THEATRE OF

THE ABSURD

Ensari TEKEL
KOU İDE III.
 OUTLINE
What is Absurd Theatre and What
are the features of Absurd Plays?
Dramatic Theatre
Plot: Ghosts by Ibsen
Absurd Theatre
Plot??? Waiting For Godot by Beckett
 What is Absurd
Theatre?
“Absurd” originally means “out of
harmony”, in musical context. Hence
it’s dictionary definition: “out of
harmony with reason or property;
incongruous, unreasonable, and
illogical.”
(Eslin, Martin. “Introductıon” The Absurdıty of the Absurd.
Absurd. New York: Anchor Boks, 1961.)
 Absurd Plays
 No clear notion of the time
or place .
 Characters are often
nameless and seem
interchangeable.
 Themes of loneliness and
isolation.
 Reaction to the
disappearance of the
religious dimension form
contemporary life.
 Shocking man out of an
existence that has become
mechanical and complacent.
 Absurd Plays
Absurd plays assumed a highly unusual,
innovative form, directly aiming to
startle the viewer, Shaking him out of
this comfortable, conventional life of
everyday concerns.
The Theatre of the Absurd openly
rebelled against conventional theatre.
It was anti-theatre.
 Absud Plays
Whatever the case or the person it
could be mocked.

Stage direction, exposition rising

action and resolution is not
important
Plots are frequently cyclical
 Features of Absurd
Plays
All characters could be

 There is no dramatic conflict in
mocked.
the absurd plays.
 In Absurd Theatre there is
 In these plays, the dramatists
lack of communication
use illogical situations
between characters.
 Unconventional dialogues
 Alienation effect is used in
 It was surreal, illogical, Absurd Theatre
conflictless and plotless.
 Theatre of the Absurd
 In absurd theatre message is
expresses a sense of shock
not expalined and everyone
at the absence, the loss of
comment on it by their ways.
any such clear and well
defined systems of beliefs
or values.
 Features of Absurd Plays
Objects are much more important than language in
absurd theatre: what happens transcends what is
being said about it.
The role of language is relatively secondary.
It is against the more conventional theatre of
sequential events.
It presents a pattern of poetic images.
It uses visual elements, movement, light.
It is lyrical theatre uses abstract scenic effects:
mime, ballet, acrobatics, conjuring, music-hall
clowning.
 Dramatic Theatre
Cause and effect relationship
The scenes are connected to each other
One scene makes another
Simple action or object can have
meaning
Pity and fear among the audience
Praise their own life
Audience is passive
It could happen to you!!!
In Dramatic Theater, there is linear
development
Ghosts & Waiting for
Godot
 A realist play- Ghosts-
Ibsen
It is a well made play, and it
is a realist play.
Plot structure until the page
76 it is exposition
Mrs. Alving: The Truth is this:
My husband continued to be
depraved profilage to the day
of this death. (G 76)
 Plot of Ghosts
Climax 86- Orphanage is burned
Regine: It’s Orphanage- the orphanage is
on fire!
Mrs. Alving: On fire ?(G 86)
Then falling action
Page 91 Resolution: Death of Osvald

Osvald: The Sun- The Sun

Mrs: Alving: I can’t bear it! Never! Where
did he put them? Here! No, no;no!- Yes!
No; no!
Osvald: The sun- The sun (G 91)
 Ghosts reflects the general
accepted idea of era
Mrs. Alving & Captain Alving’s marriage based
on economical Issues
Captain Alving was a “Wealthy” man and had a
higher social status their marriage also
depends on money
Manders : “ The immorality of such a marriage
and for money too!”
Women Were Not Free To Choose Their
Husbands Pressure From Family And Society
(G 76)
 Plot of Ghosts
Manders: “... Your decision was based on the advice
of relatives and friends .. You consulted your mother
– your two aunts – all those nearest to you – as was
only right”
Mrs. Alving:”Yes – those three! They were the ones
that settled the whole business for me. As I look back
on it, it seems incredible.They pointed out , in the
most forceful terms , that it would be nothing short of
folly to refuse an offer of such magnificence! (G 78)
Even the boks of that era could be reflected in
the play and the general idea of the time could
be reflected on the play in realistic way
Manders: You really read this sort of thing?
Mrs Alving: Of course I do.
Manders: Do you feeel this type of reading makes you any
better- any happier?
Mrs Alving: It gives me a certain confidence.
Manders: Extraordinary! How do you mean?
Mrs Alving: It seems to clarify and confirn many things I’ve
thought about myself. The strange thing is, Mr Manders,
there’s really nothing new in any of this boks;they deal with
subjects that most of us think about and believe in;though I
dare to say most people don’t take the trouble to look into
them very deeply- or face them very honestly. (G 71)
 Waiting For Godot
 The play revolves around two men, who
are filling their days waiting for somebody
called Godot. Who was Godot
 Not a play to which has traditional plot,
action and structure.
 Double structure in Waiting for Godot
linear and cynical.
 The major structural devices are parallels.
 Repetition
 In each act Vladimir asks Estragon how he
spent the night, in each act Vladimir offers
to embrace Estragon and later does not, at
first, kindly take this gesture. Every now
and then, Estragon says:
Estragon: Well, shall we go?
Vladimir: Yes Lets’ go
(They don’t move)
(WG 54)

And Act II ends with the

similar dialogue
Vladimir: Well, Shall we go?
Estragon: Yes, let’s go.
(They don’t Move) (WG 94)
 acts Vladimir asks Estragon wheth
er he recognizes the place, each
time Estragon’s memory
fails, similar is the case with
Pozzo.
In Act II Pozzo is unable to collect
that met Estragon and Vladimir on
the previous day.
Vladimir: The same as yesterday?
Pozzo: Yesterday?
Vladimir: We met yesterday. Do you not remember?
Pozzo: I don’t remember having met anyone yesterday.
But tomorrow I won’t remember having met anyone
today. So don’t Count on me to enlighten you.(WG 88)
 In each act Estragon wants to be
allowed to sleep and in all turn Vladimir
doesn’t want Estragon to tell him his
dreams
Estragon: I was asleep! Estragon: Ah!
Why will you never let me sleep?
Vladimir: I felt lonely.
Vladimir: There…there..
Estragon: I had a dream.
it’s all over.
Vladimir: Don’t tell me! Estragon: I was falling-
Estragon: I dreamt that- Vladimir: It’s All over, it’s
Vladimir: DON’T TELL ME! all over.
(WG 16)
Estragon: I was on top of
a-
Vladimir: Don’t tell me.
Come, we will walk it off.
(WG 70)
 Absence, emptiness, nothingness, and
unresolved mysteries are central features
 No linear development it’s circular,
 There are repetations.
 No rising action, no climax and there is no
resolution.
 Nothing changes. There is no integrity in the
play, this is because there is no cause and
effect relation.
 Recognition and forgetfulness also act
as structural principles in both the acts.
 The wait is terminated in both the acts by the
arrival of a messenger, a little boy.
 Before going away, they together think of
suicide. In each act, they say that they are
leaving and do not leave the place. 
 A Quotation
”It may well be that the sighting of this little boy-
undoubtedly a climatic event in the play- stands for
redemption from the illusion and evenescence of time
through the recognition, and acceptence, of higher
reality;the little boy contempltates his own navel;that is,
he fixes his attention on the great emptiness of nirvana,
nothingness, of which Democritus the Abderite has said,
in one of Beckett’s Favorite quatations,”Nothing is more
real than nothing.”
(Eslin, Martin. The Theatre of The Absurd. New York: Anchor Boks, 1961.)
Waiting for Godot is lack of plot, does not tell
a story, it explores a static situation
“Nothing happens, nobody comes, nobody
goes, it’s awful.”

Act II ends with the

Estragon: Well, similar dialogue
shall we go? Vladimir: Well, Shall
Vladimir: Yes Lets’ we go?
go Estragon: Yes, let’s
(They don’t move) go.
(WG 54) (They don’t Move)
(WG 94)
 Structure
The structure of Waiting for Godot is unique.
It is not like dramatic theatre, there are no
cause and effect relationship in Waiting for
Godot, an action doesn’t effect the other
action. We don’t know very much about the
time, place and character analysis.

We only know: A country road. A tree. Evening

(WG 8)
Next day. Same Place
(WG 55)
Also we can estimate Vladimir and
Estragon are not young, in their
speech

Vladimir: “We should have thought

of it when the world was young, in
the nineties.. Hand in hand from
the top of the Eiffel Tower, among
the firs. We were respectable in
those days. Now it’s too late. They
wouldn't even let us up” (WG 10)
 Finally
There is no cause and effect relationship
among events,
Scenes are not connected to each other,
One scene doesn’t make another.
No catharsis.
The audience can not put themselves in
the shoes of the characters.
Doesn’t addresses to emotions of the
audience
Audience is not passive in the play they
feel uncomfortable.
Thank You