Importance of Settings in the Glass MenagerieIn Tennessee Williams' play, The Glass Menagerie, settings are also important to the theme of the play than the dialogue itself. Detailed stage directions intensify the unrealistic setting, foreshadow and emphasize events, and develop the characters. Soft colored lighting and symbolic melodies create the unrealistic setting of the memory game. In his opening narration, Tom says: “Being a memory game, it's dimly lit, it's sentimental, it's not realistic. In memory, everything seems to happen to the music. This explains the fiddling behind the scenes” (699). Throughout the play, the settings use “a turgid smoky red glow,” “dark gray” lighting, and a “deep blue twilight” that create the hazy images of a memory. For a brief moment, as Jim enters, there is a "delicate lemon light" (688), and a soft light from the new lamp brings out Laura's "unearthly prettiness" (695). However, at the end of the play, and throughout its majority, the setting is dark, characteristic of Tom's sad memory. The music in the play can be symbolic or simply add to the emotion of a scene. In the fourth scene, "Ave Maria" plays softly in the background, symbolizing Amanda's duties as a mother. Throughout the play, the music rises and falls to the rhythm of the characters' emotions. For example, as Tom confronts his mother with the reality of his sister's disability, "the music transforms into a tango with a minor and somewhat disturbing tone" (687). Describing the appearance of characters and presenting messages on screen, the scene directions foreshadow and emphasize events. The description of Tom standing on the fire escape looking "like a traveler" (692) foreshadows his escape middle of paper...... actions of Amanda and Laura, an audience might believe that Laura is out definitely out of her shell or that Amanda is just an overprotective mother who can't face reality. Yet with elaborate stage directions, Tennessee Williams creates a distinctive memory game in which each character tragically fails to achieve their goals. Works Cited Jolemore, Nancy. “Lecture notes and study guide questions for The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee William.” Old Dominion University. January 18, 2000. Accessed June 29, 2002. Reser, Rob. “A touch of glass.” June 29, 2002. .Williams, Tennessee. The Glass Menagerie. Literature and the writing process. 5th ed. Elizabeth McMahan, Susan X. Day and Robert Funk. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice, 1999. 693-734.