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History of English Literature

Notes other cases, the dialogue is purposefully elliptical; the language of Absurdist Theater becomes
secondary to the poetry of the concrete and objectified images of the stage. Many of Beckett’s
plays devalue language for the sake of the striking tableau. Harold Pinter–famous for his “Pinter
pause”–presents more subtly elliptical dialogue; often the primary things characters should
address is replaced by ellipsis or dashes. Much of the dialogue in Absurdist drama reflects this
kind of evasiveness and inability to make a connection. When language that is apparently
nonsensical appears, it also demonstrates this disconnection.

29.10 Plot
Traditional plot structures are rarely a consideration in The Theatre of the Absurd. Plots can
consist of the absurd repetition of cliché and routine, as in Godot or The Bald Soprano. Often
there is a menacing outside force that remains a mystery; in The Birthday Party, for example,
Goldberg and McCann confront Stanley, torture him with absurd questions, and drag him off at
the end, but it is never revealed why.

Did u know? Pinter plays, such as The Caretaker and The Homecoming, the menace is no
longer entering from the outside but exists within the confined space.
Absence, emptiness, nothingness, and unresolved mysteries are central features in many Absurdist
plots: for example, in The Chairs an old couple welcomes a large number of guests to their home,
but these guests are invisible so all we see is empty chairs, a representation of their absence.
Likewise, the action of Godot is centered around the absence of a man named Godot, for whom
the characters perpetually wait. In many of Beckett’s later plays, most features are stripped away
and what’s left is a minimalistic tableau: a woman walking slowly back and forth in Footfalls, for
example, or in Breath only a junk heap on stage and the sounds of breathing.
The plot may also revolve around an unexplained metamorphosis, a supernatural change, or a
shift in the laws of physics. For example, in Ionesco’s Amedee, or How to Get Rid of It, a couple
must deal with a corpse that is steadily growing larger and larger; Ionesco never fully reveals the
identity of the corpse, how this person died, or why it’s continually growing, but the corpse
ultimately – and, again, without explanation – floats away.

Notes In Jean Tardieu’s “The Keyhole” a lover watches a woman through a keyhole as she
removes her clothes and then her flesh.
Like Pirandello, many Absurdists use meta-theatrical techniques to explore role fulfillment,
fate, and the theatricality of theatre. This is true for many of Genet’s plays: for example, in The
Maids, two maids pretend to be their masters; in The Balcony brothel patrons take on elevated
positions in role-playing games, but the line between theatre and reality starts to blur. Another
complex example of this is Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead: it’s a play about two minor
characters in Hamlet; these characters, in turn, have various encounters with the players who
perform The Mousetrap, the play-with-in-the-play in Hamlet. In Stoppard’s Travesties, James
Joyce and Tristin Tzara slip in and out of the plot of The Importance of Being Earnest.
Plots are frequently cyclical: for example, Endgame begins where the play ended – at the beginning
of the play, Clov says, “Finished, it’s finished, nearly finished, it must be nearly finished” – and
themes of cycle, routine, and repetition are explored throughout.

Task Write a short note on the Absurd Drama.

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