The Source of the Term Absurd:
The theatre of the Absurd is a term derived from Albert Camus’ essay The Myth of Sisyphus (1942 ), and clear and lucid thought on the subject of absurdist drama is found in Martin Esslin's book The Theatre of the Absurd (1961). It is a term applied to a group of dramatists in the 1950's who did not regard themselves as a school but who all seemed to share certain attitudes towards the predicament of the man in the universe : essentially those summarised by Albert Camus in The Myth of Sisyphus. It was Albert Camus who first realized the absurdity of existence during the Second World War end.
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| Theatre of the Absurd and Its Characteristics: Harold Pinter's The Caretaker an Absurdist Play |
Albert Camus’ Definition of Absurd:
In The Myth of Sisyphus Albert Camus defined the absurd as the tension which emerges from man's determination to discover purpose and order in a world which steadfastly refuses to evidence either. He diagnosed humanity's plight as purposelessness in an existence out of harmony with its surroundings . Awareness of this lack of purpose in all we produce or state of metaphysical anguish which is the central theme of the writers in the Theatre of the Absurd.
The Main Beliefs of the Absurdist Playwrights:
The absurdist playwrights believe that our existence is absurd because we are born without asking to be born, we die without seeking death, we live between birth and death trapped within our body and our reason, unable to conceive of a time in which we were not, or a time in which we will not be for nothingness is very much like the concept of infinity. Thrust into life, armed with our senses, will and reason, we feel ourselves to be potent beings. Yet our senses give the lie to our thought and our thought defies our senses. We never perceive anything completely. We labour to achieve distinction and permanence only to find that our assessments are perceptively incomplete and therefore never wholly effective. All over creations are doomed to decay as we ourselves are doomed to death. The more we strive for definition and permanent distinction, the more absurd we are.
The Emerging of the Tendencies of the Theatre of the Absurd:
The tendencies of The Theatre of the Absurd emerged in Paris during the late 1940s and early 1950s in the plays of Arthur Adamov, Fernando Arrabal, Samuel Beckett, Jean Genet, Eugene Ionesco and Jean Tardieu. Its direct fore runners were the Dadist movements and the Surrealist of the 1920s and 1930s. Writers outside France who show the influence of the Theatre of the Absurd include Harold Pinter, Tom Stoppard and Edward Albee.
Main Characteristics:
(1) Life is essentially meaningless, hence miserable.
(2) There is no hope because of the inevitable Futility of man's efforts.
(3) Reality is unbearable unless relieved by dreams and illusions.
(4) Man is fascinated by death which permanently replaces dreams and illusions.
(5) There is no action or plot. Very little happens because nothing meaningful can happen.
(6) The final situation is absurd or comic
(7) Absurd drama is not - purposeful and specific as it solves no problems. It is like an abstract painting which is supposed not to convey a definite meaning.
Harold Pinter and his Play The Caretaker as an Absurdist Play:
Harold Pinter is an English dramatist whose works are allied to the Theatre of the Absurd. He wrote a number of famous plays such as The Room, The Birthday Party, The Caretaker, The Dumb Waiter, The Servant, The Home Coming, Landscrape, Silence and Old Times. In his earlier plays Pinter evolved his own sort of Comedy of Menace, having his characters humorously by horrifically menaced by mysterious outsiders; his later works have become more psychological, and his most recent television plays, as well as his film script (based on a story by Robin Maugham). The Servant and his latest full - length stage play, The Home Coming (1965 ) show a further shift into social comedy which still has about it a distinctive flavour of the Absurd.
The Caretaker by Harold Pinter is an Absurdist play in the sense that it deals with the predicament of both Davies and Aston in the hostile world where they are strangers, and both of them depend on others for their existence. Davies is a tramp. He is homeless and penniless. He lives on his wits for his survival. He plays the two brothers off against each other for his own good. He cannot be taken for what he says.
Likewise, Aston's existence is very precarious. He is slow - witted though very kindly. He has nobody except his own younger brother to look after him. After he had received electric shock for his psychiatric treatment, he could not think, see and hear properly. He has been made handicapped both psychologically and physically. He is trying to recover and pick up things in order to make his way through the world. He has planned to put up a shed outside the garden to do his work independently. He has a past and a future also. Through Aston's long speeches we can see the working of his mind but we cannot do so in case of Davies because his speeches or dialogues are incoherent.
The Future of the Theatre of the Absurd:
The future of absurdist drama is not bright. The plays of the Theatre of the Absurd are no longer thought of as the drama of the future. Absurdist drama is, in fact, dated. Most , dramatists of the absurd found it difficult to sustain a whole evening in the theatre without compromising somewhat : Ionesco's full - length plays become more and more transparently allegorical, Backett's get shorter and shorter , Adamov abandoned the absurd altogether in favour of Brechtian Epic Theatre, Pinter has moved towards a fusion of the absurd with high comedy . Indeed, by (1962) the movement seemed to have spent its force, though as a liberating influence on conventional theatre its effects continue to be felt.
