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 many of his own personal experiencesinto his writing, because he order no some other means of expressing things thatseemed to demand expression (Magill 1087). He declared that his primarysources of inspiration for his works were his family, the South, and the multiplewriters 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 realism (ClassicNotes 1). Poetic realness 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 thehaunting and sizable life experiences included in Williams writing that makeshim one of the greatest playwrights in the history of the American drama.Thomas Lanier Williams began his life March 26, 1911 as the g boardchild of Cornelius and Edwina Williams. His father, Cornelius, managed a shoewarehouse and was a stern businessman. Cornelius bouts with boozing andgambling (habits that Tennessee later inherited) made him increasingly abusiveas Tennessee grew sure-enough(a). Tennessee, his mother, his older sister, Rose, andhis younger brother, Walter, lived with Tennessees maternal grandparents until1918, when his father was transferred to his firms of import office in St. Louis. Although, he began living with his father at age seven, his father remainedemotionally absent end-to-end his life. His mother, however, smotheredTennessee with her aggressive showings of affection. The move around to St. Louiswas shattering to Tennessee, Rose, and Edwina. The change from a small,provincial town to a large city was very difficult for the lower class family. Becauseof th e ridicule from other children, her fathers abuse, and her mothersunhappiness, Rose was destined to go by most of her life in mental institutionsand she quickly became emotionally and mentally unstable. Edwina allowedRoses doctor to perform a frontal prefrontal lobotomy on Rose this event greatly disturbedWilliams who cared for Rose throughout most of her adult life. Tennesseeremained aloof from his younger brother, because his father repeatedly favourWalter over both of the older children. His parents often engaged in wastearguments and Tennessee, Rose, and Walter repeatedly encouraged theirmother to leave their abusive father. Williams family life was climb of tension anddespair however, he said he found therapy in writing.Unable to bear his life at home, Tennessee began his lifelong