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Theatre of Absurd by Nidhi Dave
1.
2. Prepared by Nidhi Dave
Roll no 16
Paper 110(A) History of English literature from 1900 to 2000.
Topic: The Theatre of Absurd
Email Id - davenidhi05@gmail.com
Submitted to- Department of English Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar
University
3. Introduction
The Theatre of the Absurd’ is a term coined by the critic Martin Esslin for the
work of a number of playwrights, mostly written in the 1950s and 1960s.
The term is derived from an essay by the French philosopher Albert Camus. In
his ‘Myth of Sisyphus’, written in 1942, he first defined the human situation as
basically meaningless and absurd.
The origins of the Theatre of the Absurd are rooted in the avant-garde
experiments in art of the 1920s and 1930s. At the same time, it was undoubtedly
strongly influenced by the traumatic experience of the horrors of the Second
World War.
Their work simply expressed the thought of human existence that has no meaning
or purpose.
4. Definition and Meaning
Merriam-Webster
Dictionary defines
the term as
‘Theater that seeks
to represent the
absurdity of human
existence in a
meaningless
universe by bizarre
or fantastic means.’
Cut off from his
religious,
metaphysical and
transcendental
roots, man is lost;
all his actions
become senseless,
absurd, useless.
5. Meaning
The word “Absurd” means
foolishness, senseless,
opposed to reason,
something silly and
ridiculous.
The state or condition in
which human beings exist
in an irrational and
meaningless universe and
in which human life has no
ultimate meaning.
Theatre of the absurd is
otherwise referred to as
absurdism.
absurd originally means
“out of harmony” (in a
musical context) – its
meaning in the theatre of
the absurd is different to
the everyday meaning of
the word as “ridiculous”
6. Plot and Structure
Anti-realistic, going against many of the accepted norms of conventional
theatre
labelled by some critics as ‘anti-theatre’
often characterised by a deliberate absence of the cause and effect relationship
between scenes
non-linear plot developments, sometimes cyclical – ending where they began
occasionally appearing as though there is no plot at all to speak of
deliberate lack of conflict
A play in which nothing happens, that yet keeps audiences glued to their seats.
What’s more, since the second act is a subtly different reprise of the first, he
has written a play in which nothing happens, twice.
7. Absurd play
The first large major production of an absurdist play was Jean Genet’s The
Maids in 1947.
Ionesco’s The Bald Soprana was first performed in 1950, and Samuel
Beckett’s Waiting for Gadot is probably the best known of all absurdist plays
and it was premiered in January 1953.
Waiting for Godot is the most controversial absurdist play.
8. Examples of Absurd play
Samuel Beckett ---
Waiting for Godot,
Jean Genet--- The
Balcony
Slawomir Mrozek ---
Tango
Harold Pinter-- The
Dumb Waiter, The
Birthday Party,
Tadeusz Rozewicz
---Reading the
Apocalypse in Bed
Eugene lonesco ---
Rhinoceros, The Bald
Soprano and Other
Plays, How to Get Rid
of It
9. Acting and Characterisation
Both presentational and representational modes of acting
sometimes stereotypical
often an absence of character development
absurd characters lack the motivation found in characters of realistic
dramas, highlighting their purposelessness
time, place and identity are frequently blurred with characters often
unsure about who or where they are
characters are often out of harmony or out of sync with the world in which
they live
10. Dialogue
language was devalued as a communication tool (unreliable and distrusted)
often illogical
sometimes telegraphic and clipped
long pauses
clichéd
repetitive
rhythmical
frequent use of silence
monotone
slow dialogue sometimes accompanied by a frenzied, fast-paced monologue
(extremes)
11. Theatre of the Absurd Characteristics
Questions of Existence:
Absurd plays raise some basic questions of existence like- why we are alive
why we have to die and why there is injustice and suffering.
Distrust in Language
For absurdist playwrights, language is only a meaningless communication and
stereotyped exchange of ideas because words fail to express essence of human
existence.
Re-establishment of man’s communion with Universe
They attempt to restore the importance of myth and rituals in the life of man
and make them aware of the ultimate realities of their life.
12. Illogical Speeches and Meaningless Plots
By illogical speeches and meaningless plots, they wish to establish a feeling of
freedom to make their own worlds. Dr. Culik says,
“Rationalist thought, like language, only deals with the superficial aspects of
things, Nonsense, on the other hand, opens up a glimpse of the infinite.”
Emphasize on Abstract Values of Life
Absurdists force us to look at our abstract values of life like love and family. Thus,
we may hope to accept the absurdity of life and try to find values in a world devoid
of them.
13. Vagueness about Time, Place and Character
Absurdists have no time, place and character in their plays as they feel that there
is no past or future, only the repetition of the present
Lack of communication amid characters
Each character lives an egoistic life and attempts to get another character to
understand him and this results in more alienation.
14. Conclusion
Thus, The Absurd Theatre is not a positive play as it
never tries to prove that man can still live in the
futile world.
It only demonstrates the absurdity and illogicality of
the world in which we live but does not provide any
solution to the problem.
By these play, man is again and again reminded that
his existence in the world is in fact absurd and
meaningless
15. Work Cited
Cash, Justin, et al. “33 Unusual Theatre of the Absurd Conventions.” The
Drama Teacher, 8 Nov. 2021, https://thedramateacher.com/theatre-of-the-
absurd-conventions/.
Sarkar, Somnath, et al. “Theatre of the Absurd: Definition, Examples,
Characteristics, History.” All About English Literature, 14 Feb. 2022,
https://www.eng-literature.com/2021/05/theatre-of-the-absurd-definition-
examples-characteristics.html.
“Eugene Ionesco Quotes.” BrainyQuote, Xplore,
https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/eugene_ionesco_777439.
The Theatre of the Absurd,
https://blisty.cz/video/Slavonic/Absurd.htm#:~:text=THE%20THEATRE%20OF%
20THE%20ABSURD&text=‘The%20Theatre%20of%20the%20Absurd,the%20F
rench%20philosopher%20Albert%20Camus.
16. Sarkar, Somnath, et al. “Theatre of the Absurd: Definition, Examples,
Characteristics, History.” All About English Literature, 14 Feb. 2022,
https://www.eng-literature.com/2021/05/theatre-of-the-absurd-definition-
examples-characteristics.html.
Thank you
