Explore the Ways Williams Creates Drama from Some of the Contrasting Characters in the Play

Explore the ways Williams creates drama from some of the contrasting characters in the play.

In Williams’ play, he utilises a wide variety of contrasting characters to heighten the drama throughout the storyline. From this, Williams is able to bring forth many different dramatical aspects, enabling him to explore different themes and ideas whilst constantly building tension

From the offset, we are introduced to Williams’ protagonist; Blanche. In Williams’ first description of Blanche, he writes that she carries an air of ‘faint hysterical humour’. The adjective ‘hysterical’ soon becomes a prominent theme within Blanche’s persona and is utilised by Williams to expose dramatic scenes. In the opening scenes, this element is explored to portray Blanche as a very unstable figure. After being re-united with her sister, Blanche quickly explodes into an unstructured speech. Through Williams’ use of repetition, and very short sentences that seem to end mid thought, we get the idea that Blanche cannot control what she is saying; she is reciting phrases that flash through her brain in that moment of time. The repetition of ‘Turn that light off!’ creates a dramatic sense, as Blanche is shouting at her sister within a minute of meeting her. This implies that Blanche is certainly not thinking about what she is saying, and if in fact she is, it must be through some very hysterical mindset that lacks clear vision and clarity. This would immediately signal a dramatic scene to the audience, who may be surprised by such an early insight into the drama that Williams’ tragic play contains.  In addition to this idea of Blanche being unstable, Williams also uses Blanches’ onstage movement to heighten dramatic tension. In his stage direction, Williams demands that Blanche should appear to be ‘rushing, shaking and panting’. These powerful verbs reveal just how physically unstable Williams wants his character to look, even at such an early point in the play. This heightens drama as an audience may feel uncomfortable after seeing such a physically, and perhaps emotionally damaged woman.