Tennessee Williams' Orpheus descending : a modern retelling of an ancient myth

Abstract EN

Throughout his literary career, Tennessee Williams was dissatisfied with the conventional theater of realism and was strongly in favor of a plastic theater that could help the artist convey his views and restore theater as a vital element in a nation's culture.

This paper explores Orpheus Descending as one of Williams' many attempts to achieve the above goal.

Through treating an ancient myth, and employing various techniques of the representational theater, Williams sought to shed light on an ugly world in which hypocrites and monsters of all kinds destroy and defeat the frustrated little people.