Q) Write a brief essay on 'Absurd Drama' with special reference to Samuel

Beckett’s ‘Waiting for Godot.’ / Consider ‘Waiting for Godot’ is an absurd drama.
Ans- Absurd theatre is a genre of drama that emerged in the mid-20th century,
characterized by its rejection of traditional narrative structure, logical coherence,
and character development. Instead, absurd theatre presents a fragmented and
disjointed portrayal of the human condition, often featuring repetitive dialogue,
nonsensical situations, and characters trapped in meaningless or repetitive actions.
Waiting for Godot’ is often cited as a prime example of Theater of the Absurd, a
theatrical movement that emerged in the mid-20 th century in response to the
existential crisis and disillusionment of the post war era. Absurdist playwrights,
such as Samuel Beckett and Eugene Ionesco, use their works to explore themes of
existentialism, alienation, and the absurdity of life in a world devoid of meaning or
purpose. Absurd theatre challenges audiences to confront the uncertainties and
paradoxes of existence, inviting them to question the nature of reality and the
limitations of human understanding. Martin Esslin comments this kind of theatre
reaches out to a deeper level of the audience's mind and “activates psychological
forces, releases and iberates hidden fears and repressed aggression (= anger)….”
Beckett's first play En Attendant Godot (‘Waiting for Godot’) was performed in
Paris in 1952 and was staged since the war. Running for four hundred
performances at the Theatre de Babylon, it was then staged at another theatre of
Paris. The English version was received with equal enthusiasm. lonesco's plays
satisfy the dictionary definition, of the ‘absurd’ as “that which is contrary to
reason”. Beckett feels, Richard Gilman, appears to come closer to Camus, who
defines the absurd as “that divorce between the mind that desires and the world that
disoppoints.”
One of the defining characteristics of absurd drama is the absence of traditional
plot progression. In ‘Waiting for Godot,’ the play unfolds over two acts, both of
which feature the same basic situation: two characters, Vladimir and Estragon, wait
by a barren tree for the arrival of someone named Godot. However, Godot never
arrives, and the characters' circumstances remain unchanged from beginning to
end. This lack of narrative development reflects the sense of stasis and futility that
pervades the play. The basic question regarding the identity of Godot remains
unanswered till the end. It has been suggested that Godot may be a corruption of
God' but whatever may be the meaning of Godot, “the subject of the play is not
Godot but waiting...an event, a thing, a person, death.” (Martin Esslin).
The dialogue in ‘Waiting for Godot’ is marked by its circularity and repetition.
Vladimir and Estragon engage in seemingly nonsensical conversations that often
circle back to the same themes and motifs. This repetitive dialogue serves to
underscore the characters' sense of ennui and frustration, as they struggle to make
sense of their situation and find meaning in their existence.
“VLADIMIR: He didn't say for sure he'd come.
ESTRAGON: And if he doesn't come?
VLADIMIR: We'll come back tomorrow.
ESTRAGON: And then the day after tomorrow.”

Unlike the regular narratives, no character development is a key feature of absurd

drama. The characters in ‘Waiting for Godot’ embody the absurdity of the human
condition. Vladimir and Estragon are hapless vagabonds who pass the time with
idle chatter and futile attempts to pass the time. They are joined by two other
characters, Pozzo and Lucky, whose relationship mirrors their own in its absurdity
and dysfunction. Together, these characters inhabit a world devoid of purpose or
direction .

Employment or nihilism enriches the play as a absurd drama .Vladimir and

Estragon spend the entire play waiting for Godot, who never comes. Estragon
repeatedly wants to leave, but Vladimir insists that they stay, in case Godot actually
shows up. As a result of this endless waiting, both Vladimir and Estragon are
“bored to death,” as Vladimir himself puts it. Both Vladimir and Estragon repeat
throughout the play that there is “nothing to be done” and “nothing to do.” They
struggle to find ways to pass the time, so they end up conversing back and forth
about nothing at all—including talking about how they don’t know what to talk
about—simply to occupy themselves while waiting. The boredom of the characters
on-stage mirrors the boredom of the audience. Beckett has deliberately constructed
a play where not only his characters, but also his audience wait for something that
never happens. Just like Estragon and Vladimir, the audience waits during the play
for some major event or climax that never occurs. Audience members might at
times feel uncomfortable and want, like Estragon, to leave, but are bound to stay, in
case Godot should actually arrive later in the play.
All of this waiting for nothing, talking about nothing, and doing nothing
contributes to a pervasive atmosphere of nihilism in the play. Broadly defined,
nihilism is a denial of any significance or meaning in the world. Deriving from the
Latin word for “nothing”

Use of absurd and dark humour is common in Absurd plays . The play is filled with
nonsensical lines, wordplay, meaningless dialogue, and characters who abruptly
shift emotions and forget everything, ranging from their own identities to what
happened yesterday. All of this contributes to an absurdist humor throughout the
play. However, this humor is often uncomfortably mixed together with tragic or
serious content to make a darker kind of comedy. Estragon refers to “billions of
others,” who have been killed, and describes being beaten by an anonymous
“they.” Lucky (whose ill-fitting name is itself darkly comic) is treated horribly and
physically abused on-stage. And Vladimir and Estragon talk nonchalantly and
pleasantly about suicide. All this has a discomforting effect on the audience, who is
not sure how to react to this absurd mixture of comedy and tragedy, seriousness
and playfulness. In act one, Vladimir says, “one daren’t even laugh any more,” and
his comment could apply well to the audience of Beckett’s play, who don’t know
whether to laugh or to cringe at the events on-stage. If the world is meaningless, it
makes no sense to see it as comic or tragic, good or bad. This is how it’s an absurd
play .
Perhaps the most important thing about time in the play is that it is uncertain. All of
the characters (and thus the audience, as well) are unsure of exactly when the play
is taking place. The time period of the play is unclear, as is the relative chronology
of the play’s events. Vladimir is rather sure that act two is one day after act one, but
all the other characters disagree. Moreover, everyone except for Vladimir seems to
have forgotten the events of act one by the time act two begins. In act two,
Vladimir and Estragon even disagree over what time of day it is.
Amid all this uncertainty, the one thing that seems certain is that time is recursive
in Waiting for Godot. That is, the same events occur again and again, while
characters also repeat themselves. As Pozzo and Estragon forget their immediate
past, they end up repeating much of act one in act two. Vladimir and Estragon wait
in the same place, where the same two people (Lucky and Pozzo) encounter them,
and where a boy delivers the same message from Godot. With this strangely
repetitive temporal structure, the characters of Waiting for Godot are trapped
within an infinite present time.it is not clear that the beginning of the play was
really the beginning of this story
Beckett uses suffering, forgetting, losing of dignity to encapsulate the absurdity of
human nature. Beckett’s play is filled with a great deal of physical, mental, and
emotional suffering. Vladimir and Estragon (especially Estragon) are starved for
food, in physical pain, and “bored to death.” Both fear an anonymous “they” who
threaten to beat them at night, and are frequently unable to move of their own
accord. Estragon mentions “billions of others,” who have been killed, but does not
elaborate. Lucky, meanwhile, is treated horribly, pulled about by a rope tied around
his neck, beaten by Pozzo, and kicked repeatedly by Estragon. All of this suffering
has a dehumanizing effect, and robs characters of their dignity. Lucky, for example,
is addressed by Pozzo as “pig,” and treated like a pack animal. Estragon is reduced
to sucking on Pozzo’s leftover chicken bones pathetically. And even Pozzo, who
imposes suffering on Lucky, is unable to get up from the ground when he falls in
act two.
Amid all this, Vladimir and Estragon desperately seek two things throughout the
play: some recognition of their humanity, and companionship. When the boy asks
Vladimir what message he would like to send to Godot, he simply asks the boy to
tell Godot that he saw Vladimir. In other words, Vladimir wants to be
acknowledged as a person. This is particularly important to him because the other
characters in the play forget and mix up their identities. Pozzo and Lucky don’t
recognize Estragon and Vladimir in act two, whereas Estragon forgets about Lucky
and Pozzo. In this environment where people are so easily forgotten, Vladimir
wants some confirmation of his own identity and humanity. Beyond this, Vladimir
and Estragon also desire companionship. Although Estragon repeatedly suggests
that they go their separate ways, the two stay together out of a mutual fear of
loneliness. When Estragon momentarily leaves the stage, Vladimir panics and
becomes immediately lonely. And Estragon needs Vladimir as well—whether to
have someone to talk to and ask questions of, or to help him put on his boots.
Symbols that are used to enhance the themes of absurd play. Symbols like the rope
the hat the barren tree the baggages etc are very symbolic that enhances the themes
of the play and invites the audience to deeply connect and interpret it’s meanings.
In conclusion, ‘Waiting for Godot’ by Samuel Beckett is a quintessential example
of absurd drama, characterized by its lack of plot progression, circular dialogue,
absurd characters, and exploration of existential themes. Through its minimalist
setting and enigmatic characters, the play challenges audiences to confront the
absurdity of existence and the futility of human endeavor, inviting them to ponder
the mysteries of life in a universe devoid of meaning or logic.