A Streetcar Named Desire
Tennessee Williams
One of the most popular and critically acclaimed plays of the 20th century, A Streetcar Named Desire tells the story of Blanche DuBois, a former Southern belle who moves in with her sister and brother-in-law when she finds herself broke, alone, and with nowhere else to go.
Major themes: fantasy and/or appearances vs. reality, sexuality and desire, dependence—especially on men.
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IB Literature and IB Language and Literature Connections
First Performed: New York City, United States
Language: English
Era: 20th Century (1947)
Genre: Drama - Southern Gothic
Author: Male
Readers, writers and texts | Time and space | Intertextuality: Connecting texts
Identity | Culture | Creativity | Communication
Perspective | Transformation | Representation
Full text, basic summaries, and overviews
A Streetcar Named Desire
Full text PDF
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A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) - Movie
MovieClipsFILM playlist on YouTube | 19:47 total (8 clips)
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Texas State University | A Streetcar Named Desire | Act 1
CreateLife | YouTube | 1:23:17
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Texas State University | A Streetcar Named Desire | Act 2
CreateLife | YouTube | 35:39
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Tennessee Williams “Streetcar Named Desire” | North Central College 2015
Alison Damore | YouTube | 2:03:59
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A Streetcar Named Desire
Wikipedia
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A Streetcar Named Desire
SparkNotes
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“A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams | Summary and Analysis | CourseHero | YouTube | 15:56 (also available in 16 clips)
This video includes a summary of the play, overview of the characters, and exploration of themes and motifs.
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A Streetcar Named Desire | Study Guide | Course Hero
In addition to standard resources, this page includes an infographic and discussion questions for the entire play. Much of the material is repeated in their YouTube video on A Streetcar Named Desire (see above).
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Articles, essays, and videos about A Streetcar Named Desire
“Lower Depths, Southern Style” | Play Review | Wolcott Gibbs | The New Yorker | December 5, 1947
Review of the play after it was first performed. Great source for talking about how different audiences respond to different aspects of the play.
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“Tennessee Williams On a Streetcar Named Success” | Tennessee Williams | The New York Times | November 30, 1947
Williams writes an essay reflecting on the success of his play.
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A Streetcar Named Desire | Review of 1993 film restoration | Roger Ebert | November 12, 1993
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Blanche Dubois: An Antihero | Lauren Seigle | BU ARts & Sciences Writing Program
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The Desire Line: Streetcar Loss & Rebirth in New Orleans | New Orleans Historical Project | The Midlo Center for New Orleans Studies at the University of New Orleans
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“Who wants real? I want magic!” Musical Madness in A Streetcar Named Desire” | Masters Thesis
Nichole Maiman | University of Maryland
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Gender-Based Behavior in ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ | Jordan Davis | College of William & Mary | Masters Thesis
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On the Lips: The Censorship of a Streetcar Named Desire | Jaycee McCarthy | Colby-Sawyer College | Student Essay
Essay discusses the role censorship played in adapting the play for film.
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Tennessee Williams’s A Streetcar Named Desire: A Global Perspective | Robert Rea | South: A Scholarly Journal | 2017
From the abstract: This criticism…”outlines the characters and explores their symbolic significance. It examines how the story is set into the city of New Orleans, Louisiana.”
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The Simpsons (Classic): “A Streetcar Named Marge” | Episode Review | Nathan Rabin | AV Club | April 2012
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Just a Paper Moon: A Naturalist Reading of A Streetcar Named Desire | Daniel Alexander Gonzalez | Texas A&M | Masters Thesis | August 2017
From the abstract: this essay argues that…”the text is best seen through the lens of Naturalism due to the determined lives of the main characters, their attempts to escape these determined lives, and the tragic endings of these characters because of said attempts.
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Lesson plans and other teaching resources
Exploring A Streetcar Named Desire: How do writers connect and develop the setting, plot, and characters of a story?
The Kennedy Center | 9-12 lesson that includes learning objectives, standards alignment, research topics and discussion questions. On page, choose “Get Printable Version” or “Copy to Google Drive” to access lesson plans.
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A Multimodal Approach to Teaching A Streetcar Named Desire | Theater Historiography | Sharyn Emery | Teacher Blog
This post outlines an approach to teaching A Streetcar Named Desire as part of a unit on Modernism. Lesson includes discussion of core themes, review of the 1951 film, analysis of The Simpsons episode “A Streetcar Named Marge” and the Thomas Hart Benton painting “Poker Night.”
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Shopping List
Texts and other resources you may find helpful.
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A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams
Paperback on Amazon.com
A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams: Detailed Summary, Analysis and Reading Guide by BrightSummaries.com
Paperback on Amazon.com
Spark Notes Streetcar Named Desire
Paperback on Amazon.com
A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)Film starring Vivien Leigh and Marlon Brando
DVD on Amazon.com
Blu-ray on Amazon.com
Tennessee Williams: Mad Pilgrimage of the Flesh by John Lahr
Biography
Paperback on Amazon.com
Memoirs by Tennessee Williams Personal Memoirs
Paperback on Amazon.com