Absurdity in Beckett, Pinter and Shakespeare
An-Najah National University
Faculty of Arts
Department of English
Absurdity in Beckett, Pinter and Shakespeare
Written by:
Anas Kamal Khanfar
10507510
Supervised by:
Dr.Odeh Odeh
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the B.A. Degree in English
2nd Semester – 2008/2009
Literature review
Life is absurd as a game of chess which is played by a blind man and a sighted man from the point of view of the observer to the patient. In this paper, absurdity is observed and detected in a critical point of view that covers Shakespeare's "Hamlet", Beckett's Endgame and Pinter's "The Birthday Party". Absurdity in these works is at two levels which are character's absurdity and language's absurdity. Bradbrook (1986) analyzes Shakespeare's works deeply that his analysis of Hamlet in Shakespeare's "Hamlet" is excellent that he talks about the absurdity of Hamlet's utterances with his uncle and with his mother. Styan (1981) devotes a complete section for Beckett's and Pinter's plays which can be considered a pure fountain of absurd dramatic works. Styan talks about Hamm and Clov's absurdity in Endgame that he describes Hamm's life as "Empty". Then, he talks about Stanley as an absurd character in Pinter's "The Birthday Party". Then, he talks about the absurdity of the speech of Goldberg and McCann whenever they talk to him. Esslin (1976) gives a comprehensive background about the theatre of the absurd from the French theatre of the absurd to the moment of proliferation of this theatre all over the world. Then, he talks about Beckett and the search for the self in Endgame as an example presenting the empty life of the characters, the lack of mission, and the emptiness, the floating state of the characters and the purposelessness of the characters' life.
Kenner (1980) adds his own touch in a deep analysis of the emptiness of life in Endgame. He analyzes the emptiness in life in the play by mentioning many lines especially the
Faculty of Arts
Department of English
Absurdity in Beckett, Pinter and Shakespeare
Written by:
Anas Kamal Khanfar
10507510
Supervised by:
Dr.Odeh Odeh
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the B.A. Degree in English
2nd Semester – 2008/2009
Literature review
Life is absurd as a game of chess which is played by a blind man and a sighted man from the point of view of the observer to the patient. In this paper, absurdity is observed and detected in a critical point of view that covers Shakespeare's "Hamlet", Beckett's Endgame and Pinter's "The Birthday Party". Absurdity in these works is at two levels which are character's absurdity and language's absurdity. Bradbrook (1986) analyzes Shakespeare's works deeply that his analysis of Hamlet in Shakespeare's "Hamlet" is excellent that he talks about the absurdity of Hamlet's utterances with his uncle and with his mother. Styan (1981) devotes a complete section for Beckett's and Pinter's plays which can be considered a pure fountain of absurd dramatic works. Styan talks about Hamm and Clov's absurdity in Endgame that he describes Hamm's life as "Empty". Then, he talks about Stanley as an absurd character in Pinter's "The Birthday Party". Then, he talks about the absurdity of the speech of Goldberg and McCann whenever they talk to him. Esslin (1976) gives a comprehensive background about the theatre of the absurd from the French theatre of the absurd to the moment of proliferation of this theatre all over the world. Then, he talks about Beckett and the search for the self in Endgame as an example presenting the empty life of the characters, the lack of mission, and the emptiness, the floating state of the characters and the purposelessness of the characters' life.
Kenner (1980) adds his own touch in a deep analysis of the emptiness of life in Endgame. He analyzes the emptiness in life in the play by mentioning many lines especially the
Bibliography: Beckett, Samuel. (1964) Endgame. London: Faber and Faber Begley, Varun (2005).Harold Pinter and the Twilight of Modernism BradBrook.M.C. (1968). Shakespeare the Craftsman. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Esslin, Martin. (1976). The theatre of the Absurd.Hammondsport: Penguin Books. Eugene, Ionesco, and others. (1965). Absurd Theater.Hundon: Penguin Books. Harold, Pinter. (1967). The Birthday Party. .New York: Grove Press, INC. Kott, Jan. Shakespeare our Contemporary. (1965).London: Doubleday Company Ltd. Shakespeare, William. (1974). "Hamlet". In The Riverside Shakespeare. Boston and London (among other places): Houghton Mifflin Co. Styan. J.L. ". (1981). “Modern Drama in Theory and Practice: Symbolism, Surrealism and the Absurd .Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.