A Streetcar Named Desire: A Level York Notes A Level Revision Guide

A Level Study Notes and Revision Guides

A Streetcar Named Desire: A Level York Notes

Tennessee Williams

Fill in the blanks

Fill in the missing word(s) in the quotation below, then check your answers.

Use of Language – Standard and non-standard English 2 of 2

You should be able to comment on how the English spoken by characters reflects their class and outlook.

Blanche tells Stella: ‘In some kinds of people some   feelings have had some little beginning!’ (Scene Four, p. 47).

Ask yourself: How does Blanche’s choice of words reflect her class and outlook here?

Possible answer: She uses standard English with correct grammar and no slang, reflecting her higher-class family background and her subject. The phrase ‘tenderer feelings’ displays her educated capacity for abstract ideas and the value she places on emotional sensitivity. She rhetorically repeats the word ‘some’ to add weight to her appeal.