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Date of Award
5-2009
Access Type
Campus Access
Document type
dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Degree Program
English and American Literature
First Advisor
Jenny S. Spencer
Second Advisor
James Freeman
Third Advisor
David Lenson
Subject Categories
Comparative Literature | Literature in English, British Isles | Theatre and Performance Studies
Abstract
Entitled “Reassessing the Theatre of the Absurd: Parabolic Drama and the Question of Absurdity,” my dissertation interrogates the conventional idea that the Theatre of the Absurd contemplates the purposelessness of life by re-examining some of the major plays of Beckett, Ionesco, Genet and Pinter. I suggest that the plays of the Theatre of the Absurd are, instead, ethical texts that contemplate how life can be made meaningful. I argue that Martin Esslin’s 1961 characterization of such work as “absurd” does not take into account a fully informed reading of Camus, and thus Esslin’s reading does not see the extent to which meaningfulness is fundamental to such cultural productions. Therefore, I push for a rereading of these plays and playwrights that allows for decidedly meaning-making conclusions. Using an up-to-date understanding of Camus’ philosophy as a theoretical frame, I engage with the long history of Theatre of the Absurd criticism, performance histories and reviews, the genre of the parable, philosophy and performance studies. My dissertation, ultimately, argues against a strictly absurd reading and, instead, positions such work within the larger realm of ethics (in the general vein of Camus).
DOI
https://doi.org/10.7275/5648991
Recommended Citation
Bennett, Michael Y, "Reassessing The Theatre Of The Absurd: Parabolic Drama And The Question Of Absurdity" (2009). Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014. 76.
https://doi.org/10.7275/5648991
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_1/76