A Streetcar Named Desire: Context, Themes and Questions

A Streetcar Named Desire
Set text for:
  • OCR AS
  • AQA A A Level
  • AQA B AS
  • Edexcel AS and A Level
  • Eduqas AS and A Level
  • WJEC AS

Advanced Learner Pack for AS / A Level

A simple reading of Tennessee Williams’ best known play might consider how it relates to Williams’ own life and sexuality. Look deeper and you might see its feminist angles or its modern take on Aristotelian tragedy but even this is only the beginning of our exploration of this masterpiece. With a closer focus on context, you can push your top students to contemplate its pertinent themes such as mental health, class struggle and immigration.

A very well written and detailed resource which clearly stretches and challenges students

K Lindsey, Lecturer & Peer Reviewer

Comprehensive notes, questions and exam-preparation material investigating the influential contexts and themes of A Streetcar Named Desire for a fuller, more sophisticated understanding. Pitched to the 2015 AS and A Level specifications, this pack will inspire your strongest students to go the extra mile in their journey towards exam success.

Pushing high achievers…
  • Informative notes encourage students to think independently about the core aspects of the play, including characters, form, genre and themes
  • Packed with questions to promote intelligent discussion – the perfect springboard for higher-level analysis
  • Suggestions for wider reading empower students to foster an individual critical stance towards the play
To reach those top marks!
  • Exam-style questions provide extensive practice for creative, unique responses
  • Higher-level sample answers with examiner commentary help students recognise what makes a good answer
  • Revision and exam tips help students focus answers to gain top marks
Plus!
  • A carefully constructed historical timeline
  • Indicative content for all questions

What do teachers say about this resource? (8899)

This is absolutely superb! I have taught A Streetcar Named Desire for the past 7 years and have used a variety of resources but this is a sensational piece of work that is excellent for A Level students... The material that is used for the booklet is interesting and completely relevant to the study of the text... I thought the way that the resource covers all the AOs is effective with embedded activities... The level of thematic discussion is wonderful, the use of sample exam questions in every awarding body makes the text very versatile... I'm so impressed by its quality.

C Marshall, Teacher & Peer Reviewer

An interesting resource. Clear and systematic approach. Impressive breadth of themes explored. Assessment Objectives clearly stated and links made to a breadth of specifications. Good use of model answers at end... Content was very impressive overall... Questions were challenging – good open questions to get the students thinking. Really liked the timeline grid and the connections that can be made between socio-political dates, cultural and literary, and how all connects to people referred to within the text itself... Focused and clear structure and range of themes / areas explored. Imparts lots of key information, targeting key aspects. Also encourages an active approach to learning so students are engaged and thinking, rather than passively absorbing. Tight focus on AOs... A good resource. Nicely phrased and good subject knowledge to extend student understanding.

N Phillips, Head of English & Peer Reviewer

A very well-written and detailed resource which clearly stretches and challenges the students... Designed to really get the students thinking about some of the debates regarding the issues around this text... I liked the fact that thematic areas are discussed in detail as it helps to show the students the ways in which they should be considering the content... A very valuable resource for the higher level learners... Could be useful to any specification.

K Lindsey, Lecturer & Peer Reviewer

This is a great resource in terms of further reading that would allow students to research context and general criticism of the play. It provides useful summaries of several key themes and critical theories... I particularly liked the timeline, which I think would be great to help students contextualise the play early on. I liked the questions in the style of various exam boards, along with exemplar responses, which would be particularly useful for exam preparation. I also thought that the further reading suggestions would be great for the ‘stretch and challenge’ students that the pack is aimed at... The ‘key questions’ ... would be particularly useful for discussion with students.

A Spalding, Teacher & Peer Reviewer

A comprehensive package covering a lot of detail concerning the key themes within the play. The sections are detailed and well written making this a useful teaching tool.

The resource enhances learning by allowing students autonomy in identifying areas to work on in terms of knowledge of the play and research activities. There is differentiation in terms of activities that can be further exploited by teachers to get the most out of their learners. It also gives a good base for wider context links to allow more gifted students to access higher marks in an exam.

Each section is identified through theme with a key quote attached to it. Key questions references come at the end of each section, perhaps put these at the start of each section to give a more focused reading of each section. 

A Reed, English Teacher & Peer Reviewer