Rather than attempting to psychoanalyze the characters, the author uses the social situations within the dramas themselves to define the terms of her argument. Her analysis of the plays is organized according to the recurring themes of confinement, women, language, and artists, and draws upon a variety of psychological, literary, and biographical sources to examine Williams's preoccupation with the mentally ill and society's treatment of them. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

The plays of Tennessee Williams are some of the greatest triumphs of the American theatre. If Williams is not the most important American playwright, he surely is one of the two or three most celebrated, rivaled only by Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller. In a career that spanned almost five decades, he created an extensive canon of more than 70 plays. His contributions to the American theatre are inestimable and revolutionary. The Glass Menagerie (1945) introduced poetic realism to the American stage; A Streetcar Named Desire (1947) explored sexual and psychological issues that had never before been portrayed in American culture; Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1955) dared to challenge the political and sexual mores of the Eisenhower era; and his plays of the 1970s are among the most innovative works produced on the American stage. But Williams was far more than a gifted and prolific playwright. He created two collections of poetry, two novels, four collections of stories, memoirs, and scores of essays. Because of his towering presence in American drama, Williams has attracted the attention of some of the most insightful scholars and critics of the twentieth century. The 1990s in particular ushered in a renaissance of Williams research, including a definitive biography, a descriptive bibliography, and numerous books and scholarly articles. This reference book synthesizes the vast body of research on Tennessee Williams and offers a performance history of his works. Under the guidance of one of the leading authorities on Williams, expert contributors have written chapters on each of Williams' works or clusters of works. Each chapter includes a discussion of the biographical context of a work or group of writings; a survey of the bibliographic history; an analysis of major critical approaches, which looks at themes, characters, symbols, and plots; a consideration of the major critical problems posed by the work; an overview of chief productions and film and television versions; a concluding interpretation; and a bibliography of secondary sources. The volume concludes with a selected, general bibliography and a comprehensive index.

A Streetcar Named Desire (1947) and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1955) are major plays by Tennessee Williams, one of America's most significant dramatists. They both received landmark productions and are widely-studied and performed around the world. The plays have also inspired popular screen adaptations and have generated a body of important and lasting scholarship. In this indispensable Reader's Guide, Thomas P. Adler: - Charts the development of the criticism surrounding both works, from the mid-twentieth century through to the present day - Provides a readable assessment of the key debates and issues - Examines a range of theoretical approaches from biographical and New Criticism to feminist and queer theory In so doing, Adler helps us to appreciate why these plays continue to fascinate readers, theatregoers and directors alike.

This is a collection of thirteen original essays from a team of leading scholars in the field. In this wide-ranging volume, the contributors cover a healthy sampling of Williams's works, from the early apprenticeship years in the 1930s through to his last play before his death in 1983, Something Cloudy, Something Clear. In addition to essays on such major plays as The Glass Menagerie, A Streetcar Named Desire, and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, among others, the contributors also consider selected minor plays, short stories, poems, and biographical concerns. The Companion also features a chapter on selected key productions as well as a bibliographic essay surveying the major critical statements on Williams.

The World of Tennessee Williams offers a survey of the life and career of one of America¿s greatest dramatists from his birth in 1911 to his death in 1983. Richard Leavitt was in a unique position to create such a volume since he was a friend of Tennessee¿s and followed his career closeup. Kenneth Holditch, who has undertaken the task of completing the text was a friend of Leavitt¿s and knew Tennessee Williams. It has been his desire to carry to fruition the original plan Dick Leavitt conceived in the 1970s and augmented in 1983 when Williams died.

Tennessee Williams and His Contemporaries compiles eight transcribed panels that were featured at The Tennessee Williams Scholars’ Conference, an annual event held each March in conjunction with the Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival. This study, the first of its kind, explores issues involving Williams’s drama, fiction, poetry, and films in a discursive format designed to probe and debate the legacy of America’s famous playwright. Virtually all aspects of Williams’s long career are covered in this volume, including the early and late plays, his unpublished work, his use of the grotesque, and his relationships with three of his contemporaries: Carson McCullers, Lillian Hellman, and William Inge. In addition, Williams scholars who teach his work discuss the most effective strategies for bringing his material into the classroom. The unique design of this volume offers a broad understanding of his material for students previously unacquainted with Tennessee Williams as well as fresh perspectives from recognized experts in the field that will satisfy those who are already familiar with his life and work.

Premiering in 1944, The Glass Menagerie was Tennessee Williams's first popular success. Today the play is considered one of Williams's masterpieces and is frequently performed. This updated volume is an essential resource for those seeking to deepen their appreciation of this fascinating character study. Book jacket.

Offers advice on writing essays about the works of Tennessee Williams and lists sample topics.

Michael S. D. Hooper reverses the recent trend of regarding Tennessee Williams as fundamentally a social writer following the discovery, publication and/or performance of plays from both ends of his career - the 'proletarian' apprentice years of Candles to the Sun and Not About Nightingales and the once overlooked final period of, amongst many other plays, The Red Devil Battery Sign. Hooper contends that recent criticism has exaggerated the political engagement and egalitarian credentials of a writer whose characters and situations revert to a reactionary politics of the individual dominated by the negotiation of sexual power. Directly, or more often indirectly, Williams' writing expresses social disaffection before glamorising the outcast and shelving thoughts of political change. Through detailed analysis of canonical texts the book sheds new light on Williams' work, as well as on the cultural and social life of mid-twentieth-century America.