Williams' play

Williams opens with extensive stage directions setting the scene of the play. He describes the Wingfield apartment, a small unit in a crowded urban area of St. Louis. Visible outside are a fire escape and narrow alleys flanking the building; through the transparent fourth wall the audience can see the Wingfield living room and dining room. A large photograph of the family's absent father is on the wall. Also visible is a large collection of transparent glass animals, Laura's "glass menagerie," for which the play is named. There is a phonograph, along with some old records, and a keyboard chart with an upright typewriter. During the opening, the transparent fourth wall ascends out of sight, to fall again only during Tom's final monologue.

Tom emerges, dressed as a merchant sailor. In his first speech, he compares himself to a magician who gives "truth in the pleasant disguise of illusion" and establishes himself as a poet and as the narrator of the play. He tells the audience that t...