Tennessee Williams A to Z : The Essential Reference to His Life and Work

by Heintzelman, Greta; Smith-howard, Alycia

• ISBN13: 9780816048885
• ISBN10: 0816048886
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-06-30
• Publisher: Facts on File

Summary

Tennessee Williams is one of the most captivating and popular playwrights of the 20th century. Williams is known for his beautiful and sensitive characterizations, his use of poetic realism and irony, and his portrayal of intricate human relationships. A major resource for scholars and students, Critical Companion to Tennessee Williams is an essential reference to everything one needs to know about Williams and his works. This volume contains: a detailed discussion of Williams's life; scene-by-scene synopses and critical commentary on every play; comprehensive analyses of major and minor characters; biographical information on important figures in Williams's life, from his earliest influences to his later friendships, including actors, collaborators, theater directors, and more; and entries on important places, literary and theatrical terms, and more.
Additional features include a comprehensive guide to resources for the study of Tennessee Williams, a chronology, a bibliography of secondary sources, and a complete bibliography of Williams's works.

Author Biography

Greta Heintzelman is currently a reference librarian at the Onassis Library for Hellenic and Roman Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Excerpts

One of the greatest American dramatists of the 20th century, Tennessee Williams is known for his sensitive characterizations, poetic yet realistic writing, ironic humor, and depiction of harsh realities in human relationships. Williams drew on his own troubled early life to depict the loneliness, fear, and sexual anxiety of such memorable characters as Blanche DuBois and Stanley Kowalski. His work is frequently included in high school and college curricula, and his plays are still produced today.
Critical Companion to Tennessee Williams includes entries on all of Tennessee Williams's major and most minor works, including A Streetcar Named Desire, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Glass Menagerie, a novel, a collection of short stories, two poetry collections, and personal essays; places and events related to his works; major figures in his life; literary influences; and issues in Williams scholarship and criticism.
Appendixes include a complete list of Williams's works, a list of research libraries with significant Williams holdings, and a bibliography of primary and secondary sources.