Martin Esslin was a pivotal critic and scholar who coined the term "Theatre of the Absurd." His analyses explored how this theatrical movement expressed a sense of the human condition's senselessness and the inadequacy of rational approaches. Esslin investigated the deliberate abandonment of logical devices and discursive thought to convey profound existential themes. His work illuminated the core concerns of major 20th-century dramatists and their unique ways of portraying the modern experience.
Exploring the works of Samuel Beckett and Bertolt Brecht, this book enhances Martin Esslin's previous analyses by providing additional insights and context. It delves into the themes and innovations of these influential playwrights, offering a richer understanding of their contributions to theater. Through critical examination, it aims to deepen the reader's appreciation of their artistic legacies.
A unique book of criticism that brings both theatre and film studies within a single theoretical framework
"In 1953 Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot premiered at a tiny avant-garde theatre in Paris; within five years, it had been translated into more than twenty languages and seen by more than a million spectators. Its startling popularity marked the emergence of a new type of theatre whose proponents - Beckett, Ionesco, Genet, Pinter, and others - shattered dramatic conventions and paid scant attention to psychological realism, while highlighting their characters' inability to understand one another. In 1961, Martin Esslin gave a name to the phenomenon in his ground-breaking study of these playwrights who dramatized the absurdity at the core of the human condition." "Over four decades after its initial publication, Esslin's landmark book has lost none of its freshness. The questions these dramatists raise about the struggle for meaning in a purposeless world are still as incisive and necessary today as they were when Beckett's tramps first waited beneath a dying tree on a lonely country road for a mysterious benefactor who would never show. Authoritative, engaging, and eminently readable, The Theatre of the Absurd is nothing short of a classic: vital reading for anyone with an interest in the theatre."--BOOK JACKET.