QUESTION PLANS – 1 hour, 5 minutes plan, 5 minutes check (50 minutes)
General points:
> Setting – good AO3
1. “In the world of play, human desire is frequently viewed negatively and may
ultimately lead to death’. How far would you agree with this statement?
> Intro – agree – dangers inherent in desire
> Setting – undercurrent of desire – court + French quarters – corruption of
Italian court compared to the French, opening scene with sailor and
prostitute – metaphorical death (desire for power and dominance) ‘cod-
piees’ when duchess was pregnant and in labour
> Blanche and Duchess – both figures who feel desire. Blanche – virgin/whore,
duchess is lusty widow
> Desire in relationships – duchess and Antonio, Stanley and Stella
‘Hath never a bone in’t’ – sexual innuendo, phallic imagery, euphemistic then
stating it was his ‘tongue’ page 25
> Male desire – Stanley towards blanche, Ferdinand towards duchess, mitch for
blanche, cardinal and Julia
2. “Webster and Williams are alike in ‘creating settings and locations which speak
volumes about social attitudes’. How far would you agree with this statement?
> Intro – agree
> Malfi setting: court and Italian / Streetcar: New Orleans
> Court itself vs cramped apartment in Streetcar – duchess is socially cramped
yet blanche is physically cramped
> Duchess’ chamber and the bathroom that Blanche bathes in
> Light and darkness in both plays
3. “What strikes us more forcibly is the essential powerlessness of women”. In the light
of this statement, explore connotations between Malfi and Streetcar.
> Assertive women provoked much controversy
‘lusty widow’
‘Southern belle’
‘Nobody was tender and trusting as she [blanche] was, but people like you
abused her, and forced her to change’
‘abuse’
> Female characters victims of abuse
‘Wolf’
‘To see her in the shameful act of sin’
> Stella and Duchess seem temporarily surrender their rights to be respected
‘Serene’
‘Narcotized tranquility’
‘Eastern idols’
‘By day, the Duchess is Antonio’s mistress; by night, he is her master’
General points:
> Setting – good AO3
1. “In the world of play, human desire is frequently viewed negatively and may
ultimately lead to death’. How far would you agree with this statement?
> Intro – agree – dangers inherent in desire
> Setting – undercurrent of desire – court + French quarters – corruption of
Italian court compared to the French, opening scene with sailor and
prostitute – metaphorical death (desire for power and dominance) ‘cod-
piees’ when duchess was pregnant and in labour
> Blanche and Duchess – both figures who feel desire. Blanche – virgin/whore,
duchess is lusty widow
> Desire in relationships – duchess and Antonio, Stanley and Stella
‘Hath never a bone in’t’ – sexual innuendo, phallic imagery, euphemistic then
stating it was his ‘tongue’ page 25
> Male desire – Stanley towards blanche, Ferdinand towards duchess, mitch for
blanche, cardinal and Julia
2. “Webster and Williams are alike in ‘creating settings and locations which speak
volumes about social attitudes’. How far would you agree with this statement?
> Intro – agree
> Malfi setting: court and Italian / Streetcar: New Orleans
> Court itself vs cramped apartment in Streetcar – duchess is socially cramped
yet blanche is physically cramped
> Duchess’ chamber and the bathroom that Blanche bathes in
> Light and darkness in both plays
3. “What strikes us more forcibly is the essential powerlessness of women”. In the light
of this statement, explore connotations between Malfi and Streetcar.
> Assertive women provoked much controversy
‘lusty widow’
‘Southern belle’
‘Nobody was tender and trusting as she [blanche] was, but people like you
abused her, and forced her to change’
‘abuse’
> Female characters victims of abuse
‘Wolf’
‘To see her in the shameful act of sin’
> Stella and Duchess seem temporarily surrender their rights to be respected
‘Serene’
‘Narcotized tranquility’
‘Eastern idols’
‘By day, the Duchess is Antonio’s mistress; by night, he is her master’
