-
Looking for HSC notes and resources? Check out our Notes & Resources page
Absurdism!!!! (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter gonzalina
- Start date
Absurdist dramatists try to present in their plays the idea of
irrational human condition through the illogical combination of
dramatic elements. In doing so, they draw the absurdist idea from Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus who demonstrated the notion that the world went mad beyond man's rational understanding.
However, they do not employ the same dramatic form that Sartre
and Camus used in their plays. Instead, they create an illogical
dramatic form, building on the techniques used by such antirealist
dramatists as Alfred Jarry, Guillaume Apollinaire, Roger Vitrac, and
Antonin Artaud. Like these dramatists, the absurdist playwrights
use antirealist devices to invite the audience to new perception of reality. However, the absurdist playwrights are much more
concerned with the creation of the illogical than their antirealist
predecessors, aiming to engage the audience's critical mind
throughout the play.
irrational human condition through the illogical combination of
dramatic elements. In doing so, they draw the absurdist idea from Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus who demonstrated the notion that the world went mad beyond man's rational understanding.
However, they do not employ the same dramatic form that Sartre
and Camus used in their plays. Instead, they create an illogical
dramatic form, building on the techniques used by such antirealist
dramatists as Alfred Jarry, Guillaume Apollinaire, Roger Vitrac, and
Antonin Artaud. Like these dramatists, the absurdist playwrights
use antirealist devices to invite the audience to new perception of reality. However, the absurdist playwrights are much more
concerned with the creation of the illogical than their antirealist
predecessors, aiming to engage the audience's critical mind
throughout the play.
wow! someone who understands absurdism...hehehe...perha if my teacher gave us stuff other than dictating notes straight off the internet, then photocopying those same notes and giving them to us too, i'd be better off. then when she has this group come in and perform bits and pieces from the different hsc texts, that group says, ' absudism is a load of bull!' rahhh...i stuffed upour absurdism trial uestion, big time...i dont think i even answered the question...oh well, theres always the hsc, that last, very last exam, that i have an entire week to study for... (though i doubt much of that wil happen)!
flosh's gurl
Member
- Joined
- Aug 16, 2002
- Messages
- 82
i dont know that much about absurdism, which may be a problem cause that is what my group performance is about. Theatre of the Absurd: "bravely faces up to the fact that for those to whom the world has lost its central explanation and meaning, it is no longer possible to accept art forms still based on on the continuation of standards and concepts that have lost their validity; that is, the possibility of knowing the laws of conduct and ultimate values, as deducible from a firm foundation of revealed certainty about the purpose of man in the universe"
if you can decipher that. i kinda wish our teacher had choosen that option because i really just dont get 17th century french and english comedy.
and i sort of know about absurdism now after doing it for my group.
if you can decipher that. i kinda wish our teacher had choosen that option because i really just dont get 17th century french and english comedy.
and i sort of know about absurdism now after doing it for my group.Absurdism is most probably the WORST style of drama i have seen, no offence to the syle itself but, has anyone actually sat through the whole of " waiting for Godot" ????? It is damn boring, half of my class literally fell asleep!!!. " The bald prima donna" was better but still confused and thus bored us to death.
Chelsea
New Member
WHAT!!??
I LOVED Waiting For Godot. I have only read it, but I would love to see it performed! I also thought that Absurd Drama sucked the first time I read it, but after having my Drama teacher explain all of it to me, I think that it's really interesting. How are you going to write an essay on Absurd theatre if you hate it so much?
On another topic, is anyone studying "Zoo Story" or "The Dumb Waiter" and know any helpful info. about them? We are studying these two plays along with 'Waiting For Godot'. We have done heaps of work on 'W For G' but hardly any on the others. This is kind of showing in my essays!!
I LOVED Waiting For Godot. I have only read it, but I would love to see it performed! I also thought that Absurd Drama sucked the first time I read it, but after having my Drama teacher explain all of it to me, I think that it's really interesting. How are you going to write an essay on Absurd theatre if you hate it so much?
On another topic, is anyone studying "Zoo Story" or "The Dumb Waiter" and know any helpful info. about them? We are studying these two plays along with 'Waiting For Godot'. We have done heaps of work on 'W For G' but hardly any on the others. This is kind of showing in my essays!!
I dont really HATE Absurdism, but i do hate waiting for godot, probably cos we havnt read the book we only saw a video of it , and that was proabably poorly done thus leading to my hatred of it. Bald Prima Donna and zoo story i like , they are funny and well done .
I am doing "Zoo Story" too, and I don't really understand how it's absurd in comparison to the other Absurd plays. I mean it still has the existenitialist themes, but it doesn't really use the same features.... like silence and clowning and vaudeville etc....can any one help me define how this play actually utilises features that are classified as "absurd"???!!!!!!
Yeah, none of my drama class found it absurd either, there are elements of absurdism in it, like the way Jim ( i think thats his name.....or is it jack....??) yeah , his storys that do not go anywhere with any important meaning, also his attitude brings an absurd element to the peice. I dont know if this is any help, i hope it is.
Chelsea
New Member
Ummm, the character in 'Zoo Story' is actually Jerry!! You might need to know that if you're going to write an essay on it! I agree that Zoo Story isn't as absurd as Waiting for Godot but there are different extents of absurdism. One example within Zoo Stoy which shows Albee's use of absurdism is towards the ending when Jerry and Peter begin to fight over the bench. Although the script and movement seems natural, the content of this scene is absurd. I mean two grown men are fighting over a bench!!! Basically that's all we've been told to discuss about Zoo Story. The fact that the content (not the language or movement) is absurd. I mean how absurd is it to have a 9 page monologue about a dog in the middle of a play?? I hope this description helps!
yay! this place is back up and running? was i the only one who couldnt get it to load???
anyway, back to zoo story. its i also absurb because of the amount of movement on stage. i mean, they are arguing about a park bench that is situated on half the stage. the entire play is performed off centre, thus putting the audience on edge. Peter (i have too many texts so excuse me for getting confused with names, especially when i have an entire week to study for drama later, so why bother concerntrating on it now?) is sitting throughout the entire play, while jerry moves about. well, thats what my teacher said anyway. but then...the extent of my 'zoo story' note consistes of a heading saying edward ablee, then one unfinished sentence. and im not joking!
anyway, back to zoo story. its i also absurb because of the amount of movement on stage. i mean, they are arguing about a park bench that is situated on half the stage. the entire play is performed off centre, thus putting the audience on edge. Peter (i have too many texts so excuse me for getting confused with names, especially when i have an entire week to study for drama later, so why bother concerntrating on it now?) is sitting throughout the entire play, while jerry moves about. well, thats what my teacher said anyway. but then...the extent of my 'zoo story' note consistes of a heading saying edward ablee, then one unfinished sentence. and im not joking!
Mad! thanks guys! I understand Zoo story heaps better now!
I just can't wait til I can cast that script into a pile to collect dust, and I'll never ever ever have to look at it again!!!!
hahaha but thats the way I feel about everything related to this damn HSC
I just can't wait til I can cast that script into a pile to collect dust, and I'll never ever ever have to look at it again!!!!
hahaha but thats the way I feel about everything related to this damn HSC