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

<p>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 uses the works of five major playwrights of the 1950s to provide a timely reassessment of one of the most important theatre 'movements' of the 20th century.</p>

Literature & Fiction

Bennett, M.

History & Criticism

PALGRAVE~MACMILLAN

In this unique study, Michael Y. Bennett re-reads four influential modern plays alongside their contemporary debates between rationalism and empiricism to show how these monumental achievements were thoroughly a product of their time, but also universal in their epistemological quest to understand the world through a rational and/or empirical model. Bennett contends that these plays directly engage in their contemporary epistemological debates rather than through the lens of a specific philosophy. Besides producing new, insightful readings of heavily-studied plays, the interdisciplinary (historical, philosophical, dramatic, theatrical, and literary) frame Bennett constructs allows him to investigate one of the most fundamental questions of the theatre - how does meaning get made? Bennett suggests that the key to unlocking theatrical meaning is exploring the tension between empirical and rational modes of understanding. The book concludes with an interview with performance artist Coco Fusco.

Words, Space, and the Audience: The Theatrical Tension between Empiricism and Rationalism

Dramas & Plays

This cutting-edge title explores how narrating the past both conflicts and creates an interesting relationship with drama's 'continuing present' that arcs towards an unpredictable future. Theatre both brings the past alive and also fixes it, but through the performance process, allowing the past to be molded for future (not-yet-existent) audiences.

Narrating the Past through Theatre: Four Crucial Texts (Palgrave Pivot)

Palgrave Pivot

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Bennett, M.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Bennett, M.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Bennett, M.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

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

Words, Space, and the Audience: The Theatrical Tension between Empiricism and Rationalism

Narrating the Past through Theatre: Four Crucial Texts (Palgrave Pivot)

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

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

Words, Space, and the Audience: The Theatrical Tension between Empiricism and Rationalism

Narrating the Past through Theatre: Four Crucial Texts (Palgrave Pivot)