Character Dynamics
Tom’s coworkers at the shoe warehouse give him this literary nickname because he writes poetry on his breaks.
"Shakespeare"
Jim gives Laura this nickname in high school because he misheard her medical condition, pleurosis.
Laura drops out of Rubicam’s Business College because she suffered from this physical reaction during a typing test
panic attack (or vomiting/getting sick)
The play is set in this Missouri city during the 1930s.
St. Louis
Amanda is obsessed with Laura’s "gentleman callers" because she herself allegedly had this many in one day.
seventeen
This specific glass animal is Laura’s favorite because it is "different" from the others, much like herself.
Unicorn
Tom uses the money intended for this utility bill to pay his dues for the Merchant Marine Union.
electric bill (light bill)
Because the play is presented through Tom's perspective and emotions, it is famously known as this type of play.
Memory play
This character is the only one who doesn't actually appear on stage, described only as "a telephone man who fell in love with long distance."
Father (Mr. Wingfield)
Tom spends his nights at this location to escape his reality, though Amanda suspects he is just out drinking.
The movies/cinema
This is the name of the dance hall across the alley from the Wingfield apartment that plays music throughout the play.
Paradise Dance Hall
This structural feature of the apartment is where Tom goes to smoke and is symbolically his only way out of his life.
The fire escape
Amanda earns extra money for the family by selling subscriptions to this magazine over the phone.
"The Homemaker’s Companion"
This musical device, left behind by the father, is what Laura plays whenever she is feeling anxious or retreat into her own world.
Victrola / record player
In the middle of dinner with Jim, the lights go out. Amanda reacts by giving Jim this object to help "light the way" for Laura
candelabra
Amanda frequently reminisces about her youth spent in this Southern location.
Blue mountain
Jim O’Connor’s primary reason for taking night classes is to study these two modern subjects.
Public Speaking and Radio Engineering
When the unicorn’s horn breaks off, Laura says it is a "blessing in disguise" because the animal is now "just like" these.
the other horses
At the end of the evening, Jim reveals he cannot date Laura because he is already engaged to a woman named this.
Betty
Tom explains that the play’s style is "sentimental" and "not realistic" because, in memory, everything seems to happen to this.
Music