Tennessee williams biography worksheet lessons

With the exception perhaps of Arthur Miller, Tennessee Williams was the greatest American playwright of the mid twentieth century. He rose, however, from inauspicious beginnings.

Born as Thomas Williams in Mississippi in 1911, he was a sickly child, suffering periodically from diphtheria and provoking the ire of his father, a violent alcoholic who despised what he considered to be his son’s weakness.

Tennessee williams biography worksheet lessons pdf

Owing to the fact that his father was a travelling salesman, Williams’ childhood was further disrupted by the frequent relocations undergone by his family. This sad and troubled upbringing was, many believe, the foundation for the tragic family dramas contained throughout his work.

While at college in Missouri as a young man, Williams saw a production of Henrik Ibsen’s Ghosts and decided that his calling was as a playwright.

He was later forced to drop out of college by his father to help support the family by working in a shoe factory; although William