Waiting for Godot:
Context:
- 20th century
- Atrocities of WWI & WWII → intensi ed by Cold War
- Atomic Bomb (destructive power of scienti c knowledge
- Declining religious faith & faith in authority
In uences:
⌖ Existentialism ⇢ man trapped in meaningless world (universe = irrational)
⌖ Theatre of the Absurd ⇢ representing absurdity & irrationality of human existence
⌖ Vaudeville// Silent Movies (Charlie Chaplin)
⌖ Surrealism// Dadaism
⌖ Clowning
⌖ Myth of Sisyphus
Playwright’s Intention:
✦ True experience ▻ absurd condition of man
✦ To explore existential themes
✦ Comedy
~ ridiculous & foolish daily behaviour we think is meaningful
~ actions & relationships : existentially meaningless
: no escape from existence
✦ Pathos → similarities bt characters & identity
→ hope to nd meaning ~ futile & inconsequential
→ no possibility of true human communication
✦ Provoking audience to think abt freedom of choice
✦ Highlighting futility of the past → World War landscape
Genre & Style:
: Play = pervaded by grotesque humour (tragicomedy)
: Tone → tragic & desperate
: Martine Esslin coined term “Absurd Theatre”
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fi fi fi
Context:
- 20th century
- Atrocities of WWI & WWII → intensi ed by Cold War
- Atomic Bomb (destructive power of scienti c knowledge
- Declining religious faith & faith in authority
In uences:
⌖ Existentialism ⇢ man trapped in meaningless world (universe = irrational)
⌖ Theatre of the Absurd ⇢ representing absurdity & irrationality of human existence
⌖ Vaudeville// Silent Movies (Charlie Chaplin)
⌖ Surrealism// Dadaism
⌖ Clowning
⌖ Myth of Sisyphus
Playwright’s Intention:
✦ True experience ▻ absurd condition of man
✦ To explore existential themes
✦ Comedy
~ ridiculous & foolish daily behaviour we think is meaningful
~ actions & relationships : existentially meaningless
: no escape from existence
✦ Pathos → similarities bt characters & identity
→ hope to nd meaning ~ futile & inconsequential
→ no possibility of true human communication
✦ Provoking audience to think abt freedom of choice
✦ Highlighting futility of the past → World War landscape
Genre & Style:
: Play = pervaded by grotesque humour (tragicomedy)
: Tone → tragic & desperate
: Martine Esslin coined term “Absurd Theatre”
fl
fi fi fi
