The Theatre of the Absurd and its Relevance to Modern-day Life and Activities

Description

Page: 296-297

Marie Kalita (Department of English, Paschim Guwahati Mahavidyalaya, Dharapur Chariali, Guwahati, Assam)

This paper focuses on humanity’s plight as purposelessness in an existence which is always out of harmony with its surroundings. The “Theatre of the Absurd” which flourished during the 1950s applies to a group of dramatists who shared certain common attitudes towards the predicament of man in the universe. These dramatists were all highly read and adhered to the concept that human existence has no meaning since man is born without being asked for and they die without wanting to die. Theatre of the Absurd immediately caught the attention of the audience since it was not a conventional play with a definite beginning, a middle and an end. It sought to portray the spiritual loneliness, complete isolation and anxiety of people who were social failures and social outcastes. These plays wanted to communicate the most intimate and personal intuition of the human situation.