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Tragedy in A Streetcar Named Desire

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Module
Unit 1 - Drama

Institution
PEARSON (PEARSON)

A full, in-depth A* essay plan exploring the theme of tragedy in Tennessee Williams' play, "A Streetcar Named Desire", for the Pearson Edexcel A-Level English Literature.

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Uploaded on June 30, 2023
Number of pages 3
Written in 2022/2023
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tragedy
Introduction
o Widely considered to be tragedy, attributable to tragic features e.g. hamartia, hubris
(derives from Aristotelian “Poetics” where he outlines ideas on features a play
requires to classify as tragedy
o Also features of modern tragedy e.g. irony
o Williams explores these tragic features through Blanche (protagonist and tragic
heroine)
o Despite multitude of tragic features, it lacks a moment of anagnorisis; B never
manages to face reality as she continues to live on in her fantasy world right up until
the play’s close

Tragic Heroine
o Typically high class, respected, valued - B originates from upper-class family but not
respected by peers in the way a tragic heroine typically would be (Williams telling us
that, unlike the fifteenth century rituals B lives by (e.g. romance) where status
correlates with reputation, there’s been a rise of a new society where B is not
respected simply due to her wealth)
o Not respected or classy - other characters view her as sexually promiscuous: when B
explains she’s “Virgo the Virgin”, Stanley exclaims “hah!”, B doesn’t possess typical
traits of a tragic heroine, yet Williams clearly presents her as a tragic figure allows
the play to be a tragedy while reinforcing Williams’s ideas about the rise of a new
society

Determinism
o Main components – this theme runs throughout as B’s fate is set in stone from start
o Typically seen in Greek tragedies e.g. Oedipus - fate is set in stone despite best
efforts to diverge from it (fate drives play’s plot as W gives hints to audience that B’s
downfall has been predetermined) – “her future is mapped out for her”
o Play is opened by train motif: “a streetcar called Desire” drives between
“Cemeteries” and “Elysian Fields” - implies not only desire is the driving force behind
all actions, but downfall is inevitable due to streetcar physically driving Blanche
through the plot: B’s unmatched desire for appreciation foreshadows the path to
defeat, like the streetcar leads to “cemeteries”
o “You think she got them out of a teachers pay?”, “kicks the trunk partly closed”
alluding to Pandora’s Box at start – downfall is now going to happen, “had this date
with each-other from the beginning”
o Streetcar symbolic of theme, foreshadowing downfall, and confirming play’s
deterministic nature

Tragic foils
o Stanley is foil to B, used to highlight each-other’s flaws (brutality and fantastical
nature)
o Contradictory qualities: B is delicate/feminine, S is primal/impulsive - B introduced
through “white suit with a fluffy bodice”, displaying delicate femininity, but S
introduced through stage directions describing “animal joy” and “power and pride”. -
contrast peaks in Scene Ten as B calls S a “swine!” and how “Mr Mitchell”, “came to
see [her]” in “his work-clothes!”
o S highlights B’s status/fragility/femininity - S concludes B “wouldn’t be bad to –
interfere with…”, reinforcing impulsive/primal nature, completely juxtaposing Blanche
o Shows the play is tragic and adds to the deterministic nature of the play, as he
implies from the start that the two are so incompatible that downfall is inevitable

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