March+29+-+April+2+-+MA

Tuesday, March 30
T.W.’s family mother – aggressive, obsessed with fantasies of genteel Southern living. father – travelling salesman for a shoe company. Swung between distant and abusive in his family relationships, becoming more abusive as time went on. sister Rose – emotionally disturbed, diagnosed with schizophrenia · went through a frontal lobotomy (1943) with parental approval o did not go well · Rose had to spend her adult life in institutions o Williams never forgave his parents younger brother Dakin – father favored over his other children
 * Notes on Tennessee Williams from slide show
 * bring card tomorrow to check out //Streetcar//
 * additional Williams notes

TW’s literary theory “poetic realism” – the term Williams used to describe the use of everyday objects which are filled with symbolic meaning when seen repeatedly and in the right contexts.

“memory play” – Williams’ description of his plays 1. a character experiences something profound 2. that experience causes what Williams calls an “arrest of time,” a situation in which time literally loops on itself 3. the character must relive that profound experience (caught in a Mobius loop of time) until she or he makes sense of it.

Overarching theme of his plays, he said, is the negative impact that conventional society has upon the “sensitive nonconformist individual.”

Wednesday, March 31

 * discuss classes for next year
 * hand out recommendations
 * start reading //Streetcar Named Desire//

Thursday, April 1

 * read play aloud

Friday, April 2

 * read play aloud