Point of View

A Streetcar Named Desire is a dramatic play written in third person. Tennessee Williams employs several theatrical techniques in the work which blur the lines between reality and fantasy. These include lighting shifts, the introduction of musical scoring, and distorted voices which arise from Blanche's mind. The effect of these techniques is that it gives the audience the perception of viewing the world through the characters' eyes as opposed to remaining completely objective spectators.

Examples of these effects can be seen in Stanley's poker game, in which the lighting of the Kowalski kitchen shifts and reflects primary colors. Similarly, the poker players are dressed in red, blue, green and yellow. Later, when Blanche discusses the history of her husband's suicide, the repeated sound of polka music, presumably that playing at the Moon Lake Casino, plays with greater intensity. As Blanche’s delusions worsen in the...