Tennessee Williams :: essays research papers fc

Everything in his life is in his plays, and everything in his plays is in his life,Elia Kazan said of Tennessee Williams. Williams, who is considered to be thegreatest Southern playwright, inserted umpteen of his own personal experiencesinto his writing, because he found no other means of expressing things thatseemed to demand expression (Magill 1087). He stated that his primarysources of inspiration for his works were his family, the South, and the triunewriters he encountered in his life. Therefore, he presented Americantheatergoers with unforgettable characters, an incredible vision of life in theSouth, and a deeper meaning of the concept he called poetic reality (ClassicNotes 1). Poetic Realism exists as the repeated use of everyday objects, sothat they would produce a symbolic meaning. Often, Tennessee Williamswriting was considered to be melodramatic and hysterical however, it is the dour and powerful life experiences included in Williams writing that makeshim one of the gr eatest playwrights in the history of the American drama.Thomas Lanier Williams began his life March 26, 1911 as the minchild of Cornelius and Edwina Williams. His father, Cornelius, managed a shoewarehouse and was a stern businessman. Cornelius bouts with drinking andgambling (habits that Tennessee later inherited) made him increasingly abusiveas Tennessee grew older. Tennessee, his mother, his older sister, Rose, andhis junior brother, Walter, lived with Tennessees maternal grandparents until1918, when his father was transferred to his firms main office in St. Louis. Although, he began living with his father at age seven, his father remainedemotionally absent throughout his life. His mother, however, smotheredTennessee with her aggressive showings of affection. The move to St. Louiswas shattering to Tennessee, Rose, and Edwina. The change from a small,provincial town to a big city was very arduous for the lower class family. Becauseof the ridicule from other children, her father s abuse, and her mothersunhappiness, Rose was destined to spend most of her life in kind institutionsand she quickly became emotionally and mentally unstable. Edwina allowedRoses doctor to perform a frontal lobotomy on Rose this event greatly queasyWilliams who cared for Rose throughout most of her adult life. Tennesseeremained aloof from his younger brother, because his father repeatedly favoredWalter over both of the older children. His parents often engaged in violentarguments and Tennessee, Rose, and Walter repeatedly encouraged theirmother to leave their abusive father. Williams family life was full of tension anddespair however, he said he found therapy in writing.Unable to bear his life at home, Tennessee began his lifelong