Individual tasks

1. Analyze the structural division of act III. Where is the climax of it?

2. Imagine you are Lady. Relate her monologue on pp. 304-305.

3. Give the summery of act III.

4. Analyze the peculiarities (grammar and vocabulary) of the illiterate speech. In what way will you render them in Russian?

5. Tell us about Lady’s life story.

6. What is your opinion of Carol and her way of life? Tell the story of her life and her philosophy.

7. What are your impressions of Jabe Torrance? How would you characterize him?

8. Why is Val called Orpheus? What is your attitude to him? What symbol does he personify?

9. Give some character sketches of the inhabitants of that small provincial Southern town where Lady and her father suffered so much.

10. T. Williams’ life and literary career.

Tennessee Williams Orpheus Descending

General questions and tasks

1. Describe the setoff the scene as you imagine it.

2. What can you say about stage directions? How does the author reveal himself through them?

3. What “prohibition” is meant on p.228?

4. Comment on Beulah’s words about the way the majority of people marry?

5. How did all the participants behave when a Negro Conjure. Men appeared?

6. Describe Carol’s appearance.

7. , 8) How did Lady and Val look like?

9. What does the word “bootlegger” mean?

10. How does the phrase “I’d like to be one of those birds” (p.253) characterize Lady?

11. “Monkey business” what does it mean?

12. “To buy a valentine” what does it mean?

13. Do you agree with Val that “we are sentenced to solitary confinement inside our own skins for life”?

14. Does Tennessee Williams reveal good knowledge of human soul when his Val says (p. 257)“What does anyone wait for? For something to happen foe any thing to happen, to make things make more sense”.)

15. What is the meaning of “to wait on”?

16. Comment on Vee’s words (p.p. 269-270) “I paint a thing how I feel it, instead of always the way it actually is appearances are misleading, nothing is what it looks like to the eyes. You got to have vision to see”.

17. How much is it “a shot of liquor” (p.274)

18. What kind of music the so-called ragtime music is? (p.286)

19. How does a trench coat look like? (p. 296)

20. What can you say about the tonality of the play?

Individual tasks

1. Analyze the peculiarities (grammar and vocabulary) of the illiterate speech. In what way will you render them in Russian?

2. Relate Lady’s life story.

3. Retell Val’s speech (Act 1) in indirect speech.

4. What is your opinion of Carol and her way of life? Tell the story of her life and her philosophy.

5. Compress the dialogue between Val and Lady (Act 1) into no more than 10-15 sentences.

6. Dramatize the talk between Lady and Val at the beginning of Act 2.

7. Retell Lady’s monologue (p.p. 267-268) in indirect speech as if you were David.

8. Sum up the events and the talks of Act 2.

9. What are your impressions of Jabe Torrance? How would you characterize him?

10. Why is Val called Orpheus? What is your attitude to him? What symbol does he personify?

11. Give some character sketches of the inhabitants of that small provincial Southern town where Lady and her Father suffered so much.