Symbols

• Shadows and cries

  • become prominent as Blanche increasingly descends into madness
  • dramatise Blanche's breakdown and departure from reality
  • especially noticeable at the start of Scene Ten, when Stanley and Blanche start to fight
• Varsouviana polka

  • indicates Blanche feeling remorse for her husband's death by suicide
  • only ends after Blanche hears the sound of a gunshot in her head
  • evokes Blanche's loss of innocence and the beginning of her mental decline
  • heard whenever she panics or loses her grip on reality
• The 'Paper Moon'

  • appears in Scene Seven
  • the lyrics sum up Blanche's approach to life
  • juxtaposed with Stanley telling Stella the true reason why Blanche left Laurel
  • reinforces Blanche's preference of fantasy over reality
• Meat

  • appears in Scene One, when Stanley throws a packet of bloody meat for Stella to catch
  • sexual innuendo, which is picked up by Eunice and the Black woman
  • states Stanley's apparent sexual proprietorship over Stella
  • Stella's delight signals her own sexual infatuation with Stanley