Aquest article està pendent de publicació / Key words: Orpheus Descending, Tennessee Williams, classical tradition, classical mythology, Greek tragedy /As with other Tennessee Williams dramas, in his Orpheus Descending the archetypal myth he employs, much more than merely an erudite reference, serves as a key structural element. Even so, the mythical model with its millenary tradition does not overwhelm the author’s creative impulse. It allows him instead to create a highly personal reworking of the myth without devaluing its essence. Precisely this accomplishment is the focus of the critical analysis presented here, which argues that a careful reading of the play ought to take into account not just the tradition of the myth itself, but also the secular tradition of Greek tragedy. The playwright willfully cleaves to this tradition with fidelity and originality as he populates his drama with many of its essential features as described in Aristotle’s Poetics. Thus we have a double lesson in the Classical Tradition that is within the grasp of only those dramatists who are well schooled in the practice of their craft and endowed with a sense of creative freedom that is both uninhibited and audacious.