This resource is designed for students studying the Edexcel A-level Literature course (8ET0 and 9ET0), but it is easily adaptable for other exam boards and advanced literature courses.

It will also form part of a complete A Streetcar Named Desire teaching bundle, which will be available once all individual lessons have been uploaded. Buyers of the bundle will receive all resources at a discounted price.

For copyright reasons, I cannot include the extracts for close analysis, though they should be easily identifiable from the presentation.

**Lesson stages: **

Starter: Title Analysis – Students annotate the play’s title, exploring connotations and what it suggests about themes, character and inevitability. Williams’s working titles are revealed and discussed.

Opening Stage Directions – Close reading of the setting. Students highlight key sensory details (colour, sound, smell) and comment on the mood created, with discussion of decay, vibrancy and the Southern Gothic feel.

Class Reading: Pages 1–3 – Focused questions on atmosphere, the role of the “blue piano”, first impressions of Stanley, and the humour of the locals.

Blanche’s Entrance Analysis – Close analysis of Blanche’s appearance and behaviour. Students track imagery and comparisons, exploring what they suggest about delicacy, pretension, instability and contrast with the setting.

Class Reading: Pages 3–7 – Discussion of Blanche and Eunice’s dialogue to establish class and background.

Class Reading: Pages 8–12 – Analysis of Blanche and Stella’s relationship, affectionate language, and attitudes to class and ethnicity. Consideration of Stanley’s military background.

Blanche’s Monologue (Belle Reve) Extract Analysis – Students summarise the speech, highlight language techniques and analyse what it reveals.

Stanley’s ‘Animal Joy’ Extract Analysis – Group work focusing on animal imagery, mood and masculinity. Students annotate, then rotate to add to another group’s ideas.

Ending of Scene 1 – Final reading and discussion of laurel, Stanley removing his shirt, and the use of plastic theatre. Students consider whether the scene ends in resolution or tension and why.