Theater of the Absurd &

Existentialism

Waiting for Godot is one of the best-known plays of the Irish-born writer Samuel Beckett. The
tramps Vladimir and Estragon, shown here, wait for Godot, who never arrives. Becketts play
addresses the absurdity of, and mans need for, hope.
Source: http://encarta.msn.com/media_461574703_761585154_-1_1/Waiting_for_Godot.html

Dramatic works of certain European and

American dramatists of the 1950s and
early 60s who agreed with the
Existentialist philosopher Albert
Camuss assessment, in his essay
The Myth of Sisyphus (1942), that the
human situation is essentially
absurd, or devoid of purpose.

Writers such as:

Le Fils De L'Homme (Son of Man)

Artist: Rene Magritte (1973)
Source:
http://www.artnet.com/artwork/4253929
49/424143444/le-fils-de-lhomme-son-ofman.html

Samuel Beckett
Eugene Ionescu
Harold Pinter
Jean Genet
Tom Stoppard and others

shared a pessimistic vision

of humanity struggling vainly to find a
purpose and to control its fate.

Humankind in this view is left feeling hopeless,

bewildered, and anxious.

World War II was the catalyst

The global nature of WWII and the resulting

trauma of living under threat of nuclear
annihilation put into stark perspective the
essential precariousness of human life.

With the threat of nuclear destruction,

absurdity became part of the average
person's daily existence.

Precursors to the theater of the absurd can be found

in a number of late 19th-century and early 20thcentury writers and literary movements. For
example, Ubu roi (1896; translated 1951), by French
playwright Alfred Jarry, is considered an early
example of absurdist theater for its use of nonsense
language and mocking of theatrical conventions.

The early 20th-century artistic movement known as

surrealism sought to employ the subconscious mind
by creating works of art spontaneously, without
conscious thought; the sometimes bizarre,
disjointed, or illogical products of this process
resemble absurdist theater.

Ren Magritte. The Lovers. 1928

http://media2.moma.org/collection_images/resized/993/w500h420/CRI_7993.jpg

Surrealism & The Absurd

Compared to realist drama, Theater of the

Absurd is surreal, illogical, conflictless
and plotless.

The dialogue may often seem to be

complete gibberish.

Not surprisingly, the publics first reaction

to this new theater was incomprehension
and rejection.

Plays of the genre known as theater of the absurd characteristically present a view of human existence
as essentially meaningless and of a world in which true communication is impossible. In The
Chairs by Romanian playwright Eugene Ionesco, an elderly couple prepare to share an important
message with the world; they open the door to numerous invisible guests, gradually filling the stage with
chairs, one for each supposed arrival. The message, when it is finally given, is presented by a mute orator,
and completed by the suicide of the couple.
Source: http://encarta.msn.com

The most famous, and most controversial, absurdist play is

probably Samuel Becketts Waiting for Godot. The characters
of the play are strange caricatures who have difficulty
communicating the simplest of concepts to one another as
they bide their time awaiting the arrival of a person named
Godot.

Language is ludicrous & cyclical; called the play where

nothing happens.

Detractors call this play gibberish, or a prank played on the

audience. The plays supporters, on the other hand, describe
it is an accurate parable on the human condition in which
the more things change, the more they are the same.

Waiting for Godot

Click here to
view a clip of
"Waiting for
Godot

Waiting for Godot is one of the best-known plays of the Irish-born writer Samuel Beckett. The
tramps Vladimir and Estragon, shown here, wait for Godot, who never arrives. Becketts play
addresses the absurdity of, and mans need for, hope.
Source: http://encarta.msn.com/media_461574703_761585154_-1_1/Waiting_for_Godot.html

Roger Blin (right) and Jean Martin in Samuel Becketts Waiting for Godot, Thtre de
Babylone, Paris, 1953.
Source: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/2002/Theatre-of-the-Absurd

Whereas traditional theatre attempts to create a

photographic representation of life as we see it,
the Theatre of the Absurd aims to create a rituallike, mythological, archetypal, allegorical vision,
closely related to the world of dreams.

The focal point of these dreams is often man's

fundamental bewilderment and confusion,
stemming from the fact that he has no
answers to the basic existential questions:
why we are alive, why we have to die, why there
is injustice and suffering, etc.

One of the most important aspects of

absurd drama is its distrust of language
as a means of communication.

Language, it seems to say, has become

nothing but a vehicle for stereotyped,
meaningless exchanges.

Absurdist theater shows that words cannot

go beyond the surface; they cannot express
the meaning of human existence.

Often there is a menacing outside force

that remains a mystery

Absence, emptiness, nothingness, and

unresolved mysteries are central
features in many Absurdist plots

Often the action is cyclical (repeats

itself), or ends exactly where it began

Existentialism is a philosophical movement which

emphasizes on individual existence, freedom, and
choice.

Descartes: I think therefore I am.

In other words, existence precedes essence.

By this, existentialism states that man exists and in

that existence man defines himself and the
world in his own subjectivity, and wanders
between choice, freedom, and existential angst.

We exist and things exist, but the world around us

has no meaning except what we can create
through our own action.

Human beings are totally

free but totally
responsible for what they
make of themselves

This freedom and

responsibility create
intense anxiety

We are all afraid of nonbeing or nothingness

Sees that human reason is

inadequate to explain the
enigma of the universe

Early thinkers include

Kierkegaard and
Heidegger, but French
novelist-philosopher JeanPaul Sartre did the most to
give this philosophy its
form & popularity

Video Clip

Waiting for Godot