Off-scene Violence in "A Streetcar Named Desire"

There are two acts of violence in Streetcar, both of which are "off-scene".  There are two possible reasons for this which you can explore. 

First, it is a convention of Greek tragedy that "no blood is spilled on stage".   “the most extreme forms of tragic violence are presented as off-stage events, out of sight but very much within the emotional reach of the audience.”  The whole article can be found here:  http://www.thoughtemporium.org/tragedy.htm

Worth reading as it is good for context.  Also, you will be reading Othello next year and you may want to consider why Shakespeare has Desdemona killed on stage by Othello, Iago kills Emilia on stage, and Othello kills Iago and himself on stage.  Hamlet is riddled with bodies on stage, as is Romeo and Juliet.  So a departure here.  And yet, Shakespeare adheres to conventions of Greek tragedy in other ways.  When did this break with convention happen?  What is the effect?  How do modern plays deal with it - like Streetcar - in comparison.

The second possible reason is that the contemporary audience were not ready for a depiction of this violence on stage.  You should know how this play was received.  it was considered by some to be 

crude and vulgar and they were not ready for this degree of "realism".  The Boston censors, where it tried out before Broadway,  wanted all the vulgar language deleted and the rape scene removed altogether.  Personally, I doubt Williams cared, but it is a possible reason you should consider to show openness to "other interpretations"  (AO5) and awareness of context (AO3)

Here is a link to a review by the New York Times on the first night review which is very positive and worth looking at for AO5.  http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/04/23/theater/20120423-streetcar.html?_r=1& 

Here is a link to an essay bringing together the pre-New York try outs .    https://journals.ku.edu/index.php/jdtc/article/viewFile/1818/1781

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