Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A form of drama that emphasizes the absurdity of human existence by employing disjointed, repetitious, and meaningless dialogue, purposeless and confusing situations, and plots that lack realistic or logical development.
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treeseed commented on the word theater of the absurd
Movement in the 1940s-1960s that expressed existentialist philosophy through theatrical style. Absurdist plays are filled with non-sensical dialogue and plot, which convey the inability of people to communicate with each other and the irrationality of existence. Principal figures in absurdist theatre were Samuel Beckett, Eugene Ionesco and Jean Genet.
February 4, 2008