Studying A Streetcar Named Desire (Print)

This photocopiable resource provides resources and activities to support students in exploring and analysing A Streetcar Named Desire as a literary text and as a drama script in production.

The publication provides material for before reading (including an introduction to naturalism and expressionism); approaches to each scene, and substantial after reading activities to allow students to explore key ideas in greater depth.

• Literary, generic and historic contextual materials (including New Orleans and the American South, the first stage production and censorship), with activities to support students in using this contextual knowledge effectively.
• Draws on literary, stylistic and creative approaches to critical analysis, providing ways of engaging with the play’s structure, language, characterisation and dramatic qualities, as well as its themes and ideas.
• Activities to support students in to balance close analysis of individual scenes, with a sense of the play as a whole, its development, structure and shape. 
• Critical material integrated throughout the resource to sharpen up students’ own responses and to suggest new ways of interpreting the text.

Reviews

'This publication was a godsend! Extremely thorough, detailed and helpful, especially when revising for the upcoming exam. I’m looking forward to using it next year.' 

Lisa Butler, Nower Hill High School

'Studying A Streetcar Named Desire provides invaluable resources and innovative activities to help students grasp the fundamentals, and explore the subtleties, of Williams' work. A touchstone for any teacher seeking an aid to long term planning for the text itself, or providing an engaging and productive lesson on dramatic works and techniques in general.'

Dr David Falls, Aylesbury High School

'This has been a fantastic resource for studying A Streetcar Named Desire at A Level. Students have been inspired and well prepared for the new exams by the variety of tasks exploring language, themes and theatrical techniques and the interesting contextual information.'

Lisa Burke English Lecturer Tresham College of Further Education