Waiting of Godot as an Absurd Play   The word "Absurd" means "a literary and philosophical term that expresses the irrational or pointlessness of the human condition from an existential point of view." The word "absurd" is derived from the French word "absurdum" which means "Out of harmony".   The Theater of Absurd depicts a mood, and a tone towards life, where human existence is a dilemma of purposeless, meaningless, and pointless activity. This is a complete denial of the old values. It has no plot, no characterization, no logical setting, and no extreme. This is completely unconventional. Theatre of the Absurd is one of the ways in which the universe has lost its meaning and purpose. Theatre of the Absurd transmits the irrationality of life to the stage. The words and deeds of the characters do not give any meaning. In fact, there is no plot in the play.   Samuel Beckett's "Waiting for Godot" fall into the co...

Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw Pygmalion is a play written by George Bernard Shaw in 1912 and first performed in 1913. It is based on the Greek myth of Pygmalion, a sculptor who falls in love with his own creation, a statue of a woman. Shaw adapts this myth to explore the themes of class, gender, and identity in early 20th-century society. He also uses the play as a vehicle to express his views on language, education, and social reform. Shaw presents Pygmalion as a problem play, a feminist play, and an anti-romantic play. These concerns are rooted in Shaw's broader intellectual and dramatic outlook , which developed through his engagement with social criticism and theatrical reform. Pygmalion as Problem Play A problem play is a type of drama that deals with controversial social issues and challenges the audience to think critically and morally about them. Shaw was known for writing problem plays that addressed topics such as poverty, prostitution, marriage, and religion. In Pygm...

Feminism Feminism is a social and political movement that aims to achieve economic, political, and social equality of the sexes. Feminist literary criticism is an approach that applies feminist principles and philosophy to critique literary language. This approach examines how literature portrays the history of male domination by exploring the social, economic, political, and psychological forces embedded within it. Background Pygmalion is a play written by George Bernard Shaw in 1912 that depicts the transformation of a poor flower girl, Eliza Doolittle, into a refined lady under the guidance of two phonetic experts, Henry Higgins, and Colonel Pickering. The play is set in the Victorian era of England when women were subjected to many stereotypes and restrictions. Women were expected to behave, dress, and speak in certain ways. They were also denied many basic rights, such as the right to vote, to divorce, to inherit property, and to choose a career. Shaw, who was born and raised in t...

A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen fell like a bomb into contemporary life because it challenged the traditional gender roles and social norms of the Victorian era. It portrayed a woman who defied her husband's authority and left him to seek her own identity and freedom. A Doll's House is a realistic drama written by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Johan Ibsen in 1879. His plays attacked the age-worn values of a male-dominated society. He discarded outmoded dramatic techniques such as soliloquies and monologues. The theme of the play A Doll's House is individual freedom and emancipation of self. The protagonist of the play Nora is the wife of Torvald Helmer and they have been married for eight years. They have three children. A Doll's House is a problem play because Ibsen deals with a social problem: the status of a woman in relation to her husband and home. Ibsen shows the pathetic situation of Nora being treated by her husband as a mere child who knows nothing and is ...

A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen is a play that explores the themes of gender, class, and identity in the Victorian era. The play tells the story of Nora Helmer, a woman who is trapped in a marriage that is based on lies, manipulation, and superficiality. She is treated as a doll by her husband Torvald, who controls her actions, her money, and her speech. She is also treated as a doll by society, which imposes strict rules and expectations on her. She has no identity, freedom, or happiness of her own. The play challenges the traditional gender roles and social norms of its time by showing the injustice and oppression that they cause to women. Nora is expected to play the role of a perfect wife and mother, who is obedient, cheerful, and dependent. She has to hide her true feelings and opinions and pretend to be happy and content. She has no rights or dignity as a human being equal to men. For example, she secretly borrows money from Krogstad, a shady lawyer, to take her husband to Ita...

Character Analysis Professor Henry Higgins Pygmalion By George Bernard Shaw In Pygmalion, George Bernard Shaw creates a character who is a bundle of paradoxes. Professor Henry Higgins, a forty-year-old phonetician, is brilliant but rude, creative but insensitive, and confident but ignorant. He treats all people alike, but also rejects middle-class moralities. He is devoted to improving the human race but also acts like a childish tyrant. He is Shaw's creative rebel who challenges the traditional gender roles and social norms of the Victorian era. Higgins' personality is revealed through his actions and his speech. He is a master of the English language, but he uses it to insult and mock others, especially those who are lower in class or education than him. He does not care about the feelings or the dignity of other people, but only about his own reputation and pride. For example, when he first meets Eliza Doolittle, a poor Cockney flower girl, in Covent Garden, he takes down he...