20th Century Pioneer Movements and the Way to the Theatre of the Absurd

In this study, espeacially the fact that how Expressionism, Dadaism, Surrealism and Futurism conrtibuted to The Theatre of the Absurd is focused on. For instance, Futurism has been effective in terms of developing puppet-like characters with routine lives and mechanic movements that will be emphasized in the Theatre of the Absurd later. “Chaos and disharmony” which the Dadaists adopted as a principle instead of “unity, harmony and balance” has become the most important and distinct feature of the Theatre of the Absurd in the following years. While the notion that the genres, especially comedy and tragedy should be brought together and also the idea that the play should be accompanied by music, dance and light, which is among the principles of the Surrealists, are observed to have contributed the plays of The Theatre of the Absurd in the subsequent years; exaggerated form, mechanic movement and telegraphic speech that are known to have been used in Expressionism are observed to have been adopted in the plays of The Theatre of the Absurd written later and to have been brought to mind the grotesque features in the absurd plays, puppet-like figures and the language of The Theatre of the Absurd formed of repetitions and gabble. Besides, the grotesque and Antonin Artaud’s The Theatre of Cruelty leave certain effects on The Theatre of the Absurd. Also the deep traces that First and Second World Wars left on the human being in particular, and on the European societies in general have contributed to the Theatre of the Absurd. Thus, when thought as a whole, in the context of literature sociology, it has been reached that the Theatre of the Absurd took shape and emerged with the influence of all these movements and under the socio-political circumstances that the Europe was in.

Keywords

The Theatre of the Absurd, Expressionizm, Dadaism, Surrealism, Futurism.