A Streetcar Named Desire Allusions & Cultural References

When authors refer to other great works, people, and events, it’s usually not accidental. Put on your super-sleuth hat and figure out why.

Literature, Philosophy, and Mythology

  • Edgar Allan Poe (1.93, 3.162)
  • Edgar Allan Poe, "Ullalume" (1.93)
  • Elizabeth Barrett Browning, "How Do I Love Thee?" (3.115)
  • Nathaniel Hawthorne (3.162)
  • Walt Whitman (3.162)
  • One Thousand and One Arabian Nights (5.116)

Pop Culture

  • Vincent van Gogh (opening stage directions, Scene Three)
  • Xavier Cugat (3.94)
  • The Mills Brothers, "Paper Doll" (3.188 stage directions)
  • Richard Strauss, Der Rosenkavalier (5.117)
  • Mae West (opening stage directions, Scene Six)
  • Ella Fitzgerald, "It’s Only a Paper Moon"
  • Huey Long (8.14)
  • The Varsouviana Polka (Music used throughout scenes nine through eleven)