Download “Poetic Realism” in A Streetcar Named Desire

International Journal of Arts and Sciences
3(16): 255-263 (2010)
CD-ROM. ISSN: 1944-6934
© InternationalJournal.org
“Poetic Realism” in A Streetcar Named Desire
Juan Du, Lanzhou University, China
Lu Zhang, Lanzhou University, China
Abstract: Tennessee Williams attaches great emphasis to the poetic quality of his
drama and contributes to the development of the dramatic form, poetic realism, by
injecting the elements and spirit of poetry into every aspect of his dramaturgy. The
thesis intends to analyze the characteristics and the achievements of the dramatic form
of Williams’ “poetic realism” in A Streetcar Named Desire in terms of
characterization, language, theatrical devices and symbolism. The analysis displays
that the play demonstrates the distinctive characteristics and achievements of
Williams’ “poetic realism”, which has exerted profound influence on American drama.
The success of the play announces the arrival of a new epoch for American theatre of
the twentieth century.
Keywords: Tennessee Williams, “Poetic Realism”, Poetic quality, Dramatic
expression
Introduction
Williams’ contribution to American dramatic literature lies more in his originality than
in his proliferation. Since his first success with The Glass Menagerie, he kept on
developing and perfecting his famous “plastic theatre”. On a basis of the legacy of his
predecessors, Chekov, Strindberg and O’Neill, Williams broke the limitations of the
traditional realism by modifying the actual reality and rearranging the theatrical space,
thus he is capable of penetrating his characters’ subjective reality and representing it
on the stage. All the elements and devices coalesce originally in his plays to bring out
the “inner truth” which he regards as the ultimate goal of art. Lyrical characters with
their psychological verisimilitude, expressive stage dialogue and poetically handled
theatrical elements are outstanding hallmarks of Williams. “...with such a gift for
theatrical measures and amid such flashes of brooding poetry, his plays become lyric
works of dramatic art of a high and distinguished nature” (Donahue, 1964, p.210). His
idea of “plastic theatre” has exerted enduring influence on the course of American
theatre of the twentieth century, for it opens a door for dramatists to find more
versions of dramatic exposition for their artistic goals. If Williams’ concept of a
“plastic theatre” is the cornerstone and effective method for his artistic goal, the
“poetic realism” is then the distinctive style of his art. His masterpiece A Streetcar
Named Desire samples this style of Williams’ and reaches his artistic excellent art
through characterization, language, theatrical devices and symbolism.
Williams’ personal experience and unique feelings about life have shaped his vision of
a poet’s and focused his attention on those unfortunate people. He dedicates himself to
the exploration of man’s inner being as his goal, as he believes that the actual world
that people physically inhabit is different from the subjective world which is
concealed deeply in people’s heart and the truth about life and reality conceived by
people is closeted in their heart, in their subconscious. What he sets out to do is unveil
this truth through artistic representation.
Williams writes in the prelude to The Glass Menagerie, “...Truth, life or reality is an
organic thing which the poetic imagination can represent or suggest, in essence, only
through transformation, through changing into other forms than those which were
merely present in appearance” (Williams, 1999, xix.). His “plastic theatre” enables
him to use the plasticity of all theatrical elements as a vehicle to serve for his artistic
goal. This new concept is congruent with his poetic vision about life and supplies him
with boundless freedom for his subjective creation, and therefore a diversity and
flexibility in his dramatic exposition become possible. With “plastic theatre”,
Williams has rejuvenated the traditional realistic drama by combining the essence of
poetry with the principles of realistic drama. Moreover, he dedicates himself to a
comprehensive experimentation and perfection in the dramatic creation and has
established the dramatic form of “poetic realism”.
As a literary movement, poetic realism was started in German and lasted in the history
throughout the years between 1840s and 1880s. As a theory of writing, poetic realism
is one of the various types of realistic literature since its birth in western countries.
The significance of “poetic realism” refers to a way of mirroring reality through the
veil of illusion. In other words, it is an attempt for poetic effects of literary art.
Although the term “poetic realism” is employed very often in literature, an
investigation for its concept is not present in any literary textbook.
In the sphere of dramatic literature, “poetic realism” is closely associated with the
development of modern western drama in the first half of the twentieth century. In the
mid-nineteenth century, Ibsen ushered in the age of Realism for western drama and
the realistic theatre was developed to its peak at the beginning of the twentieth century.
However, the development of western philosophy in the twentieth century and the
spread of the theories of Freudian psychoanalysis transformed the westerners’
esthetics and ideology, and accordingly a change took place in the techniques applied
by artists in various aspects of art and literature. In drama, though the modernist
theatre of Expressionism and Symbolism came to the fore in the early years of the
twentieth century, the mode of realistic theatre still held the prominent place.
Williams is a lyrical poet as well as an imaginative playwright. He injects the
elements and spirit of poetry successfully into his plays. The dramatic poetry is born
of a writer’s sincere feelings about life, and this poetic quality of drama is not only
expressed through language, but also conveyed in characterization, plot construction,
theatrical techniques and other literary elements such as symbolism and imagism.
A Portrayal of Characters
In terms of characterization of a play, the art form “poetic realism” concerns lyrical
characters who are dramatized with psychological verisimilitude and convincing
characteristics. The playwright’s rich life experience, sensitive and compassionate
heart, acute observation and insightful understanding of life and the imaginative
techniques of a poet artist work together and help him achieve the purpose.
Williams’ unfortunate family life and early life circumstances provide him with a
sensitive heart and get him in touch with people from all walks of life. He models his
characters on the people whom he has met in real life, especially those from the
bottom of the society and then dramatizes their emotions and lives through artistic
transformation. He handles them in a delicate and poetic manner and displays his
sincere sympathy with them. This establishes the basis for the lyrical tone of
Williams’ characterization.
The strategy of Williams’ characterization in A Streetcar Named Desire is not linear
but exfoliated, and he depicts his characters from without to within. The audience is
conditioned to familiarize themselves with the characters step by step in accordance
with the development of the actions of the play. In addition to the conventional
realistic devices including dialogue, dramatic gestures and costuming, Williams is apt
to employ expressionistic devices in arranging music, sound effects, lighting, setting
and symbols and to synthesize all the resources to probe into his characters’
subconscious thoughts and reveal their inner being directly to the audience. At last his
characters stand psychologically nude in front of the audience with no distance
between them. In this way Williams supplies the audience not only with the
characteristics of his characters but also their psychology, and the effects are terribly
convincing.
At the beginning of A Streetcar Named Desire, Blanche is portrayed through dialogue,
gestures and costuming, music and other theatrical effects are employed to disclose
her inner emotional feelings. The audience therefore begins to step into the inner
world of Blanche. With the more frequent use of music, theatrical efforts, symbols
both verbal and visual and other theatrical devices, the inner world of Blanche also
comes further into the audience’s view. The moment the play develops into Scene 10,
the climax, the audience gets completely involved into her mind and sees the reality
through Blanche’s eyes. This is, to a great extent, attributed to the use of
expressionistic aural and visual effects and symbols in this scene and particularly the
consistency of Williams’ characterizing strategy for the whole play. When Blanche
exits, the audience is drawn deeply into her life, there being no distance of whatsoever
in between. The audience experiences what Blanche undergoes and has no way but to
admit the absolute verisimilitude of Williams’ characterization.
Another distinctive feature of Williams’ characters is their fully dimensioned
personalities. On the basis of his own deep understanding he centers on the non-heroic
protagonists as his subject, the ambiguity and ambivalence of the personalities make
Williams’ characters realistic and convincing. His non-heroic protagonist observation,
too, has been “proved to be such a powerful insight into the mid-century American
experience that it was taken up by other writers, and came to be the dominant subject
of the serious drama"(Adler, 1996, p.173).
Both Blanche and Stanley are rich and complex characters, Blanche is full of airs,
vanities and unrealistic fantasies. She tells lies, rejects the unpleasant reality, and
holds frantically outdated values that a woman’s happiness is guaranteed by her
attractiveness, delicacy and genteelness. Though her attempt to evade loneliness and
to find protection and comfort in a man fails again and again, Blanche chooses to rely
on the “kindness” of a man no matter how temporary it is. Blanche must be assessed
in her totality as Brenda Murphy remarks,“〔we〕cannot understand her behavior
unless we see the effect of her past on her present behavior’(Murphy, 1992, p.25).
Stanley, Blanche’s antagonist, is another complex figure in the play. Born from the
working class, he feels at home in the decadent French Quarter in New Orleans. He is
as harsh as the environment can demand: beating his pregnant wife, throwing away
things for her to clean and making rough jokes. However, his deceptive simple surface
does not hide his animal-like shrewdness, he knows when and how to home in on his
prey if it is necessary. On the other hand, his cruelty and relentless destructiveness on
Blanche is balanced by his love for his wife and faithfulness to his friend.
Williams’ characterization is flavored with his lyrical language, setting and music. At
curtain rise, the playwright arranges a poetic setting for Blanche’s debut, the sky “is a
peculiarly tender blue, almost turquoise, which invests the scene with a kind of
lyricism...”(13). Here, the lyrical tone is more strengthened by the recurring music
“Blue Piano”, which spreads loneliness, wanderings, separation losses, love
desperation and the sense of doom. The setting and music in this scene have the
implication of the actual desolation of Blanche’s existence and spirituality, and in
addition, highlight the lyricism in the characterization.
The rhetorical and lyrical language of Blanche accounts for the remarkable lyricism in
characterization. Her speech is in harmony with her growth, educational background,
personality and inner spirit. Through the playwright’s observation and poetic handling,
his characters are fully dimensioned with convincing verisimilitude of psychology and
lyrical quality, and moreover, he brings the truth of modern human existence to light
through his depiction of their tragic fate. Williams aims to stir up the audience’s
feelings by revealing the tragic fate of his characters and his deep and sensitive
feeling of a poet give his drama strong lyrical quality of poetry. In the mean time, the
play fulfills his aspiration for a poetic domain where the factors of poetry and drama
are successfully interwoven.
Language with Poetic Beauty and Power
Williams’ language acquires the natural rhythm and melody of poetry through his
selection of words and pattern arrangement, and it also uncovers the characters’ nature
in his plays and their innermost feelings and philosophical thoughts of the
playwright’s with its lyrical and symbolic power. As a result, Williams’ language
combines perfectly his feelings with his philosophical thoughts about life and widens
the poetic dimension of his drama. He is “capable of translating the varied patterns of
life in American society into a dramatic poetry characterized by beauty as well as
vitality, meaning, and a sense of universality” (Martin, 1977, p.194). His language
springs from daily life and is handled with a poet’s instincts in his hand. He has a keen
ear for the rhythm, melody and patterns of the colloquial speech and then endows his
language with rhythm and melody of a poem. In addition, the symbolic and evocative
nature of his language makes it idiomatic. Fully charged with freight of emotion, his
language is characterized by lyrical and effusive tone. It reveals not only the
inexpressive subtle feelings of his characters, but also the very essence of their
personalities. Blanche’s earnest longing for “the kindness of strangers”(142)
spotlights the true nature of Blanche, her emotion and the reality of human existence
in modern time. “I don’t want realism, I want magic!”(117) and “I know I fib a good
deal. After all, a woman’s charm is fifty percent illusion.”(41) All this pinpoint her
attitude toward life and the very root of her tragedy. What is the realty of modern
man’s existence? In the eyes of Blanche, “so much --- so much confusion in the
world...”(61) The repetition of “so much” highlights the ineffable feelings of Blanche
about a world full of violence and danger. For Stanley, the human existence means “a
rat-race” in which one has to “hold front positions” (131) in order to survive. The
situation not only devours the weak but also forces the innocent and pure to change in
a way beyond control. As Stella rebukes Stanley, “You didn’t know Blanche as a girl.
Nobody, nobody, was tender and trusting as she was. But people like you abused her,
and forced her to change.”(111)
Even though she is tortured, humiliated and disillusioned by her life the audience can
hear Blanche’s yearn for purity in a different world, “I can smell the sea air. The rest
of my time I’m going to spend on the sea. And when I die, I’m going to die on the
sea....And I’ll be buried at sea sewn up in a clean white sack and dropped over board
--- at noon ---in the blaze of summer --- and into an ocean as blue as my first lover’s
eyes”(136). The speech is endowed with poetic rhythm through the repetition of the
word “sea”, and reaches the height of poetry through the verbal symbols which are
evocative of purification such as “sea”, “white”, “the blaze of summer”, “ocean” and
“blue”. Moreover, it emits the last cry of a delicate, vulnerable lady who has been
abused and fooled by fate to the end.
With great economy of words in the opening lines of the play, Williams deftly
sketches the main façade of Stanley’s personality and the strong symbolic power of
his speech prefigures the specific atmosphere and environment for the action of the
play. At his first appearance, the crude Stanley is shouting to his wife, holding a
package of blood-stained meat in his hand, which symbolizes the characters of the
cruel jungle in the play. Blanche’s costuming, gestures and “lost” carry symbolic
meanings --- delicate, vulnerable, incongruous and final tragic. Other expressions
such as “a streetcar named Desire”, “one called Cemeteries” and “Elysian Fields”
indicate the successful employment of verbal symbols and then bring out the symbolic
and evocative nature of Williams’ language.
Williams’ language is also bestowed with rhythm and melody of poetry, which is
clearly displayed by his poetic diction, the repetition of some specific words in
different sentences. Blanches describes, “I, I, I took the blows in my face and my
body! All of those deaths! The long parade to the graveyard! Father, mother! Margaret,
that dreadful way! So big with it, it couldn’t be put in a coffin! But had to be burned
like rubbish! You just came home in time for the funerals, Stella. And funerals are
pretty compared to deaths. Funerals are quiet, but deaths are --- not always....”(26-27)
Here the words “face”, “parade”, and “way” repeat the same vowel, thus the first five
sentences sound like a metered poem, and the image is brought out through the words
“blows”, “deaths”, “graveyard” and “dreadful way “. The lines are rhythmic sound
like a poem. Again in Scene 10 Blanche’s lines, “He returned with a box of roses to
beg my forgiveness! He implored my forgiveness. But some things are not forgivable.
Deliberate cruelty is not forgivable. It is the one unforgivable thing in my opinion and
it is the one thing of which I have never, never been guilty...”(126) Apparently, the
repeated appearance of the word “forgiveness” not only produces a rhymed sounding
effect but also expresses the inner thought and emotional tone of Blanche, frustration
and indignation.
Theatrical Devices
In Williams’ “poetic realism”, theatrical devices are also appropriately applied to the
setting, the atmosphere and the characters’ feelings. The organic unity with the
playwright’s unique vision and sense of a poet produces a theatre with vibrant poetic
power. The essential part of the setting, the sky, is “peculiarly blue, almost the
atmosphere of decay (13), Stanley, “roughly dressed in blue denim work clothes” with
“a red-stained package”, while Blanche in her daintily “white suit with a fluffy bodice,
necklace and earrings of pearl, white gloves and hat” (15) all at once reveal the
meaningful atmosphere and the contrast of the two characters. Their different clothing,
Blanche in either “a red satin robe” or filmy-colored costume, full of desire and
vulnerable, whereas Stanley, always in raw bright colors like a “richly feathered male
bird” (29), being animal-like, brutish and full of physical strength vividly signifies
their personalities.
Williams takes advantage of the film-making technique of lighting in his creation. The
light spilled on a certain character or on different areas at specific dramatic moments
on the stage follows the action of the play and makes the scene transition immediate.
His lighting becomes emotional interpreter and symbolic carrier whenever it is
necessary. He binds lighting with color in the “Poker Night” scene to symbolize the
raw and brutal environment. The color change connotes the spiritual transformation in
Blanche as her “Della Robbia blue” jacket and “the blue of the robe in the old
Madonna pictures” (135). In the play, the color blue is related to purity and innocence,
as well as to hope and rebirth suggested by Stella’s new-born baby wrapped in a pale
blue blanket on Blanche’s birthday.
Through Williams’ handling, music is capable of communicating emotion,
commenting on the action of the play and being infused with symbolic meaning in the
play. The tune of recurring slow and melancholic “blue piano” provides the
background for the play. The music injects the poetic touch into the play and grabs the
heart of the audience with its lyrical tone and expressive quality.
Symbolism: an Essential Part of “Poetic Realism”
Williams also applies symbolism to the names of his characters and places in the play.
Blanche’s full name is in her own words, “a French name, means woods and Blanche
means white, so the two together means white wood. Like an orchard in spring!”(55).
It evokes the moth-like characteristic in her nature and implicates her doomed tragedy.
Moreover, the title of the play, A Streetcar Named Desire reveals the very root of
Blanche’s tragic fate as well as of her family’s bankruptcy. The “brutal desire” (43)
has gradually deprived of the fortune of her family and made Blanche and Stella lose
their home, “Belle Reve” (17). To Blanche, “Belle Reve” means not only a home that
can shelter her but also a place of warmth for her emotional and spiritual comforts.
“Belle Reve”, “beautiful dream” in French, contains all the beautiful memories and
nostalgia that Blanche holds for her youth. But it has turned into a beautiful but lost
dream that can be touched by Blanche only in her illusions now. Viewed from another
angle, just like the purse, the trunk and the costumes that Blanche has brought with
her, “Belle Reve” epitomizes the old ideas and tradition out of date in the actual
reality. The same “brutal desire” drags Blanche into the tramp of downfall further and
further beyond her control, and the final tragedy that seals up her life is thus doomed.
“Elysian Fields”, where Stanley and Stella feel at home, implies an ethereal Utopia in
Greek mythology. But it is here that Blanche suffers her greatest humiliation and is
sacrificed. So what implies a paradise for Stanley turns out to be a sacrificing altar for
Blanche. And ironically, at the beginning of the play, Blanche has sought earnestly for
her last chance of possible happiness in the place. The name strengthens the
dichotomy between Blanche and Stanley and implicates the doomed fate of Blanche.
The successful application of symbolism has played an indispensable part in the
overall contribution to his “poetic realism”. It assists to disclose the inner feelings of
Williams’ characters and his own philosophical thinking on life, and as a result, the
play is brought up to the height of poetry charged with strong philosophical quality.
Meanwhile, symbolism gives a sensible shape to Williams’ poetic insight and
imagination, and, in due course the play exhibits a poetic theatre to its audience.
Conclusion
Tennessee Williams’ new theatrical concept of “plastic theatre” exerts profound
influence on American theatre of the twentieth century. Starting from this concept,
Williams makes full use of the plasticity of all the theatrical resources with his
consistent insistence of the mode of realism. He incorporates the poetic quality in his
dramatic art, into his characterization, dramatic structure, exploration of theatric
devices and symbolism. In this sense, Williams is regarded as an outstanding master
of dramatic art of “poetic realism” and the play A Streetcar Named Desire is a
masterpiece of this art form.
The artistic goal of Williams’ is to penetrate into the subjective inner world of the
people. To him, this subjective world contains the truth that deserves investigation.
His unique personal experience and unusual thematic concern encourage him to
dramatize the fate of the week and sensitive; the individuals who are trapped in
loneliness and desperation; the fugitives who are marginalized and fail to come to
terms with the environment. He attaches deep understanding and sincere feelings to
them and merges his own emotion with theirs and thus the poetic lyricism is fully
inserted in his characterization.
The distinguished feature of Williams’ dramatic form of “poetic realism” is most
effectively conveyed through his language and “it is his use of language that most
animates his stage” (Roudane, 1998, p.31). Through his diction and pattern
arrangement, Williams’ language has acquired the natural rhythm, melody and
sounding effect of poetry, and in addition, the poetic power of his language serves
superbly for characterization and theme of the play.
The attempt of the writer’s “poetic realism” is to mirror reality by means of artistic
transformation, and a commonly adopted method is to represent the writers’ inner
feelings about reality and thinking on life on the stage. This method coincides with
the expressionist theatrical devices of externalizing the characters’ psychology in front
of the audience. In this case, Williams turns to the expressionist theatric devices for
his artistic goal. In A Streetcar Named Desire, through his treatment, his theatrical
devices blend his subjective feelings and intention perfectly with the setting and the
atmosphere of the whole play and suitably have played an important part in
contributing to his “poetic realism” of dramatic literature.
Whether they are visual, audio or verbal, symbols are rooted in the play. Williams’
application of symbolism not only gives his poetic vision and insight a sensible shape,
but also supplies the audience a theatre that is both poetic and philosophical. Hence,
symbolism is considered to be an essential component in his “poetic realism.”
In A Streetcar Named Desire, Williams exhibits his unique vision, penetrating
observation, poetic imagination and outstanding control of the stage space. These
characteristics are interwoven into an artistic unity. The analysis demonstrates that
Williams’ dramatic art of “poetic realism” is not singly articulated through language,
but more through his handling of characterization, theatrical arrangement and
symbolism. His theatrical art form of “poetic realism” is a synthesis of his artistic goal,
his vision of life, his poetic imagination and manipulation of all the theatrical
resources, which is based on his theatrical concept of “plastic theatre”. Williams
resorts to expressionistic devices for his goal while staying in the realm of realism in
characterization and plot-building. “Poetic realism” connotes no less an art strategy
than a style for Williams’ theatre. Thanks to the efforts and achievements of Williams,
he will be a bright star in the milky river of literature, shining the brightest light
forever.
References
Adler, Thomas P. (1996). “Tennessee Williams’ ‘Personal Lyricism’: Toward an
Androgynous Form.” In Realism and the American Dramatic Tradition, ed., William.
Demastes, Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama Press.
Donahue, Francis (1964). The Dramatic World of Tennessee Williams, New York:
Frederic Ungar Publishing Co.
Martin, Robert A, (1977) ed. Critical Essays on Tennessee Williams, New York: The
Viking Press.
Murphy, Brenda (1992). Tennessee Williams and Eliza Kazan: a Collaboration in the
Theatre, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Roudane, Mathew C. ed. (1998) The Cambridge Companion to Tennessee Williams.
Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.
Williams, Tennessee (1972). A Streetcar Named Desire, New York: Penguin Books
Ltd.
Williams, Tennessee (1999). The Glass Menagerie, New York: New Directions.