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 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 he should quit drinking.

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

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

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

After the dismal failure of "Camino Real," how did Williams get back on his feet as the leading dramatist of his time? (from Thunder of Disintegration)

He discussed his homosexuality on a TV interview.

He co-produced with Elia Kazan a Shakespeare play set in contemporary America.

He wrote "Cat on Hot Tin Roof" which won practically every theater award, critical acclaim and immense popularity at the box office.

He acted in one of his own plays, "Small Craft Warnings."

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 was Tennessee Williams' biggest fear about death? (from The Sudden Subway)

That he would deplete his money before he died.

That he would die in an institution like a hospital or nursing home.

That he would have to account for his life.

That he would attempt suicide but fail.

What effects did the tightening of social mores during the 50s have on the filming of "A Streetcar Named Desire? (from Fugitive Mind)

Stanley Kowalski could not have a cigar in his mouth during the filming of the scene.

In the fight scene, Blanche could not call Stanley "faggot."

The rape scene involving Stanley Kowalski and Blanche duBois could not be depicted graphically, but merely implied with such cues as body angles, music and dialogue.

The bare breast displayed and described in the script had to be covered.