Tragicomedy and Theater of

the Absurd

Vanessa Clayberg and Paul Johnson

 Tragicomedy

Tragicomedies fall in the middle of the tragic/comic spectrum,

in that they focus on high and low characters and situations and
that they bring a potentially tragic plot to a happy resolution, at
least for the protagonist, through a sudden reversal of fortune
or the reformation of the protagonist's opponent.
 Examples of Tragicomedy

Shakespeare's The Tempest: Prospero and his daughter

Miranda are betrayed and banished to live on an island by his
brother Antonio and Alonso, King of Naples. The play ends
when a shipwreck bring Prospero's betrayer in front of him for
judgement.

Edward Scissorhands (Movie): In the end of the film, the whole

town turns on Edward, but the kindness of Kim and a police
officer allows him to escape from the towns pursuit.
 Theater of the Absurd

Theater of the absurd questions the meaning of life in a

universe seen as godless and which has overthrown such
accepted conventions as a well-established setting, logical
dialogue, and a fully resolved conflict.

The story involving theater of the absurd may take place in an

undisclosed location or have a cliff-hanger ending.

Influential playwrights of the theater of the absurd are Eugene

Ionesco, Samuel Beckett, and Harold Pinter.
 Examples of Theater of the Absurd

Beckett's Endgame takes place in a desolate room that

overlooks a barren landscape. The cause of the isolation is
unknown.

In Harold Pinter's play The Room, the main character Rose is

kept inside of a room by unknown forces. And outsider named
Riley then invades her space and causes her distress.