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Dramatic Irony in "A Streetcar Named Desire" Essay In Tennessee William's play A Streetcar Named Desire dramatic irony has enriched the audience's appreciation of the play and adds another dimension to the plays meaning. The music contributes to the dramatic irony and is used throughout the play to give to dimensions to what is being said and sung, often to completely different things. We are reminded of the other character's past experiences or their state of mind at the time and so can see why things have happened and how they feel. An example is our opinion of Blanche at the end and the start. At the start we find Blanche irritating and over-dramatic, by the end we can empathize, if not sympathize with Blanche and the horrors she has been through. The lighting also gives another dimension to the actions of the characters. The lights in the final scene haunt Blanche as if all her mistakes and nightmare have come back. Using this the audience can come to sympathize with Blanche for they can see she is `trapped' in her own `bee box.' There are also little words said to bring another scene to mind and words said to show the audience a certain aspect of a character's personality. The music in the play has been carefully chosen by Williams to tell the audience something about a characters state of mind or to highlight a certain ideal relevant at the time. An example of this is the Varsouviana, which Blanche hears every time she feels threatened or insecure. Because the other characters in the play are not privy to this music or it's meaning to her, the audience is given a private insight into Blanche's state of mind, something that is central to the play. This is not used only with Blanche. When Stella has left Stanley there are "dissonant brass and piano sounds" showing the audience the inner struggles and anger that are going on in Stanley's mind. Another example of the use of music and dramatic irony is the words of the songs that are sung. The characters in the play seem oblivious to the second meaning behind the words as they are concentrating on something else but the audience can see the innuendo of the music and so is able to see both sides of each argument and every Dramatic Irony in "A Streetcar Named Desire" Essay 2
quarrel. This is also used when Stella leaves Stanley. "The Negro entertainers in the bar around the corner play `Paper Doll slow and blue." This not only gives us an insight of Stanley's mood before he fully wakens up and captures the sexual undertow of the play but the title of the song is a good summary of Stanley's attitude towards Stella, his `baby doll.' Blanche's lyrics to songs are also suggestive of main themes in the play. As she sings, "It wouldn't be make believe if you believed in me" the audience is left to grapple with these ideas while the other characters on stage don't pay attention to Blanche's words dismissing it as annoying and irritating. The blue piano that is so prevalent in the Quarter is also a form of dramatic irony. The characters in the play pay little attention to it as it so common a sound but to the audience it becomes a symbol of life in the quarter. As Williams says, it "expresses the spirit of the life which goes on" in the Quarter. It shows the easy intermingling of races but later in the play reminds the audience of the sexual undertow of the play sometimes accompanying brass instruments with their harsh raucous sound. It shows the audience just how big a part sex plays in the lives of these people which we might not see so well if the music was absent, thus enriching the audience's experience. The lighting throughout the play tells us about the characters and gives us their view on what is happening at the times without the other characters realizing it. An example of this is the `lurid reflections' that haunt Blanche in the final scene. Her world has been turned upside down and all her illusions crushed, just like her paper lantern. These reflections are haunting her just like her lover's death. The other characters are seemingly unable to see the shapes and therefore the audience is able to see something that is completely individual to Blanche. We are privy to her horror and private hell as all the other characters from the harsh Quarter are not. It would seem that the shadows are monsters of her own imagination and we are able to see how she has been trapped in her own mind and instead of being `boxed out of her mind' as Mitch suggested she is boxed in, unable to escape, and unlike Plath's bee box there is no grid and `no exit.' Or maybe there is a grid and we are able `put our eye to the grid' with William's help. The audience can see Blanche stripped bare of all pretenses, "her profile outlined against a pale and empty background, " and can understand her hell like none of the Dramatic Irony in "A Streetcar Named Desire" Essay 3
other characters. Williams also uses small words or actions to remind us of previous conversations. The characters usually seem oblivious to this though sometimes in the case of Stanley it is a cruel and calculated act. An example of this is when Mitch tears the paper lantern of the light bulb. This reminds of Blanche saying earlier "I can't stand a naked light bulb, any more than I can a rude remark or a vulgar action." She doesn't want too much reality and no one in the crass Quarter can really understand that "Human kind cannot bear very much reality. " This seems to particularly to apply to Blanche. Also in the last scene Stanley's steady shuffling of the cards in the last scene reminds us of Blanche's earlier outburst of "I was played. You know what played out is? My youth was suddenly gone up the water-spout" and how Blanche is `trapped' in a `desperate situation.' There are examples of this all through out the play and they remind the audience without reminding the characters on stage about previous occurrences. Dramatic irony is also used to make the audience aware of certain aspects of the character's personality. In this way Williams manipulates the audience to think of a character in a specific way. In Stanley's case dramatic irony is used to show his deliberate cruelty when dealing with Blanche. The audience sees how he toys with Blanche and comes to hate him whereas at the start they might have enjoyed his raucous conversations. An example of his calculated cruelty is the exchange between him and Blanche while Stella is at the hospital. He is obviously playing with Blanche when he says, "Gosh, I thought it was Tiffany diamonds." The irony for the audience is that he did indeed think they were Tiffany diamonds until Stella corrected him. By saying this to Blanche he is playing with acting more ignorant that he really is at his point maybe to give her a false sense of superiority before pulling her off her podium and `shattering her illusions.' The audience can see this but Blanche, in her drunken state can't because she has not been privy to the prior conversation, although she probably realizes how cruel Stanley was being later as he strips her hopes and dreams of Shep Huntleigh from her. Dramatic Irony in "A Streetcar Named Desire" Essay 4
In this play dramatic irony has been used to gives another dimension to what is happening on stage. It gives the audience a greater understanding of how each event affected each character and also in Blanches's case, their mental state. Small phrases or actions are used effectively to remind the audience of previous conversations and confessions making the effect of the play greater for the audience and manipulating their response to characters. Dramatic Irony in "A Streetcar Named Desire" Essay 5