pgs+130-135


 * **Page** || **Word/Term (Part of Speech in Context)** || **Meaning/Explanation** ||
 * 130 || "Oh! So you want some rough-house! All-right, let's have some rough-house!" || Rough-house means treatment in a boisterous manner. Stanley says this to Blanche before he rapes her. Stanley's character is interpreted as being rough and manly. His manner of speaking is often in slang, quick and gruff. This way of speaking is to show her authority and how manly he is. ||
 * 130 || "Tiger--tiger!" || Stanley says this to Blanche after she tries to hit him with a bottle. It is ironic that he is calling her a tiger because Stanley is perceived as being a wild beast. His character is described as being very animalistic and Blanche even says so to Stella earlier in the play. ||
 * 131 || Portiere || A large, heavy curtain hung across a doorway, in place of an actual door. A portiere would separate two rooms visually, but would not muffle sounds as a door would. Additionally, silhouettes would still be visible through the portiere. ||
 * 131 || "Maldita sea tu suerte!" || Directly translated to English this means "your luck is cursed". Pablo says this as him and the men are playing the last poker game before the play ends. ||
 * 131 || Salerno || A city of southern Italy on the Gulf of Salerno, an inlet of the Tyrrhenian Sea. Originally a Greek settlement and later a Roman colony (founded in 197 B.C.), Salerno was the site of a noted medical school in the Middle Ages. During World War II, Salerno's coast was the scene of a major battle (September 1943) between Allied landing forces and German troops.

Stanley makes a reference to this city after Pablo swears to him in Spanish speaking about luck. He is speaking about the war and he is comparing luck in poker to the luck he had in Salerno. It is not clearly stated he was an officer in Salerno however we can assume so. ||
 * 131 || Flowery dresses || Flowery dresses are associated with the costume Blanche is perceived to be wearing. She is usually described wearing feminine clothing, old-styled and proper. When she first arrives in New Orleans, she is described as wearing a white suit with a fluffy bodice, a necklace and earrings of pearl, white gloves and a hat. This image created by Williams of Blanche gives us the idea that she is pure and innocent, however as we read the play, we find out she is not. Stella hides behind her appearance and her costume is one of the ways she hides. ||
 * 134 || Shep Huntleigh || Shep Huntleigh is an old friend of Blanche's who lives in Dallas. She had tried to contact him earlier because she believes he can help her and Stella out. However, what the others don't know is that Shep Huntleigh's friendship was an imaginary one and Blanche had made it up to seem more important and/or wanted. He is made out to be extremely wealthy and handsome and to be able to help Blanche in her current situation. As he does not return her calls, she becomes more paranoid and anxious.

When the play mentions Shep Huntleigh in these few pages, Stella and Stanley have realised there is no Shep Huntleigh in her life and have concluded she is slowly, if not already, going mad. The rape and this imaginative friend, eventually leads to the downfall of Blanche. ||
 * 135 || Della Robbia || Della Robbia was a Florentine sculptor called Luca della Robbia (1400?-1482). He is usually remembered for his singularly lovely images of the Madonna and Child in glazed terra-cotta.Many of the Della Robbia pieces are still in their original settings in Florence, Siena, and other Italian cities, but the finest collections are in Florence in the cathedral, the Bargello, and the Italian Academy, and in London in the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Della Robbia is mentioned by Blanche when the three ladies are speaking about the colour of her jacket. She makes a reference to the famous sculptor who drew pictures of the old Madonna in a blue robe. This is an example of the language Blanche uses when she speaks. Her speech is outdated and she speaks in proper syntax. She also makes several literary references in the play, this being an example of one. ||