The theatre of the absurd
By Manzulli Federica
Waiting for Godot
Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, which was performed in Paris in 1953 and in London in 1955, is generally considered the starting point of Absurd Drama.
The literary critic Martin Esslin applied the term “absurd” to the works of a group of dramatists who emerged in the 1950s (among which
Here are the main features of the Theatre of the Absurd:
- Absence of a real story or plot;
- Vagueness about time;
- The value of language was reduced; in fact, what happens on the stage transcends, and often contradicts, the words spoken by the characters;
- Extensive use of pauses, silences, miming and farcical situations which reflected a sense of anguish;
- Incoherent babbling made up the dialogue.
The group of dramatists
They did not form a school, since each playwright regarded himself as an outsider, with his own roots and background and a personal approach to form and subject matter.
Samuel Beckett (1906-1989)
Main works
- Waiting for Godot (written in French in 1952 1954 and translated into English in )
- Endgame (1958)
- Krapp’s Last Tape (1959)
- Happy Days (1961)
- Breath (1970)
Samuel Beckett
Harold Pinter
He was born on 10 October 1930 in East London, playwright, director, actor, poet and political activist. He died 24 December 2008. He wrote twenty-nine plays including The Birthday Party, The Caretaker, The Homecoming, and Betrayal etc.
The Caretaker
Characters:
Davies, Aston and Mick.
The Caretaker
Aston:
The older brother of Mick, Aston appears shy, reserved, and slow. He speaks haltingly and has trouble finishing projects. He reveals that when younger he was subject to hallucinations, and then, against his will, was put into a mental facility and given electroshock treatment. He confesses he has difficulty ordering his thoughts. He is also very compassionate, offering Davies a place to stay and a job. He is finally pushed to his limits when Davies mocks his treatment and "make[s] too much noise" (60). He has a good relationship with Mick, although they do not speak to each other.
The Caretaker
Davies:
Davies is an itinerant and a tramp. After a fight at his cafe job, he is brought by Aston to the room where he is offered the caretaker position by both Aston and Mick. Davies is loud, confident, arrogant, and full of himself.
The theatre of the absurd (tutto in inglese)
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Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, which was performed in Paris in 1953 and in London in 1955, is generally considered the starting point of “Absurd Drama”.
The literary critic Martin Esslin applied the term “absurd” to the works of a group of dramatists who emerged in the 1950s (among which Samuel Beckett).
Here are the main features of the Theatre of the Absurd:
- Absence of a real story or plot;
- Vagueness about time;
- The value of language was reduced; in fact, what happens on the stage transcends, and often contradicts, the words spoken by the characters;
- Extensive use of pauses, silences, miming and farcical situations which reflected a sense of anguish;
- Incoherent babbling made up the dialogue.
They did not form a school, since each playwright regarded himself as an outsider, with his own roots and background and a personal approach to form and subject matter.
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