The Facts: Exegesis

Geographic Settings, locations, buildings, streets
1. Elysian Fields-At the beginning of the play Blanche arrives and says she was given instructions to take the streetcar named Desire to Elysian Fields
Elysian Fields Avenue is a broad, straight avenue in New Orleans named after the Avenue des Champs-Élysées in Paris. It courses south to north from the Lower Mississippi River to Lake Pontchartrain, a distance of approximately 5 miles (8.0 km). However, in Greek mythology Elysian Fields is the land for the dead.
2. Belle Reve- The plantation and former home of Blanche and Stella. Translates to "sweet dream" in French. There is no such location in Mississippi, however it is the name of a special prison in "Smallville" for villains and super humans. In addition to this, it is a Bed & Breakfast as well as a restaurant.
3.Galatoires- Restaurant Stella talks about taking Blanche to during one of Stanley's poker parties. This restaurant is actually located on Bourbon Street in New Orleans and has been since 1905. Owned by the same family for four generations. It offers traditional entrees' such as Fried Eggplant & Souffle Potatoes Bearnaise, Shrimp Rémoulade, Oysters Rockefeller.
4. Laurel, Mississippi- Location of Belle Reve, hometown of Blanche and Stella. Is actually a real place located in South-East Mississippi.
5. Biscayne Boulevard- Location where Blanche claims to have last ran into Shep Huntleigh. This is the name given to the stretch of U.S. Route 1 in Miami, Florida.
6. Owl-Car. After Blanche and Mitch's date they come home around 2am and she wonders how he will get home. He tells her "I will walk to Bourbon and catch an owl-car." An "owl-car" is a street car that runs only during the late evening hours.
Cultural References(furniture, clothing, styles of architecture and music
1. Varsouviana- This is the tune that Blanche hears throughout the play. This is the tune that she was dancing to with Allen when she told him he disgusted her which prompted him to kill himself. This is a Polka song that is dark and haunting not like the usual up-beat Polka music.
2. Rosenkavalier-When Mitch is arriving with flowers for Blanche just after she pushes the young collector out the door she says "Look who is coming! My Rosenkavalier!" The reference to Rosenkavalier is an opera written by Richard Strauss about secret affairs between royalty in Vienna in 1740. Des Rosenkavalier translates from German to mean "The Knight of the Rose"
Real People(Names and Pronunciations)
1. Alpaca- Mitch is wearing a jacket made of "Alpaca". This is a woven material made from the fibers of Alpaca fur, which resembles a small llama.
2. Xavier Cugat- Famous Catalan-Cuban-American bandleader
Archaic or foreign words or phrases
1. Incongruous-disagreeing and inharmonious in character
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/incongruous
2. Napoleonic Code- Stanley tells Stella "Now listen. Did you ever hear of the Napoleonic code, Stella?...Now just let me enlighten you on a point or two...Now we got here in the state of Louisiana what's known as the Napoleonic code. You see, now according to that, what belongs to the wife belongs to the husband also, and vice versa...It looks to me like you've been swindled baby. And when you get swindled under Napoleonic code, I get swindled too and I don't like to get swindled..."
http://www.la-legal.com/modules/article/view.article.php?c8/29
This is an actual law in the state of Louisiana.
3. Improvident-not provident; lacking foresight; incautious; unwary. OR neglecting to provide for future needs.
4. The "Evening Star"-The young man that comes to collect money for the evening newspaper works for the "Evening Star" newspaper. In reality there is no such newspaper in New Orleans but it is in Auburn, Indiana.
5. Neurasthenia-Psychiatry. (not in technical use) nervous debility and exhaustion occurring in the absence of objective causes or lesions; nervous exhaustion.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/neurasthenia
6. Pleiades- Blanche wants to take one last look at the sky before she goes in for the night, she says she is looking for "Pleiades". This refers to the seven sisters(or seven stars) that are a cluster in the constellation Taurus.
7. Quinine- Blanche refers to this toward the end of the play, saying it won't work on her. Quinine was a treatment for Malaria.
8. Ghoul-haunted Woodland of Weir- At the beginning of the play Blanche can't believe Stella lives in such conditions. She mentions that only Mr. Poe could do it justice. The Ghoul-haunted Woodland of Weir is described in Poe's poem "Ulalume"
Idiomatic Language
1. “Polack”-derogatory name for someone of Polish decent.
2. Kibitz- While watching Stanley and his friends play poker she leans in to the game and says "Poker is so fascinating. Could I Kibitz?" This means to look on and offer unwanted, usually meddlesome advice to others.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/kibitz
3. Row- Stella says "It isn't right for people to make such a row" In this instance "Row" means a noisy dispute or quarrel; commotion.