“Deliberate cruelty is not forgivable” (Setting H/W does not come under this heading btw!!)

Scene 10- The Real Climax
HERE ARE THE NOTES THAT YOU NEED TO ADD TO YOUR COPIES OF THE PLAY AS HOMEWORK... THIS IS NOT AN EXHAUSTIVE LIST SO OBVIOUSLY ADD YOUR OWN ANNOTATIONS AS WELL!!

OH AND DONT FORGET TO REVISE FOR THE NEXT GLOSSARY QUIZ ON MONDAY 23rd NOV.


LEXIS
STAGE DIRECTIONS: Scenes 7-10 all take place on the evening of Blanche’s birthday; progressively later (chronological = naturalistic theatre)

Blanche is described as being in ‘a mood of hysterical exhilaration’ at the outset of the scene; this is an explicit indication of the climactic scene which is about to ensue

“Spectral” (relating to a ghost; apparition); BLANCHE’s sanity is called into question once more (cohesion- Scene 9- “I don’t want realism”)

GRAMMAR
BLANCHE’s grammar breaks down in the middle of the scene: “But I have been foolish- casting my pearls before swine!”

The repetition “Oh” is as though BLANCHE is responding to physical blows (cohesion- scene 1?) as STANLEY’s declarative utterances undo her pretentions

Once again (cohesion) there is clear antithesis between the two character’s lexicon:
STANLEY is predominantly colloquial (“Huh?” “Yep”)
BLANCHE elevated register (“beau”, “Biscay boulevard” and “gentleman” “cultivated”)

PHONOLOGY
Opening STAGE DIRECTIONS: BLANCHE is described using sibilance “somewhat spoiled... Scuffed silver slippers” ; antithesis calming sound which contrasts with Blanche’s agitated state

Ambiguity: STANLEY:“Uh-huh” and BLANCHE: “Oh” the sheer contrast between the two is made evident by these phatic utterances

Ellison: STANLEY “You left th’ phone of th’ hook”

DISCOURSE STRUCTURE
Despite BLANCHE’s bizarre monologue, her duologue with STANLEY is suprisingly regular at first; characterised by completed adjacency pairs; STANLEY is in a cooperative mood due to imminent arrival of his child (“amiably” “happily”- SD’s)

BLANCHE begins to break adjacency pairs as STANLEY undresses; impinging on her personal space (“...privacy”); signal to the audience that theirs is still a fractious relationship