Reassessing the Theatre of the Absurd: Camus, Beckett, Ionesco, Genet, and Pinter

Fifty Years After The Publication Of Martin Esslin's The Theatre Of The Absurd, Which Suggests That Absurd Plays Purport The Meaninglessness Of Life, This Book Is A Timely Reassessment Of One Of The Most Important Theatre Movements Of The 20th Century. The Author Argues That These Absurd Plays Are, Instead, Ethical Texts That Suggest How Life Can Be Made Meaningful. Analyzing The Works Of Five Major Playwrights/writers Of The 1950s (including Three Winners Of The Nobel Prize In Literature), The Author's Work Challenges Fifty Years Of Scholarship Through His Upbeat And Hopeful Readings. Introduction : Reassessing The Theatre Of The Abusrd -- The Parable Of Estragon's Struggle With The Boot In Waiting For Godot -- The Pinteresque Oedipal Household : The Interrogation Scene(s) In The Birthday Party -- The Parable Of The White Clown : The Use Of Ritual In Jean Genet's The Blacks : A Clown Show -- Berenger, The Sisyphean Hero -- Conclusion : Theorizing A Female Absurd In Beth Henley's Crimes Of The Heart As A Means Of Reassessing The Theatre Of The Absurd. Michael Y. Bennett. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.