The Theatre of the Absurd Beckett & Pinter *

Origins The Theatre of the Absurd is the first trend of the British theatre of the 1950s. French Existentialism  life is meaningless: nothing really happens. There is only a series of repetitions, all alike and without any purpose. Its name comes from Martin Esslin’s book Absurd Drama (1965). Samuel Beckett is its founding father and master. * *

Development Thomas Beckett Harold Pinter a radical break with naturalism; Tom Stoppard they see man as a puzzled inarticulate creature, obliged to face reality. It is dominated by absurd, destructive forces and impulses. They try to give expression to such an outlook, and to destroy a belief in the coherence of language and the process of rational communication. * *

Technical Features Language disintegrates: it is reduced to minimal sentences: Short, mainly principal sentences, without secondary clauses; Common pattern  question/answer or question/question; This pattern leads to confusion and/or puzzlement; Questions are often meaningless, answers are unsatisfactory; Repetition of words/sentences in consecutive lines; Pauses and silence. language can’t help people communicate. * *

Thomas Beckett (1906-1989) Born near Dublin, into a Protestant middle-class family. He graduated from Trinity College, Dublin. He was appointed English lecturer at the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris. At the outbreak of World War II, he joined the French Resistance. In 1969, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature. * *

Early Works More Pricks Than Tricks (1934) Murphy (1938) Watt (1944) Molloy, Malone Dies, The Unnameable (1951-53) * *

The Plays His plays deal with confinement, the inability to communicate and loneliness. Waiting for Godot (1952 in French; 1954 in English) Endgame (1958) Krapp’s Last Tape (1958) Happy Days (1961) Film (1967) * *

Waiting for Godot A terribly static world where things never change Absence of plot Circular structure of the play Characters are confined or imprisoned in a single place TIME = a series of repetitions LIFE = meaningless, reduced to the bare essentials * *

The Disintegration of Language Talk is made up of absurd exchanges, or linguistic stereotypes:  the vacuity of ready-made phrases. Dialogues are increasingly fragmented and broken. Use of para-verbal language:  mime, silences, circuit-like gags,… * *

The Story There is no real plot. Act I Vladimir and Estragon, two French tramps, meet Pozzo  he is obsessed with time and continually looks at his watch. He drives his old servant, Lucky, from behind with a rope and a whip. At Pozzo’s command, Lucky dances. * *

The Story Act II Pozzo and Lucky reappear. Pozzo has become blind and his arrogance has now turned into cynical nihilistic despair. Lucky is now dumb. Vladimir and Estragon  they are waiting for Godot who never comes. Every day he sends a boy who announces: ‘Mr Godot won’t come today, but surely tomorrow’ They have to wait. They can’t leave. They are waiting for Godot. * *

Harold Pinter (1930-2008) Born in London, into a middle-class Jewish family. He entered the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, but didn’t complete his studies. He began to write his plays in the late 1950s and became the leader of the Theatre of the Absurd after Beckett. In the 1980s, he headed militant initiatives against Thatcherism in Great Britain. In 2005, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature. * *

His Works The Room (1957) The Dumb Waiter (1959) The Birthday Party (1960) The Caretaker (1960) A Slight Ache (1958) The Homecoming (1965) The Road (1984) Mountain Language (1988) * *

Pinter’s Themes Fear, suspicion, intolerance, prejudice  they recur obsessively in his works. His characters feel menaced and show the need for shelter and protection from a confusing and hostile world. Typical situation  a few people confined in a room or closed space, with each individual trying to dominate the other. * *

A Slight Ache Pinter uses a psychological approach. He is interested in  the complexity of the human mind, the power-games marking human relationships. His characters are vague, unpredictable and obscure:  they seem to ignore their own identity;  they are preoccupied with the defence of their territory. The only area of certainty and stability against the absurdity of the world: intrusion = a terrible menace. * *

The Language It is extremely realistic and naturalistic. It is incapable of building bridges between human beings. Dialogues expose the nonsensical nature of everyday conversation. The disintegration of a character’s self is accompanied by a disintegration in his speech. The text was originally written for the radio  the author could only work with sound and silence. * *

The Story Flora and Edward lead an apparently peaceful life. Edward’s tranquillity is menaced by a match-seller, standing in front of their back gate  an impostor. Edward invites him to discover his real identity. He can get no answer from the match-seller. Edward becomes increasingly incoherent  his personality seems to disintegrate. The two men finally swap roles  the match-seller becomes the legitimate owner of the house.  Edward is given the match-seller’s tray. * *