ASSIGNMENT OF MODERN DRAMA

By

Maheen Falak
BS English, 6A Morning
Roll No MS20230

Subject Facilitator Ma’am Sana Zafar

I have chosen the article Possible worlds in the theatre of the absurd by Katerina Vassilopoulou
for my response paper. The main argument of the article is to apply the theory of possible
worlds to the absurd drama. Leibniz, who stated this concept that our current world was picked
as the finest out of an infinite number of possible worlds that exist as thoughts in God's mind, is
credited with introducing the idea of possible worlds in the 17th century. The writer argues that
Ryan's typology of accessibility relations and her list of several kinds of alternate possible
worlds that may be incorporated into a fictional universe. In addition, a review of the plays
(Pinter’s Old Times, Ionesco’s The Bald Prima Donna, Jacques or Obedience and Rhinoceros,
and Beckett’s Waiting for Godot) used for analysis in the paper in light of the first typology
demonstrates that accessibility relations other than logical compatibility, which is often linked
with absurdist theatre, may frequently capture certain partial impossibilities. Furthermore, it is
investigated to see if the produced strangeness is only the result of these relations being relaxed.
The purpose of this study is to fill up the gaps left by earlier research into the potential worlds
imagined in absurdist plays and their contribution to the development of weirdness. Meanwhile,
several intriguing discoveries about Eugene Ionesco, Harold Pinter, and Samuel Beckett's
dramatic method have been made. This research is just the beginning of the possible-worlds
theory being used to this genre, but it shows the significant part that this theoretical tool may
play in the absurdist drama's stylistics.
As per the main concern of the play, the writer has developed his argument by relating the theory
of possible worlds and its aspect of logical impossibilities in the absurd dramas. Due to the
logical absurdities they include, absurdist plays frequently have inconsistent fictional settings.
For instance, The Bald Prima Donna by Ionesco is a fascinating illustration of a contradictory
universe. The writer proves this argument by the discussion of a character who is both dead and
living. The situation creates a logical impossibility, which causes a universe to be projected that
contains conflicting states of occurrences.
In this article, the writer has demonstrated how the idea of possible worlds may be an effective
tool for researching absurdity. The topic has been divided into two parts, concentrating on
instances of loosened accessibility relations and instances of conflicts inside the narrative world.
Regarding the first point, research has revealed that absurdist plays also loosen accessibility
relations that are typified by fictitious settings that are not too far off from our own. As per the
argument of the article, the formation of absurdist effects is not due to relaxation per se, but
rather the involvement of a number of elements, primarily the mending of the relations happens
in what appears to be the realistic setting.
Regarding the use of the possible-worlds hypothesis, a comparison of the three playwrights has
produced some intriguing findings. Firstly, more often than Pinter or Beckett, Ionesco makes use
of the strategy of generating absurdity through the projection of hypothetical universes that
diverge from the real one. In actuality, Ionesco's plays tend to have the most instances of
absurdity connected to the relaxation of accessibility connections other than G/logic. This shows
that possible-worlds theory helps illuminate the "language of images" (Lane, 1994: 12) that
Ionesco uses, especially in his early plays, to highlight the strangeness of the world because he
views theatre, as it was emerging in his period, as an insufficient vehicle of communication.
Possible-worlds theory can be helpful for analysing Pinter and Beckett's plays, especially when
talking about the internal tensions of the projected worlds. These conflicts fail to advance the
story because the relationships between the numerous worlds in the textual universe never
change, which eventually leads to the emergence of absurdity.
Conclusively, all of the aforementioned discussion shows that the findings of this article (that
possible-worlds theory is a powerful instrument in the study of absurdity) can be applied to a
wide variety of texts that fall under the absurdist genre and are not just true in terms of the
individual plays. Given that playwrights have a vast "arsenal" of artistic devices at their disposal
to produce absurdist effects in their plays, it is not entirely unexpected that absurdity is not
always regarded in this perspective.
Reference
Vassilopoulou, K. (2008). Possible worlds in the theatre of the absurd. In Lancaster University
Postgraduate Conference on Linguistics and Language Teaching (pp. 120-138).