Employment of a Screen Device in The Glass Menagerie

The Glass Menagerie is a collection of memories played out onstage, and therefore does not flow in the traditional way. For this reason, Tennessee Williams uses the screen device as a guide for the audience. It guides the audience transitionally, as the tone or focus changes, it repeatedly offers emphasis and further insight, and above all sets the mood by stirring up particular emotions in the audience. Beyond simply leading the way through the play, the screen device is a tool used to alter our comprehension of the events taking place. Williams accomplishes all this through a careful selection of images and phrases, including quotes from the characters themselves.
Throughout the play, the screen device is used repeatedly as a transitional tool that leads us onward and into the main focus and tone of the coming scene. The very first legend appears on screen immediately following Tom’s introduction and precedes the first dialogue of the play. The legend reads, “Ou sont les n...