tennessee williams and the glass menagerie introduction notes
TRANSCRIPT
Tennessee Williams and
The Glass Menagerie
Introduction Notes
Thomas Lanier Williams
•Born March 26, 1911 in Columbus, Mississippi
Thomas Lanier Williams
•Lived for several years in Clarksdale, Mississippi•Moved to St. Louis in 1918
Family Life•Mother was a controlling woman• Father was abusive and hard on him
Family Life•Father assumed he was raising a homosexual
•Williams always felt rejected by his father
Family Life•His sister Rose became mentally ill and was lobotomized and committed to a mental institution
•Williams remained close to his sister
Education•Attended the University of Missouri, but his father pulled him out and put him to work
Education•Eventually went back to school and graduated from the University of Iowa
A Legend Begins•Changed his name to “Tennessee” and began to write controversial plays
A Legend Begins•First hit was Glass Menagerie
•Originally titled The Gentleman Caller•Story based partially on William’s home life
A Legend Begins
•Glass Menagerie was an instant success and the pressure began to surmount for Williams
The Legend Continues
•Williams found that New Orleans was an inspirational city to write in
•He also spent time in Key West and New York
The Legend Continues
•Williams won his first Pulitzer Prize in 1948 for A Streetcar Named Desire•It was made into a movie in 1951
The Legend Continues
•Cat on a Hot Tin Roof gave Williams his second Pulitzer Prize in 1955
The Legend Continues
Other instant successes were:
•The Rose Tattoo•Baby Doll
•The Night of the Iguana
•Sweet Bird of Youth
The Legend Continues
•All of William’s plays touched on some controversial issue that had never been introduced in plays/movies before
The Legend Continues•Sexual frustration
•Homosexuality•Mental illness•Emasculation•Cannibalism•Nymphomania•Alcohol abuse
The Legend Changes
•Williams began to drink and take pills more frequently
The Legend Changes
•His partner died in 1963 and this event was the true turning point for Williams
The Legend Changes
•His drinking and drug use quickly heightened
The Legend Changes
•His work in New York/ Hollywood began to receive poor reviews
The Legend Changes
•Just like he had been rejected by his father years before, critics were now rejecting him
The Legend Changes
•Williams’ alcoholism took control and he became paranoid
The Legend Changes•Tennessee’s brother Dakin had him committed in 1969 to a mental institution because he suffered from alcohol poisoning and paranoia
The Legend Changes
•He began to drink and pop pills again after his three-month stay
The Legend Changes•Throughout these difficult times, Tennessee remained true to himself and never lost faith in his ability to write decent plays (despite the reviews)
The Legend Ends•Eventually Tennessee’s abusive behavior caught up with him and he died a lonely death at the age of 71 in a New York hotel room
The Legend Ends•The coroner’s report revealed that Williams died of asphyxia by choking on a top from a medicine bottle
The Legend Ends•In 1996, Rose Williams died in the mental institution that had become her home
•Her tombstone reads “Blow out your candle, Laura”, a famous line from The Glass Menagerie
The Legend Lives On•Williams’ plays continue to awe audiences everywhere both on stage and the big screen
The Glass Menagerie•Originally titled A Gentleman Caller
•Had a successful run in 1944 in Chicago •Debuted on Broadway in 1945
The Glass Menagerie•Williams’ first popular success•Williams received the New York Drama Critics’ Circle award as the best play of the season•Was called play of the century
The Glass Menagerie•It has become one of the most performed plays in
the repertory of American
community theaters
The Glass Menagerie•The movie version of the 1950’s starred the unknown actor Marlon Brando
The Glass Menagerie
•An updated version was filmed in 1987 and directed by Paul Newman
The Glass Menagerie•Play largely based on William’s own family - in particular his sister, Rose
The Glass Menagerie•One act play with seven scenes and only four characters
The Glass Menagerie•Play is full of negative emotion