Tennessee Williams

Tennessee Williams was born Thomas Lanier Williams III in Columbus, Mississippi, in 1911. His friends began calling him Tennessee in college, in honor of his Sou hern accen and his fa her!s home s a e. Williams!s fa her, C.C. Williams, was a ra"eling salesman and a hea"# drin$er. Williams!s mo her, %dwina, was a Mississippi clerg#man!s daugh er prone o h#s erical a ac$s. &n il Williams was se"en, he, his paren s, his older sis er, 'ose, and his #ounger bro her, (a$in, li"ed wi h %dwina!s paren s in Mississippi. In 191), he Williams famil# mo"ed o S . Louis, mar$ing he s ar of he famil#!s de eriora ion. C.C.!s drin$ing increased, he famil# mo"ed si* een imes in en #ears, and he #oung Williams, alwa#s sh# and fragile, was os raci+ed and aun ed a school. (uring hese #ears, he and 'ose became e* remel# close. %dwina and Williams!s ma ernal grandparen s also offered he emo ional suppor he re,uired hroughou his childhood. Williams loa hed his fa her bu grew o apprecia e him somewha af er deciding in herap# as an adul ha his fa her had gi"en him his ough sur"i"al ins inc . -f er being bedridden for wo #ears as a child due o se"ere illness, Williams grew in o a wi hdrawn, effemina e adolescen whose chief solace was wri ing. - si* een, Williams won a pri+e in a na ional compe i ion ha as$ed for essa#s answering he ,ues ion .Can a good wife be a good spor /0 His answer was published in Smart Set maga+ine. The following #ear, he published a horror s or# in a maga+ine called Weird Tales, and he #ear af er ha he en ered he &ni"ersi # of Missouri o s ud# 1ournalism. While in college, he wro e his firs pla#s, which were influenced b# members of he sou hern li erar# renaissance such as 'ober 2enn Warren, William 3aul$ner, -llen Ta e, and Thomas Wolfe. 4efore Williams could recei"e his degree, howe"er, his fa her forced him o wi hdraw from school. 5u raged because Williams had failed a re,uired '5TC program course, C.C. Williams made his son go o wor$ a he same shoe compan# where he himself wor$ed. -f er hree #ears a he shoe fac or#, Williams had a minor ner"ous brea$down. He hen re urned o college, his ime a Washing on &ni"ersi # in S . Louis. While he was s ud#ing here, a S . Louis hea er group produced wo of his pla#s, The Fugitive Kind and Candles to the Sun. 3ur her personal problems led Williams o drop ou of Washing on &ni"ersi # and enroll in he &ni"ersi # of Iowa. While he was in Iowa, 'ose, who had begun suffering from men al illness la er in life, underwen a prefron al lobo om# 6an in ensi"e brain surger#7. The e"en grea l# upse Williams, and i lef his sis er ins i u ionali+ed for he res of her life. (espi e his rauma, Williams finall# managed o gradua e in 198). In he #ears following his gradua ion, Williams li"ed a bohemian life, wor$ing menial 1obs and wandering from ci # o ci #. He con inued o wor$ on drama, howe"er, recei"ing a 'oc$efeller gran and s ud#ing pla#wri ing a he 9ew School in 9ew :or$. His li erar# influences were e"ol"ing o include he pla#wrigh -n on Che$ho" and Williams!s lifelong hero, he poe Har Crane. He officiall# changed his name o Tennessee Williams upon he publica ion of his shor s or# .The 3ield of 4lue Children0 in 1989. (uring he earl# #ears of World War II, Williams wor$ed in Holl#wood as a scrip wri er and also prepared ma erial for wha would become The Glass Menagerie.

In 19;;, The Glass Menagerie opened in 9ew :or$ and won he pres igious 9ew :or$ (rama Cri ics! Circle -ward, ca apul ing Williams in o he upper echelon of -merican pla#wrigh s. A Streetcar Named Desire premiered hree #ears la er a he 4arr#more Thea er in 9ew :or$ Ci #. The pla#, se in con emporar# imes, describes he decline and fall of a fading Sou hern belle named 4lanche (u4ois. A Streetcar Named Desire cemen ed Williams!s repu a ion, garnering ano her (rama Cri ics! Circle -ward and also a 2uli +er 2ri+e. Williams wen on o win ano her (rama Cri ics! Circle -ward and 2uli +er for Cat on a Hot Tin oo! in 19<<. Much of he pa hos found in Williams!s drama was mined from he pla#wrigh !s own life. -lcoholism, depression, hwar ed desire, loneliness, and insani # were all par of Williams!s world. His e*perience as a $nown homose*ual in an era unfriendl# o homose*uali # also informed his wor$. Williams!s mos memorable charac ers, man# of hem female, con ain recogni+able elemen s of heir au hor, %dwina, and 'ose. His "ulgar, irresponsible male charac ers, such as S anle# =owals$i, were li$el# modeled on Williams!s own fa her and o her males who ormen ed Williams during his childhood. Williams!s earl# pla#s also connec ed wi h he new -merican as e for realism ha emerged following he (epression and World War II. The charac ers in A Streetcar Named Desire are r#ing o rebuild heir li"es in pos war -merica> S anle# and Mi ch ser"ed in he mili ar#, while 4lanche had affairs wi h #oung soldiers based near her home. Williams se his pla#s in he Sou h, bu he compelling manner in which he rendered his hemes made hem uni"ersal, winning him an in erna ional audience and worldwide acclaim. Howe"er, mos cri ics agree ha he ,uali # of Williams!s wor$ diminished as he grew older. He suffered a long period of depression following he dea h of his long ime par ner, 3ran$ Merlo, in 19?8. His populari # during hese #ears also declined due o changed in eres s in he hea er world. (uring he radical 19?@s and 19A@s, nos algia no longer drew crowds, and Williams!s e*plora ions of se*ual mores came across as ired and oldBfashioned. Williams died in 19)8 when he cho$ed on a medicineBbo le cap in an alcoholBrela ed inciden a he %l#sCe Ho el in 9ew :or$ Ci #. He was one mon h shor of his se"en #Bsecond bir hda#. In his long career he wro e wen #Bfi"e fullBleng h pla#s 6fi"e made in o mo"ies7, fi"e screenpla#s, o"er se"en # oneBac pla#s, hundreds of shor s ories, wo no"els, poe r#, and a memoir. The mar$ he lef on he radi ion of realism in -merican drama is indelible. A Note on the Epigraph The epigraph o A Streecar Named Desire is a$en from a Har Crane poem i led .The 4ro$en Tower.0 Crane was one of Williams!s icons. Williams!s use of his ,uo a ion is ap , as Crane himself of en emplo#ed epigraphs from his own icons, including Mel"ille, Whi man, (ic$inson, and 4la$e. Williams was influenced b# Crane!s imager# and b# his unusual a en ion o me aphor.Williams fel a personal affini # wi h Crane, who, li$e himself, had a bi er rela ionship wi h his paren s and suffered from bou s of "iolen alcoholism. &nli$e Williams, Crane succumbed o his demons, drowning himself in 198D a he age of hir #B hree.