I. Theatre of the Absurd

1. introduction: existentialist philosophy, mainly in Europe

2. four founders: Samuel Beckett, Eugene Ionesco, Jean Genet, Arthur Adamov

3. What is “absurd”?

Humorous and meaningless

4. features

(1) The basic assumption: human life lacks coherence and is chaotic. Life operates without any rules.

(2) The world is meaningless, so the play appears meaningless.

(3) It examines the problems of life and death, of isolation and communication.

(4) It satirizes people who are unaware of the ultimate reality (death).

(5) In absurd drama, situation is more important than characters and events. The dramatist wants to show people what their situation in their life is. Therefore, he constructs a play which presents a picture of the universal situation. One result of these is that the characters are often comic and humorous.

5. Edward Albee

(1) Life

(2) Works

a. Zoo Story

b. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?