Theater of the Absurd Waiting For Godot and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
“To define the world as absurd is to recognize its fundamentally mysterious and indecipherable nature, and this recognition is frequently associated with feelings of loss, purposelessness, and bewilderment. To such feelings, the Theater of the Absurd gives ample expression, often leaving the observer baffled in the face of disjointed, meaningless, or repetitious dialogues, incomprehensible behavior, and plots which deny all notion of logical or ‘realistic’ development.” It may seem too easy to describe an art form as complex as absurd theater in the above single short paragraph, but the unidentified author of the quote very nicely summed up the most essential elements of the form. It’s as if there were a recipe for absurd theater, with certain ingredients that must be present to make a good play. Tom Stoppard’s “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead” and Samuel Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot” are two of the foremost plays in the short-lived, yet highly impacting art of absurd theater. Each with it’s pair of lead characters, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (Ros and Guil from here on) and Vladimir and Estragon (Didi and Gogo from here on), respectively, epitomize and demonstrate abundantly said elements. ... Gogo and Didi likewise amble about aimlessly, striving to attain an unreachable goal, an encounter with an ever-absent Godot. ... They tell each other stories, entertain themselves with the people that are passing by, and even just sleep because they have no other expectation in life than to wait for Godot. ... Vladimir: We’re waiting for Godot. ... Everything’s dead but the tree. ... ” The exact definition of “incomprehensible behavior” is ambiguous in terms of absurd theater in that it can refer to both mental or physical gestures. ... Later, they pass time with a slightly more engaging, yet still incredibly monotonous game of questions in which they return each other’s queries with still more queries over and over, not accomplishing a thing but filling the void of their waiting for something or someone to come along. ... In the final act of “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead” there is a short scenario in which Ros and Guil hear music coming from within a set of barrels. ... They are there mearly as an occupation for Didi and Gogo while they attempt to pass the time until Godot comes.