SOURCE: Derounian, Kathryn Zabelle. “‘The Kingdom of Earth’ and Kingdom of Earth: (The Seven Descents of Myrtle): Tennessee Williams' Parody.” University of Mississippi Studies in English 4 (1983): 150-58.

In the following essay, Derounian examines the connection between the story “The Kingdom of Earth” and Williams's later play Kingdom of Earth, focusing on his use of parody in both works.

Tennessee Williams critics know that this playwright's composition process is more complex than most. The writer himself long ago revealed his usual procedure in producing full-length drama: “My longer plays emerge out of earlier one-acters or short stories I may have written years before. I work over them again and again.”¹ The relationship between a completed short story and a final play is especially significant, for although many playwrights sketch out prose notes before composition, Williams seems to require a gradual expansion of material from one genre to another. His...