A streetcar named desire

Plastic Theatre 

Represents the way the world of Stanley (as a figure of 'New America') is gradually closing in on Blanche, to devastating effect. Stanley's perpetual presence is conveyed as 'A locomotive is heard approaching outside'.

Williams incorporates elements of expressionism into a realistic play. 

E.G: Varsouviana music that is played throughout the play.

Expressionism 

Williams uses expressionism to show emotions or themes which may not be wholly obvious from just the dialogue.

E.G: Jungle-like cries accompany the lurid, menacing shadows on the walls in Scenes Ten and Eleven. These inhuman noises represent the confusion and terror in Blanche's mind and, like the polka, are only heard by her, though they also serve to create a dramatic effect on stage.

Southern Gothic 

An atmosphere of decay, impoverished settings, grotesque characters, and violent or lurid events characterize Southern Gothic literature. Instances of violence, insanity, and sex.

Modern domestic tragedy 

Protagonist suffers an unfortunate fate and is fundamentally destroyed and lost at the play's end.

E.GS: 

• her marriage to a young Allan.
• the death of DuBois family.
• her unhealthy relationship with her brother-in-law, Stanley.

Epigraph

Short quote included at the beginning of a piece of writing. It is meant to introduce the reader to a theme, reference, or context.

“And so it was I entered the broken world / To trace the visionary company of love, it voice / An instant in the wind (I know not whither hurled) / But not for long to hold each desperate choice.”

The start of the epigraph brings to mind Blanche's journey into New Orleans, to her a “broken world.” It also captures the fleeting nature of love, which for Blanche was only “an instant in the wind” (remember the boy that died?).

Denouement 

Final plot of the play

E.G: It ends with the aftermath of Stanley's climactic **** of Blanche. Stella, now a mother, has committed Blanche to a state-run mental institution, taking the **** accusation as evidence her sister has gone insane.

Motif

Themes

• Streetcar. Williams called the streetcar the “ideal metaphor for the human condition.” ... 
• Varsouviana Polka. Blanche associates the polka with her young husband's suicide. ... 
• Bathing. ... 
• Paper Lantern and Paper Moon. ... 
• Alcohol and Drunkenness. ... 
• Shadows.

Tableau

The effect is of the closing scene of a playlet with the players motionless in a tableau vivant (freeze pose).

E.G: Scene 11

Vivant

A living picture 

Pathos

An appeal made to an audience's emotions in order to evoke feeling. Pathos is one of the three primary modes of persuasion, along with logos and ethos.

E.G: Blanche is afraid of growing old and losing her looks, and needs flattery to banish her terrors. Appealing in her vulnerability, she is nevertheless very much the older sister, treating Stella as a child and expecting her to run errands.