Theme Of Existentialism In Waiting For Godot

The 20th Century ISMS developed as a result of a rapidly-changing world where science and technology led to an explosion of knowledge. The nature of God was challenged by philosophers and scientists alike, which caused the individual to question his own existence as well how he or she could make sense of this explosion of information which was happening at the time. This had a significant effect on the Dramatic Arts and theatre of the time. Existentialism and Expressionism were a product of 20th Century events, such as World War 1 and 2, which caused feelings of abandonment and fear, a dissatisfaction with authority and a revolt against the materialism of war. Through the comparing and contrasting of Existentialism and Expressionism through

In this theatre of the absurd piece, two protagonists Vladimir and Estragon, two men that meet near a tree, are waiting for a man named Godot and while they wait, they converse on random topics. Pozzo who is supposedly on his way to sell his slave, Lucky, stops to have a conversation with Vladimir and Estragon. During this time, Lucky entertains the men, they converse some more on various subjects and they move on. Throughout this play, the existential ideas of Beckett are clearly illustrated through the Characters, dialogue, themes and many other dimensions of the play. It is clear that pointlessness of life is trying to be conveyed as a central theme. The feeling of total abandonment is illustrated through these two men waiting for Godot, who can be seen as hope or purpose, to arrive. The famous line “nothing to be done” conveys that feeling of hopelessness and abandonment, as well as the absurdity of human behaviour such as relationships, the concept of time as well as the absurdity of

Kaiser particularly focused on the suffering of World War 1. Once again the great influence of the events of the time coming to the fore in terms of deeply affecting playwrights such as Kaiser, and ultimately, questioning the foundation of society which had this ability to cause such destruction. Plays such as Our Town written by famous American playwright Thornton Wilder explores this spiritual and universal truth by breaking through the realism barrier. It tells the story of the everyday lives of ordinary citizens who live in The Governors Corners, which is a fictional town, between 1901 and 1913. The use of a bare stage and only a few props aims at creating elements of expressionism and symbolism. It relies on theatrical effects in otder to create this expressionism in the performance piece. The playwright, Wilder’s thoughts and feelings are heavily felt throughout the play, as the voice of the narrator of the play allows the him to speak directly to the audience. It was essential to Wilder that the constraints of Realism be abandoned in order for him to have the freedom to create this vision that he had through this play. This truly illustrates the anti-realist campaign that expressionism was: a revolt against society and its destruction and