PS-Surveying English Literatures: Theatre of the Absurd
Justus Conrad Gronau
Kommentar
The term ‘Theatre of the Absurd’ refers to plays written in the 1950s that deeply disturbed audiences upon their initial performance. Departing from conventional forms of traditional Aristotelian, Shakespearean, or realistic drama, and lacking clear plot structures, such plays were said to express the “metaphysical anguish of the absurdity of the human condition” as well as the “inadequacy of the rational approach by the open abandonment of rational devices and discursive thought,” as theater critic Martin Esslin, who coined the term in 1961, argued. In this context, the Theatre of the Absurd is frequently juxtaposed with existentialist and absurd philosophy, notably the works of French existentialist thinkers such as Sartre and Camus, ostensibly pointing to the meaninglessness and purposelessness of life. However, other approaches have challenged this view and reassessed the Theatre of the Absurd, suggesting “that these texts, rather, revolt against existentialism and are ethical parables that force the audience to make life meaningful” (Bennett). Therefore, we shall read and critically examine plays by two important Theatre of the Absurd playwrights, Samuel Beckett and Harold Pinter, to see to what extent they negotiate the supposed absurdity and negativity of existence, whether alternative, more ‘positive’ readings are possible, and how the plays’ idiosyncratic aesthetics open up these possibilities. At the same time, we will ponder more fundamental questions and topics such as whether existence precedes essence or vice versa, the potential meaning(lessness?) of existence, and the (in?)capability of art to address and communicate these existential inquiries.
Students need to obtain the following plays:
Samuel Beckett, Waiting for Godot (1953)
Samuel Beckett, Endgame (1957)
Harold Pinter, The Birthday Party (1957)
Harold Pinter, The Caretaker (1959)
Further course material will be made available at the beginning of the semester.
Schließen
14 Termine
Regelmäßige Termine der Lehrveranstaltung