Tennesse Williams and Langston Hughes

Introduction

Tennessee Williams was an outstanding American play writer and the

author of film scripts, short stories, novels and verse of the 20th Century. He was well

known for his theatrical techniques, as well for his unique Southern idioms, compelling

dialogue. Tennessee Williams also used strange and shocking themes for the time being

which was around the 1940's and 1950's which contained sexual tensions and suppressed

violence on his character as well with passion and irony. One of Tennessee Williams

most recognize play was " A Street Named Desire" which was full of passion and tragedy

of what some family go through when they try to run away from their problems. Another,

is " The Glass Managerre" which was also full of drama and passion. According to the

textbook Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing " Williams acclaim wherever he took his

plays becoming one of the most recognize play writer of all times". One recurring theme

in Tennessee Williams work is how refusing to face reality in life and running away from

his family problems. In other hand, Langston Hughes was an American poet, novelist, playwright, short story writer of the twentieth century. Langston Hughes made sad and frustrated black people cheerful and happy through his unique way of writing poems. He was one of the earliest innovators of the new literary art form jazz poetry. Hughes is best known for his work during the Harlem Renaissance. The irony of this decade was that their was towas much racism around this time so trying to be an successful Africa-American was really difficult. Langston Hughes did find a way through his unique style of writing. When Langston went to school, he was the only black student in his class. Since he was the black, no one wanted to play with him, so he made friends with characters in his books. Source: www.kyrene.org/schools/brisas/poets/hughes.htm. In the poems T, too, Ballard of the landlord and Un-American Investigators Langston Hughes expresses frustration and anger at racial inequality.

Biography

Thomas Lanier Williams known as Tennessee Williams was born on

March 26, 1914 in Columbus, Mississippi. He was the second of three children, his whole

life was full of tension often engaged in violent arguments that really frightened his sister

in which we had a real close relationship. His father was a traveling salesman in which he

was rarely home and for many years the family lived with the mothers parents. His father

loved to gamble and drink and most of the times his parents were resentful of each other.

Tennessee Williams father had a big influence on Williams drinking habits. In an 1970

interview on the David Frost show, Williams commented on his drinking problems and

sleeping controlling pills. " I have gave them up and now I'm on myself , I still do take

one drink a day" he said. " But I will cover the waterfront".

As a child Williams would spent enormous hours writing stories in his

room with a typewriter and even one wrong word or sentenced would convince him of

starting all over. In an Autobiography of Tennessee Williams he wrote, " Some mystery

should be left in the revelation of character in a play, just as a great deal of mystery is

always left in the revelation of character in life, even in one's own character to himself "

His plays had to be done to perfection or else it was worthless to him. In 1927, Williams

got his first taste of literary fame when he took third place in a national essay contest

sponsored by the Smart Magazine. In 1929 Williams, was admitted to the University of

Missouri where he saw a production of Henrik Ibsen which was an 19th Century

Norweigian play writer, theatre director, and poet. This immediately influence Williams

on becoming also a play writer. It wasn't easy for Williams after his father made him

withdraw college and made work at the International Shoe Company. Eventually,

Williams returned to school in 1937. In 1938, he graduated from the University of Iowa.

Tennessee Williams decided to move to New Orleans after his graduation

in which it was their he decided to change name to what it is. In 1939, he received a 1,000

Rockefeller Grant, and a year later, Battle of the angels was produced in Boston. It was in

1944 in where many consider he wrote his best play, The Glass Menagerie, he had a very

successful run in Chicago and a year later burst its way onto Broadway. Many people

believed that Tennessee used his own familial relationship as inspiration for the play. "

Everything in his life is his plays, and everything in his plays is his life" The Glass

Menagere won the New York Drama Circle Award for best play of the season.

Williams Kept on writing wonderful plays and in 1948 he wrote " A

Streetcar Named Desired" which was one of his biggest success people had comment of

Williams

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