One Myth, Three Genres The Development and Transformation of the Myth of Orpheus in Tennessee Williams’s Oeuvre

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Hysni Kafazi

Abstract

Tennessee Williams (1911–1983) often found inspiration in mythology, from his first short story to numerous poems that allude to Greco-Roman myths. Notably, his first professionally produced play, Battle of Angels (1940) is based on the story of Orpheus and Euridice, a myth that consistently resurfaces in Williams’s works. This paper traces the development of this myth across Williams’s oeuvre in three different genres, from the play Battle of Angels to the poem “Orpheus Descending” (1952), the revised theatrical version titled Orpheus Descending (1957), and finally the movie The Fugitive Kind (1960). A comparative analysis of the nuances of the myth of Orpheus in these works reveals that Williams utilizes the universal recognizability of the myth, and gradually employs it with a philosophical perspective, transposing Orpheus’ journey to the Underworld to a modern context to depict the condition of man in modern times.

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How to Cite
Kafazi, H. (2024). One Myth, Three Genres: The Development and Transformation of the Myth of Orpheus in Tennessee Williams’s Oeuvre. Sapiens Ubique Civis, 5, 511–528. https://doi.org/10.14232/suc.2024.5.511-528
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Articles
Author Biography

Hysni Kafazi, University of Szeged

is a PhD candidate at the University of Szeged, Department of Comparative Literature, where he also teaches “Existentialist Drama in the Context of Modern American Theatre”. He obtained his BA and MSc in English Language and Literature from Beder University College, Albania. His major field of interest is modern drama, and his research focuses on the existentialist aspects of the drama of American playwright Tennessee Williams and Turkish writer Necip Fazıl Kısakürek.