Blue Piano + Trumpet/Drums
The blue piano as well as the trumpets and drums accompany the characters through the story. As they initially serve the purpose of creating tension and engaging with the audience, they have their own meanings and themes that they emphasize on.
The trumpet and drums have different meanings for different occasions. One of the main character trait that this music possesses is the sexual tension. The music reminds the audience of a tribal environment, with people dancing around a fire, drinking their alcohol made from horse milk and following their natural sexual instincts. It seems as though this image is portrayed when Stanley and Blanche have sex after an on-going series of moments where the reader can practically feel the tension that is between the two. It is ironic that the drums and trumpet get louder and louder as Blanche gives up and lets Stanley take over control against her will (which, of course, can be interpreted in different manners). If the trumpet and drums were intended to represent the serenity of Blanche’s mind, this would be the part when it fades irreversibly; she has lost her mind.
Both trumpet and drums also have the function of setting the mood in more joyous scenes, like when Stanley comes back home and shouts out his friend’s names. This is the scene where the audience is introduced to the characters, giving them an immediate impression of Stanley: What a man! The trumpet and drums could therefore also represent his manhood and possibly his status of a ‘lion’, ‘king’ and ‘animal’. This thesis would then relate back to the scene where his sexual ego overwhelms Blanche and wins the fight they both were avoiding.
The blue piano’s function is a bit harder to determine, as it serves a lot of roles. It is clear that the blue piano introduces conflicts as well as tensions, but they are of various kinds. The piano sets the mood of the life on the setting, but most importantly Blanche’s life. In German, when someone is blue (blau) that means that they are drunk. Maybe the color blue has a bigger significance than it seems to have? Whenever Blanche is in a state where she plays a different role of her confusing life, she almost seems drunk. Additionally, she does drink a lot and alcohol plays a very penetrating role in her life. The alcohol saves her in a way from awkward situations, just like the piano plays when she’s on set.
An observation can be made from the links the trumpets and drums have to Stanley, and the blue piano has to Blanche. He represents strength and sex, while she represents a broken heart with a hint of pretentious purity. The ultimate collision happens when Stanley assaults her: The music of the blue piano fades (p.99) indicating that her melody is over. She has lost her part of the tension, and the music of the trumpets and drums grow louder and louder, showing that Stanley is now the only party with power in the relationship.
In the end, the piano as well as the drums and trumpet represent a lot of things, but it all comes down to the piano being associated with Blanche and her character and the trumpets and drums playing whenever Stanley is in action.
Blanche’s Singing
The second time Blanche sings is in Scene 7, during which Stanley reveals Blanche’s lies to Stella. Their argument is interspersed with Blanche’s singing of “It’s Only A Paper Moon.” The lyrics she sings are as follows:
There is also a great irony in the music that Blanche chooses to sing. The first song was adapted from a “tribal melody” and converted into several styles, including Jazz. The second song was also a Jazz song. Considering that Blanche arrives at Elysian Fields with racial prejudices, she would likely have scorned at singing ‘African American music’ such as Jazz songs; these would logically have been taken out of her repertoire. However, depending on the version of “From the Land of the Sky-Blue Water” that the director chooses, this has several implications for Blanche’s character. If she sings the popular version, the singing is consistent with Blanche’s invented persona, and makes her fall into disillusionement and singing Jazz songs only harder. But if she sings the jazzy version, this serves to increase her deceiving persona from the start. Considering that Blanche arrives at Elysian Fields with racial prejudices, singing Jazz songs only serves to increase the image of a deceiving persona. This further separates her real character from her illusions and reveals her to be just as ‘common’ as the people she despises.
Polka Music
The blue piano as well as the trumpets and drums accompany the characters through the story. As they initially serve the purpose of creating tension and engaging with the audience, they have their own meanings and themes that they emphasize on.
The trumpet and drums have different meanings for different occasions. One of the main character trait that this music possesses is the sexual tension. The music reminds the audience of a tribal environment, with people dancing around a fire, drinking their alcohol made from horse milk and following their natural sexual instincts. It seems as though this image is portrayed when Stanley and Blanche have sex after an on-going series of moments where the reader can practically feel the tension that is between the two. It is ironic that the drums and trumpet get louder and louder as Blanche gives up and lets Stanley take over control against her will (which, of course, can be interpreted in different manners). If the trumpet and drums were intended to represent the serenity of Blanche’s mind, this would be the part when it fades irreversibly; she has lost her mind.
Both trumpet and drums also have the function of setting the mood in more joyous scenes, like when Stanley comes back home and shouts out his friend’s names. This is the scene where the audience is introduced to the characters, giving them an immediate impression of Stanley: What a man! The trumpet and drums could therefore also represent his manhood and possibly his status of a ‘lion’, ‘king’ and ‘animal’. This thesis would then relate back to the scene where his sexual ego overwhelms Blanche and wins the fight they both were avoiding.
The blue piano’s function is a bit harder to determine, as it serves a lot of roles. It is clear that the blue piano introduces conflicts as well as tensions, but they are of various kinds. The piano sets the mood of the life on the setting, but most importantly Blanche’s life. In German, when someone is blue (blau) that means that they are drunk. Maybe the color blue has a bigger significance than it seems to have? Whenever Blanche is in a state where she plays a different role of her confusing life, she almost seems drunk. Additionally, she does drink a lot and alcohol plays a very penetrating role in her life. The alcohol saves her in a way from awkward situations, just like the piano plays when she’s on set.
An observation can be made from the links the trumpets and drums have to Stanley, and the blue piano has to Blanche. He represents strength and sex, while she represents a broken heart with a hint of pretentious purity. The ultimate collision happens when Stanley assaults her: The music of the blue piano fades (p.99) indicating that her melody is over. She has lost her part of the tension, and the music of the trumpets and drums grow louder and louder, showing that Stanley is now the only party with power in the relationship.
In the end, the piano as well as the drums and trumpet represent a lot of things, but it all comes down to the piano being associated with Blanche and her character and the trumpets and drums playing whenever Stanley is in action.
Blanche’s Singing
Throughout the play, Blanche spends a lot of time in the bathroom – while only two scenes have her being overheard singing from the bathroom, Stanley makes an allusion to the fact that she spends hours bathing. In a sense, it has become Blanche’s shelter from reality, an area where her illusions are at their greatest. The songs Blanche sings reveal her illusions and dreams of youth and desirability. However, Tennessee also used them to reflect the plot.
In Scene 2, Stanley and Stella discuss the loss of Belle Reve for the first time. Blanche has yet to meet Stanley and is in the shower, singing the song “From the Land of the Sky-Blue Water” (Jazz version).From the Land of the Sky-blue Water
They brought a captive maid;
And her eyes they are lit with lightnings
Her heart is not afraid!
But I steal to her lodge at dawning,
I woo her with my flute;
She is sick for the Sky-blue Water,
The captive maid is mute.
While Blanche only sings the first two lines of the song, it foreshadows the entire plot (the audience of the time would have been familiar with the lyrics). The progression of plot is established in four points of two lines each. The first two lines are Blanche’s arrival at Elysian Fields, from what she claims is a life of luxury and wonder. Her captivity is due to both the setting, which she despises, and her economic situation, which has forced her there. Lines 3 to 4 suggest an eargerness for discovery, much akin to Blanche who has decided to ‘conquer’ and seduce the men at Elysian Fields. Bringing the charade too far however, leads to Stanley raping and breaking her, as reflected in lines 5 and 6. Finally, Blanche retreats into herself and her illusions, longing for her “Sky-blue water” (luxurious life, desirability) and becoming “mute” (unheard and silenced) in an asylum (lines 7 and 8).The second time Blanche sings is in Scene 7, during which Stanley reveals Blanche’s lies to Stella. Their argument is interspersed with Blanche’s singing of “It’s Only A Paper Moon.” The lyrics she sings are as follows:
• “Say, it’s only a paper moon, Sailing over a cardboard sea- But it wouldn’t be make-believe If you believed in me!” (120)
• “It's a Barnum and Bailey world, Just as phoney as it can be- But it wouldn't be make believe If you believed in me.” (120)
• “Without your love It's a honky tonk parade! Without your love, It's a melody played in a penny arcade...” (121)
• A repetition of the first two quotes on pages 121 and 122
The soft quality and naivety of these lyrics dismisses any doubts that the reader may have about Blanche; she has built herself a world of illusions. As Blanche admits however, her house of cards only remains standing as long as society around her continues to believe and encourage her lies. Grasping at these straws is ironic given Stanley’s rejection of her on the other side of the bathroom door. In this case, the lyrics serve to heighten the irony as well as the tension in the scene. Stanley and Stella’s argument would be valid without Blanche, but wouldn’t be as antagonistic without the audience’s acknowledgement that Blanche will be destroyed by Stanley’s revelations.There is also a great irony in the music that Blanche chooses to sing. The first song was adapted from a “tribal melody” and converted into several styles, including Jazz. The second song was also a Jazz song. Considering that Blanche arrives at Elysian Fields with racial prejudices, she would likely have scorned at singing ‘African American music’ such as Jazz songs; these would logically have been taken out of her repertoire. However, depending on the version of “From the Land of the Sky-Blue Water” that the director chooses, this has several implications for Blanche’s character. If she sings the popular version, the singing is consistent with Blanche’s invented persona, and makes her fall into disillusionement and singing Jazz songs only harder. But if she sings the jazzy version, this serves to increase her deceiving persona from the start. Considering that Blanche arrives at Elysian Fields with racial prejudices, singing Jazz songs only serves to increase the image of a deceiving persona. This further separates her real character from her illusions and reveals her to be just as ‘common’ as the people she despises.
Polka Music
Whenever the Polka music is evident is almost always evident in scenes that have something to do with Blanches past, and more than often it is when her husband is involved. Blanche will begin to think about what has happened in her past, and as a result the stage directions will prompt the polka music to play in the background. The music will start t play before Blanche begins to talk about her dead husband, and as soon as the story has been finished the music will die down. During the first few scene’s of the play it seemed as though the music was in fact being played in the background of the city in which the characters are placed. However after its first appearances, one begins to notice that it only ever plays when Blanche is talking about her husband. One could simply say that Williams uses it to give a warning or a sign of sorts to the audience that Blanche associates something about the music with the memory, or it could simply be a sign in a changing of emotions. As the music appears again and again, however, one begins to notice that it is always in the same tune. Blanche identifies it as “Varsouviana”, and the pattern begins to get a little odd. It is only in scene 9 where the reader/audience is shown the true nature of the music. Judging from the reaction of Mitch and Blanche in scene 9 it is clear that Blanche is the only one who can hear the music. When talking to Mitch, Blanche is slowly moving down the path of a mental breakdown. Her life has been ruined and her reputation has been made known to Mitch. With her life collapsing around her she sense’s something is wrong. She says “The ‘Varsouviana’! The polka tune they were playing when Allan - Wait! … There now, the shot! it always stops after that”. The reader can clearly see that the memory attached to the music is that of the night her husband shot himself. She can predict when the music starts and stops because the music is within her. The feverish music is a sign of not only her guilt of the death of her husband, but also how it has affected her mentality. The guilt has turned her mind somewhat unstable, and she is beginning to collapse into insanity. Williams uses the music to show the audience that Blanche is in fact slowly breaking down mentally, and soon her insanity will take over.
Absolutely excellent! Ms. M
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