Absurdity and the Existential Approach in Beckett’s Major Plays

Abstract

Samuel Beckett’s play reflects the intellectual and cultural crisis of the post-Second World War era, foregrounding the fundamental question of human existence, meaninglessness, alienation and uncertainty. This paper explores the absurd and existential approaches in Beckett’s major plays, namely Waiting for Godot, Endgame, All That Fall, Happy Days, and Krapp’s Last Tape. Drawing upon the philosophical premises of Existentialism and the dramatic conventions of The Theatre of Absurd, the study examines Beckett’s representation of individuals confronted with an apparently meaningless existence and the persistent yet futile desire to find purpose and certainty. His characters experience isolation, anxiety, repetition, fragmentation and the absence of meaningful communication, which together reveal the existential predicament of modern humanity. At the same time, Beckett employs circular structure, silence, pauses, repetitive action, fragmented dialogues and unconventional dramatic situations to construct an absurd theatrical world. The paper argues that absurdity in Beckett’s drama is not merely a theatrical technique but a philosophical expression of the human condition. His plays expose the tension between human longing for meaning and the apparent absence of any inherent meaning in existence. Thus, Beckett’s drama represents a significant convergence of existential philosophy and absurdist theatrical aesthetics.