Module 1 Absurdism Flashcards
What did Samuel Beckett write?
Waiting for Godot
What did Eugene Ionesco write?
The Bald Soprano
What did Martin Esslin write?
Theatre of the Absurd
What was Eugene Ionesco influenced by?
Dada & Surrealists
T or F
Samuel Beckett broke Aristotle’s rules
True (except unity of place but irrelevant)
What were Samuel Beckett’s plays about?
People trying to live in a world that makes no sense
Whose plays were empty of action, had characters that were barely there, and dialogue that moved in circles?
Samuel Beckett
Who wrote simplistic plays that disguise serious preoccupations and despair?
Eugene Ionesco
Who believed life didn’t make sense so theatre shouldn’t either?
Martin Esslin
Define Absurdism
Absurdism explores the meaninglessness of human existence; rejections traditional dramatic conventions (time and place); focuses on illogical situations and nonsensical dialogue
Define: Anti-Play
- Neither time nor place is stated
- subvert and counter traditional theatrical conventions
What characterizes an Anti Play?
Lack of a coherent plot, resolution, or conventional language and dialogue (seen in Theatre of the Absurd)
What time period does absurdism come around
1950s
Where is Absurdism seen?
US & Europe
Main ideas of: The Bald Soprano
Exposes the superficiality of social interactions and the breakdown of language
Main ideas of: Waiting for Godot
Existentialism, meaninglessness, and the human condition
Main ideas of: Theatre of the Absurd
Nothing really happens!
Post WW2 theatrical movements exploring meaninglessness of human existence and absurdity of human condition
Illogical dialogue, nonsensical plots, minimal settings
Defamiliarization
Makes the familiar seem strange
Encourages audiences to question societal norms and human condition by presenting it in a new, unfamiliar light.
Accumulation
Uses repetition, layering and the gathering of elements to explore themes of absurdity, meaninglessness and the human condition
What inspired Eugene Ionesco?
Dada and Surrealists
