LITERARY ELEMENTS 

THOMAS FONTAINE, BRANDON CLAYTON, TROY NICKENS

TERMS OF FOCUS

• Tragicomedy• Theater of the Absurd

TRAGICOMEDY

• A type of drama coined in classical era by Roman dramatist Plautus (mainly comedy).

• Became famous in Elizabethan times - characters often brought close to death through plot reversals and sudden catastrophes, but never actually killed.

• Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice" and "Measure for Measure"

• Plautus' "Amphytryon"

THEATER OF THE ABSURD

• 20th century evolution of Tragicomedy, stemming from avant-garde movement and horrors of WWII.

• Represented the absurdity and meaninglessness of human life through  surreal, illogical, conflictless and plotless story lines meant to force the viewer to question conventional life.

• Samuel Beckett's "Waiting for Godot" (no happy or sad ending) and "Endgame"

• "Le Professeur Taranne" by Arthur Adamov