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98MAIN CHARACTERISTICS OF THE THEATRE OF THE ABSURD AS AN
"ANTI-PLAY" MOVEMENT
Nodira Kosimjon kizi Khatamova
Uzbekiston State World Languages University Nodira.xatamova93@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
The Theatre of the Absurd is a term coined by critic Martin Esslin in his essay "Theatre of the Absurd." The term is used for the work of a number of playwrights, mostly written in the 1950s and 1960s, which were written by a number of primarily European playwrights in the late 1950s. Many dramatists like Samuel Beckett, Eugene O' Neil, Arthur Adamov and Edward Albee etc. wrote many absurd plays which became very popular among the audience. Although it declined in beginning of the 21st century but still even in our age there are some dramatists like Harold Pinter, who wrote Absurd plays. The Theatre of Absurd was a reaction against the realistic drama of the 19thCentury.
Keywords: Absurd Drama, Absurd Movement, Characteristics of Absurd Drama.
Introduction
The Theatre of the Absurd is a movement that includes many diverse plays, most of which were written between 1940 and 1960. These plays shocked their audiences as they were different than anything that had been previously staged. In fact, many of them were labelled as "anti-play." In an attempt to clarify and define this radical movement, Martin Esslin coined the term "The Theatre of the Absurd" in his 1960 book of the same name, because all of the plays emphasized the absurdity of the human condition. Esslin defined its original meaning as 'out of harmony with reason or propriety; illogical' (Esslin 23). Martin Esslin considered four playwrights: Samuel Beckett, Eugene Ionesco, Arthur Adamov and Jean Genet as leaders of the movement. After sometimes, Harold Pinter was also included to this group and some of the works of Tom Stoppard, Edward Albee and Jean Tardieu were also classified as belonging to Absurdist Theater.
This movement influenced by existentialism, began in the form of experimental theater in Paris and resultantly, after the spread of the absurd form in other country, absurdist plays were written in French. Absurd elements first came into existence after the rise of Greek drama in the plays of Aristophanes in the form of wild humor and old comedy.
While absurdist plays feature a wide variety of subject matter, there are certain themes, or ideas, which reoccur frequently within the movement. These themes are the product of a new attitude that swept post-World War II Europe. It consisted primarily of
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the acknowledgement that the "certitudes" and "assumptions" of prior generations had "been tested and found wanting, that they [were] discredited as cheap and somewhat childish illusions" (Esslin 23). Two themes that reoccur frequently throughout absurdist dramas are a meaningless world and the isolation of the individual.
One characteristic of theatre of Absurd was the devaluation of language. The absurd dramatists felt that conventional language had failed man; it was an inadequate means of communication. As a result, the movement of the characters on stage often contradicts their words or dialogue.
Another common way in which they presented the uselessness of language was by having their characters constantly speak in cliches, or overused, tired expressions. One prime example of this is from Ionesco's The Bald Soprano: Mrs. Martin: How curious it is, good Lord, how bizarre!...
Mr. Martin [musing]: How curious it is, how curious it is, how curious it is, and what a coincidence! (Ionesco 14).
The phrase "how curious it is" has been said so many times, even outside of this play, that it has lost its meaning. Therefore, their repetition of it is empty; they are speaking without actually communicating. Essentially, the dramatists are claiming that language has become a means of occupying time and space rather than a way to effectively communicate with one another.
Another poetic aspect of absurdist plays is that they lack a plot or a clear beginning and end with a purposeful development in between. Absence, emptiness, nothingness, and unresolved mysteries are central features of many Absurdist plots. There is usually a great deal of repetition in both language and action, which suggests that the play isn't actually "going anywhere."
In absurd plays, we may conclude, the main characteristics are as follow: plot is eliminated, the state of characters are meaningless and isolated, language loses its role as a main tool of communication, and events take play in repetitive order as well as words. By writing these plays the absurd dramatists redefined the art form.
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