Tennessee Williams: Mad Pilgrimage of the Flesh Quiz

Take our free Tennessee Williams quiz below, with 25 multiple choice questions that help you test your knowledge. Determine which chapters, themes and styles you already know and what you need to study for your upcoming essay, midterm, or final exam. Take the free quiz now!

What did Tennessee Williams find most discouraging about his engagement with Hollywood over production of "The Glass Menagerie?" (from The Erotics of Absence)

The fact the studio wanted to sensationalize presentation of the drama, instead of respecting it as a work of art.

That the studio insisted on shooting it in black and white, instead of color.

The fact that "script doctors," or "the cornball department," as Williams called them, wanted to rewrite the ending into something more palatable to them.

The refusal of the movie studio to cast Laurette Taylor as Amanda WIngfield.

What enticement was added to "The Glass Menagerie" so that Laurette Taylor would enact the role of Laura Wingfield? (from Blood — Hot and Personal)

Ms. Taylor was promised the same role if a movie of the play were made.

Tennessee Williams offered to double her salary.

The actress could use her own native southern accent.

Buckets were strategically placed behind curtain so the alcoholic actress could vomit if she became ill.

What indications were there that Tennessee WIlliams had taken his own life? (from The Sudden Subway)

He told his friend John Uecker that because he could no longer write, he wanted to die.

The toxicology report showed that Williams' body was saturated with intoxicants.

Depression had dogged Tennessee throughout his career and fueled his addictions.

He'd spoken of death and suicide often, but more frequently in the time leading up to his death.

What caution did Elia Kazan give Tennessee Williams about "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" before it went into production? (from Thunder of Disintegration)

Kazan told Williams to be certain the script was complete and finished, unlike "Camino Real" which failed because of a defective script.

He told him not to cast Barlon Brando as Brick Pollitt.

Kazan said the actors should all speak with the same southern accent.

Kazan told Williams he should quit drinking.

What were the two biggest challenge Tennessee Williams faced at the zenith of his dramatic career? (from Fugitive Mind)

Motion picture studios were less enthusiastic about his work, and critics descended upon him like vultures on a piece of dead meat.

He could no longer afford the upkeep of his sister, Rose, and the Screen Actors Guild picketed one of his films.

He had trouble getting the drugs he wanted and the partners he craved.

Williams was plagued with self-doubts despite his successes, and the up-and-down nature of hit or flop with his plays tended to undermine his confidence.