THE THEATRE OF THE ABSURD

The idea of “absurd” is among the key feature depicted in The Myth of Sisyphus, which is a philosophical work by Albert Camus. Camus alludes that absurd originates from conflicting ideas between confrontation of human need and unreasonable silence in the world.  Absurd connotes a situation where man is entrapped in a hostile universe that could be regarded as being totally subjective. The phrase, “The Theatre of the Absurd” is the work of Esslin who is a critic of Camus work. The essay by Camus represents the life of Sisyphus who had been given the punishment by gods rolling a rock up to the peak of the mountain which would roll back down thereby making Sisyphus efforts to be futile (Camus, 1955). The play Waiting for Godot fits the descriptions of “The Theatre of Absurd”. Among the element of Theatre of Absurd is does not dwell on the construction of characters and other dramatic elements. This is visible in the play, Waiting for Godot, where in the course of the play there is limited adherence to the traditional values of a play. The theme is this play seems hard to capture. The characters in this play are depicted being in present but not recognizable for what they do and it appears that whatever they present has no purpose. The play depicts two characters, Estragon and Vladimir, who are old acquaintances, and who both appear to not be aware of their identity (Beckett, 2013). The two merely exists, but their life is an endless rain of blows and they end up being eager of their demise. This depicts a meaning less approach that makes the play to be regarded as absurd. 

Works Cited

Beckett, Samuel. “Waiting for Godot. “Norton Anthology of Drama. S.l.: W W Norton, 2013. 1010-072. Print.

Camus, A. (1955). The myth of Sisyphus. The myth of Sisyphus and other essays, 88-91.