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First published in 1969, provides a helpful introduction to the study of Absurdist writing and drama in the first half of the twentieth century. After discussing a variety of definitions of the Absurd, it goes on to examine a number of key figures in the movement such as Esslin, Sartre, Camus, Ionesco and Genet. The book concludes with a discussion of the limitations of the term ‘Absurd’ and possible objections to Absurdity. This book will be of interest to those studying Absurdist literature as well as twentieth century drama, literature and philosophy.
The Myth of Sisyphus And Other Essays by Albert Camus Pdf
One of the most influential works of this century, The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays is a crucial exposition of existentialist thought. Influenced by works such as Don Juan and the novels of Kafka, these essays begin with a meditation on suicide; the question of living or not living in a universe devoid of order or meaning. With lyric eloquence, Albert Camus brilliantly posits a way out of despair, reaffirming the value of personal existence, and the possibility of life lived with dignity and authenticity.
Author : Donald A. Crosby Publisher : State University of New York Press Page : 474 pages File Size : 52,5 Mb Release : 2016-03-22 Category : Philosophy ISBN : 9781438400082
This book is our century's most comprehensive and wise treatment of nihilism in all of its guises, comparing favorably with Rosen, Cavell, and indeed with Spengler. Crosby argues that our culture is genuinely haunted by nihilism expressing itself in the fideism of fundamentalism as well as in the debilitating alienation from all orientation. This results from a one-sided development of Western culture. Unlike most writers on this topic, Crosby acknowledges many sources colluding to frame the culture of nihilism, including "the death of God," the objectification of nature, the meaninglessness of suffering in a mechanical universe, the ephemerality of time in a world where value does not accumulate, the arbitrariness of historicized reason, the reduction of value to will, and the alienation of the Cartesian ego. These sources are reviewed in the first two parts of the book with the result that the phenomenon of nihilism becomes understandable. In its third and fourth parts, Crosby provides a critical analysis of the religious and philosophical forces leading to nihilism by discussing authors from the early modern period through Dostoyevsky, Sartre, Russell, and Derrida. He shows that these forces are skewed and impoverished and should not be allowed to determine our situation. The comprehensive attention to detail and the multi-perspectival interpretation demonstrates as well as asserts the richness of the culture that puts nihilism in its place. Part Five, finally, rephrases the criticism of the sources of nihilism in positive ways. Part Four in particular is a tour de force of philosophical argument. Its richness of nuance, plurality of views examined, and adroitness of critical interpretation provide cumulatively a powerful, non-nihilistic reading of the philosophic tradition. The force of the argument derives from its comprehensive, cumulative character. Crosby distinguishes and relates five areas of nihilism: political, moral, epistemological, cosmic, and existential. Throughout the book, he illustrates and examines these as they are expressed in literature and art, in daily life and practical affairs, and in philosophy. The book is richly erudite in its marshalling of consciousness from so many domains.
Strange Mr. Satie: Composer of the Absurd by M. T. Anderson Pdf
In a brilliant performance worthy of the composer, M. T. Anderson and Petra Mathers present a picture-book biography of the singular Erik Satie. Throughout his life, Erik Satie wanted to make a new kind of music, a kind of music both very young and very old, very bold and very shy, that followed no rules but its own. At first glance, Erik Satie looked as normal as anyone else in Paris one hundred years ago. Beyond his shy smile, however, was a mind like no other. When Satie sat down at the piano to compose or play music, his tunes were strange and dreamlike, his melodies topsy-turvy and discordant. Many people hated his music. Few understood it. But to Erik Satie there was sense in nonsense, and the vibrant, surreal compositions of this eccentric man-child would go on to influence many artists.
"In his twenty-five years as President of Boston University, Dr. Silber oversaw a building program totaling more than 13 million square feet. Here he constructs an unflinching case, beautifully illustrated, against the worst trends in contemporary architecture. He challenges architects to derive creative satisfaction from meeting the practical needs of clients and the public. He urges the directors of our universities, symphony orchestras, museums, and corporations to stop financing inefficient, overpriced architecture, and calls on clients and the public to tell the emperors of our skylines that their pretensions cannot hide the naked absurdity of their designs."--BOOK JACKET.
In 1953, Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot premiered at a tiny avant-garde theatre in Paris; within five years, it had been translated into more than twenty languages and seen by more than a million spectators. Its startling popularity marked the emergence of a new type of theatre whose proponents—Beckett, Ionesco, Genet, Pinter, and others—shattered dramatic conventions and paid scant attention to psychological realism, while highlighting their characters’ inability to understand one another. In 1961, Martin Esslin gave a name to the phenomenon in his groundbreaking study of these playwrights who dramatized the absurdity at the core of the human condition. Over four decades after its initial publication, Esslin’s landmark book has lost none of its freshness. The questions these dramatists raise about the struggle for meaning in a purposeless world are still as incisive and necessary today as they were when Beckett’s tramps first waited beneath a dying tree on a lonely country road for a mysterious benefactor who would never show. Authoritative, engaging, and eminently readable, The Theatre of the Absurd is nothing short of a classic: vital reading for anyone with an interest in the theatre.
A "Business Week" bestseller, this original, contrarian philosophy challenges today's leaders to look past the quick fix and deal thoughtfully with the real complexities of managing people.
Albert Camus and the Philosophy of the Absurd by Avi Sagi Pdf
This book is an attempt to read the totality of Camus’s oeuvre as a voyage, in which Camus approaches the fundamental questions of human existence: What is the meaning of life? Can ultimate values be grounded without metaphysical presuppositions? Can the pain of the other penetrate the thick shield of human narcissism and self-interest? Solipsism and solidarity are among the destinations Camus reaches in the course of this journey. This book is a new reading of one of the towering humanists of the twentieth century, and sheds new light on his spiritual world.
The Cambridge Introduction to Theatre and Literature of the Absurd by Michael Y. Bennett Pdf
This accessible Introduction provides an in-depth overview of absurdism and its key figures in theatre and literature, from Samuel Beckett and Harold Pinter to Tom Stoppard. Essential reading for students, this book provides the necessary tools to develop the study of some of the twentieth century's most influential works.
Re-Thinking Character in the Theatre of the Absurd by Carmen Dominte Pdf
Using the character as a central element, this volume provides insights into the Theatre of the Absurd, highlighting its specific key characteristics. Adopting both semiotic-structuralist and mathematical approaches, its analysis of the absurdist character introduces new models of investigation, including a possible algebraic model operating on the scenic, dramatic and paradigmatic level of a play, not only exploring the relations, configurations, confrontations, functions and situations but also providing necessary information for a possible geometric model. The book also takes into consideration the relations established among the most important units of a dramatic work, character, cue, décor and régie, re-configuring the basic pattern. It will be useful for any reader interested in analyzing, staging or writing a play starting from a single character.
Reassessing the Theatre of the Absurd by M. Bennett Pdf
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.
Affirming the Absurd in Harold Pinter by Jane Wong Yeang Chui Pdf
Using Martin Esslin's "invention" - the Theatre of the Absurd - to examine Pinter's works, Wong brings the complexities and intricacies of the plays to the forefront, provoking readers and audiences to reconsider and problematize more conventional studies of his plays.
The Element of the ‘Absurd’ in Rajiv Joseph’s Post-9/11 Plays by Qurratulaen Liaqat Pdf
What is a suitable genre to describe the post-9/11 era mired in wars, violence, and unspeakable horror? What kind of literary expressions and techniques are appropriate to give voice to the prevalence of global anguish in the post-9/11 scenario? Is the Theatre of the Absurd a viable option for the expression of the incongruity of the unspeakable horror unleashed after 9/11? Is the term ‘absurd’ applicable to this era? If yes, in what terms is this applicable? This book tries to find answers to these questions and many more. It reflects on the epistemological shifts in the avant-garde tradition of the Theatre of the Absurd, its ongoing critical currency in contemporary history, and its changing contours in the post-9/11 plays of Rajiv Joseph, an emerging American dramatist. It establishes the continued relevance of the Theatre of the Absurd at the current juncture of human history.
The Days of The Absurd-Philosophical poems by Sorin Cerin Pdf
Philosophical poetry or poetic philosophy? Sorin Cerin combines philosophy with poetry, being the author of a philosophical system called Coaxialism but also of many volumes of philosophical poetry. One of the representative poems being this with the title: "The Dreams of lead of the Death", whose lyrics are: "Wax candles, created from the emaciated bodies, of the Non-Senses of the Existence, are melted by the rays, of the Sacred Flames, of the Love, of the Divine Light, which have penetrated with difficulty, through the icy Darkness, from the Inferno of the Absurd, of the Illusions of Happiness, for to give us, the Wings of Angels of the Dreams, with which to we fly beyond us, up to the Star of Immortality, without it knowing, that we are being pursued, by the fangs, of bloody beast, of the Destiny, which crush us, with the Dreams of lead, of the Death, any Memory from the Future, toward which we want to go."
