loss of control, linking to her emotional unraveling.

Short, direct statements in tense interactions:

1. "What sign were you born under?" / "Capricorn—the Goat!"

2. "What have people been telling you about me?"

1. Playful but subtly confrontational.

2. Urgent, paranoid.

Longer, elaborate sentences in Blanche’s self-mythologising:

"Don't you just love these long rainy afternoons in New Orleans when an hour isn't just an hour—but a little piece of eternity dropped into your hands?"

Romanticised perception of time, emphasizing her detachment from reality.

Tense Usage

Present tense in dialogue → Keeps the immediacy of confrontation.

Past tense in Blanche’s confession about Laurel → Nostalgia mixed with regret.

Future tense in Blanche’s hope for Mitch ("If it happens, I can leave here") → Uncertainty, wishful thinking.

Rhetorical Questions:

1. "Did he kill her?" (Blanche about Steve and Eunice’s fight)

2. "What can I do for you?" (Blanche to young man)

1. Dark humor, trivialising domestic violence.

2. Flirtatious, performative.

Repetition for Emphasis:

1. "I won’t stay long! I won’t, I promise I--" (Blanche to Stella)

2. "Gently—gently…" (Blanche, recovering from the Coca-Cola spill)

1. Her desperation is evident in the repetition and the self-interruption.

2. Attempts to maintain control.

Hedging:

"I mean—I haven’t informed him—of my real age!" (Blanche about Mitch)

Hiding insecurity with careful phrasing.

Voiced Pauses:

"You—uh—didn’t get wet in the rain?" (Blanche to young man)

Hesitancy revealing nervous excitement.

False Starts:

"I never was hard or self-sufficient enough. When people are soft—soft people have got to shimmer and glow…"

Self-reflection disrupted by mid-sentence shifts.