A Light Of Hope In Desperation

Tennessee Williams is one of the most outstanding playwrights after World War Ⅱ, he is famous for the theatrical revolution he brings to the twentieth-century American stage and many of his works become classics on the American stage. Most studies and thesis conducted on Tennessee Williams at home and abroad focus on homosexuality, cannibalism, dramatic techniques, femininism, etc. Few people analyze the theme of his plays, especially the optimistic theme. Through an extensive reading of Williams’s plays, the author of this thesis has discovered that it has hope and confidence in Williams’s plays. This thesis centers on Williams’s optimistic theme reflected in his two major representative plays, and puts forward a conclusion that Tennessee Williams’s theme style belongs to optimism rather than pessimism.This thesis includes an introduction, four chapters and a conclusion. The introduction offers the study on Tennessee Williams and this thesis’s main theme. The first chapter gives a brief introduction to the playwright and his two plays with a brief literature review. The second part discusses the theme of Tennessee Williams. Although his plays are full of tragic women and desperate struggle, people can still notice the light of hope through each of his plays. With the comparative study of the differences between optimism and pessimism, the author points out that Williams’s theme style belongs to the optimism, rather than pessimism. The third part and the fourth part offer a detailed analysis of the optimism style in Williams’s two major plays:The Rose Tattoo and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, the former one is a optimistic play which was Williams’s first full-length comedy, and the latter one also is one of his most famous plays. Through author’s view and way to analyze Serafina and Maggie, people can learn the other side of their character such as confidence, strong will and their hopeful heart, which just like the light of hope throughout the desperation in Williams’s plays. The thesis in the final draws a conclusion that Tennessee Williams is a playwright with optimistic theme style. Thus, this thesis not only shows the doubt about the mainstream’s classification of Williams as a pessimistic playwright in literary history but also offers a new perspective for the further study of Williams in terms of his theme style.