Previous
Ethos
Key Examples in The Glass Menagerie
Scene 1
Explanation and Analysis:
The Glass Menagerie is a memory play, which is a term that was first coined by Williams in reference to this work. A memory play is narrated by its lead character (in this case, Tom) from his memory. Tom recalls the period of his life before he leaves his family in St. Louis to pursue his own dreams. In the following passage from Scene 1, Tom describes to the audience some elements of a memory play:
The play is memory. Being a memory play, it is dimly lighted, it is sentimental, it is not realistic. In memory everything seems to happen to music.
Related Themes:
