Examine the dramatic designs found in ‘The Glass Menagerie”.

Answer

Examine the dramatic designs found in ‘The Glass Menagerie”. [2016] ✪✪✪  

Tennessee Williams (1911–1983) play “The Glass Menagerie”(1944) is one of the best examples of modern American drama. Williams called it a “memory play.” The play’s dramatic design is different from realism. It combines emotion, music, light, symbols, and stage effects to express the inner world of memory. 

Meaning of Dramatic Design: Dramatic design means the structure and style of a play. It shows how the story is told, what effects are used, and how emotions are expressed. In this play, Williams uses a new style called “plastic theatre.” It blends reality with poetry. His aim is not to show life as it is, but as it feels. Williams says through Tom in Scene 1,

“I give you truth in the pleasant disguise of illusion.”

This line explains his whole dramatic idea. Williams believed that theatre should show emotional truth, not just daily life.

The Memory Play Technique: The whole play is designed as Tom’s memory. The action begins and ends with his narration. He poetically tells us his past. Memory shapes every part of the stage, like light, sound, and music. Tom says in Scene 1,

“The scene is memory and is therefore nonrealistic.”

This shows that time and place are controlled by Tom’s thoughts, not by logic.

Everything in the play, Laura’s glass toys, Amanda’s dresses, and the fire escape, comes through memory. The lighting is soft and emotional. The stage is symbolic, not realistic. This design helps the audience feel Tom’s emotions clearly.  

Use of Expressionism: Expressionism means showing inner emotions through external effects. Williams uses it beautifully. The music plays whenever Laura appears, showing her fragile beauty. The lighting changes with the mood of each scene. Tom says,

“In memory, everything seems to happen to music.” 

Music in the background helps us enter his feelings. When Amanda talks about her youth, bright lights and cheerful tunes