Give a short summary on the influence of the Theatre of Absurd on English Literature.
The Theatre of the Absurd' is a term coined by the critic Martin Esslin in the early 1960's, to highlight reoccurring themes that occurred within the work of certain playwrights, mostly written in the 1950s and 1960s. The term is derived from an essay by the French philosopher Albert Camus. In his 'Myth of Sisyphus', written in 1942, he first defined the human situation as basically meaningless and absurd. Whereas traditional theatre attempts to create a photographic representation of life as we see it, the Theatre of the Absurd aims to create a ritual-like, mythological, archetypal, allegorical vision, closely related to the world of dreams. The focal point of these dreams is often man's fundamental bewilderment and confusion, stemming from the fact that he has no answers to the basic existential questions: why we are alive, why we have to die, why there is injustice and suffering.
Absurdist playwrights, led by Samuel Beckett, Eugene Ionesco, and Jean Genet, embraced this vision and sought to portray the grim ridiculousness of human life using a dramatic style that subverted theatrical convention. Characterized by fantasy sequences, disjointed dialogue, and illogical or nearly nonexistent plots, their plays are concerned primarily with presenting a situation that illustrates the fundamental helplessness of humanity. Absurdist drama is sometimes comic on the surface, but the humour is infused with an underlying pessimism about the human condition.
Absurdism in Literature:
The absurd is not confined to theatre and can be seen in literature as well, notably in the novels of Albert Camus and Franz Kafka. In Camus’ novel The Outsider the absurd hero Meaursault commits a murder and is sentenced to death and it is here he fulfils the criteria of the absurd man; trapped in a cell waiting for inevitable death while filled with the contradictory hope of freedom and life.
Kafka employs the use of extreme images and scenarios to highlight the conflicts within life. In The Metamorphosis his character Gregor Samsa waking up to find himself transformed into a giant insect illustrates the parasitic nature of man and the fact that Samsa’s only worry is about how he is to get to work shows how the mundane in life envelops everything else.
In The Trial Josef K is arrested but he does not know what for and is never told. His struggle to prove his innocence against unknown crimes is an echo of the habitual struggle of man against the unknown forces of the world.
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Describe the tension between the conquered Saxons and the conquering Normans--what, aside from the initial subjugation of Saxon England by William of Normandy in 1066--do Saxons like Cedric have against their Norman rulers? How do their values and habits differ?
The Norman Conquest was a pivotal event in English history for a number of reasons. This conquest linked England more closely with continental Europe through the introduction of a Norman aristocracy, thereby lessening Scandinavian influence. It created one of the most powerful monarchies in Europe and engendered a sophisticated governmental system. The conquest changed the English language and culture, and set the stage for a rivalry with France that would continue intermittently until the 20th century. It has an iconic role in English national identity as the last successful military conquest of England
Consequences of the conquest
The extent and desirability of the changes brought about by the conquest have long been disputed by historians. Certainly, in political terms, William’s victory destroyed England’s links with Scandinavia, bringing the country instead into close contact with the Continent, especially France. Inside England the most radical change was the introduction of land tenure and military service. While tenure of land in return for services had existed in England before the conquest, William revolutionized the upper ranks of English society by dividing the country among about 180 Norman tenants-in-chief and innumerable mesne (intermediate) tenants, all holding their fiefs by knight service. The result, the almost total replacement of the English aristocracy with a Norman one, was paralleled by similar changes of personnel among the upper clergy and administrative officers.
Anglo-Saxon England had developed a highly organized central and local government and an effective judicial system (see Anglo-Saxon law). All these were retained and utilized by William, whose coronation oath showed his intention of continuing in the English royal tradition. The old administrative divisions were not superseded by the new fiefs, nor did feudal justice normally usurp the customary jurisdiction of shire and hundred courts. In them and in the king’s court, the common law of England continued to be administered. Innovations included the new but restricted body of “forest law” and the introduction in criminal cases of the Norman trial by combat alongside the old Saxon ordeals. Increasing use was made of the inquest procedure—the sworn testimony of neighbours, both for administrative purposes and in judicial cases. A major change was William’s removal of ecclesiastical cases from the secular courts, which allowed the subsequent introduction into England of the then rapidly growing canon law.
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William also transformed the structure and character of the church in England. He replaced all the Anglo-Saxon bishops, except Wulfstan of Dorchester, with Norman bishops. Most notably, he secured the deposition of Stigand, the archbishop of Canterbury—who held his see irregularly and had probably been excommunicated by Pope Leo IX—and appointed in his place Lanfranc of Bec, a respected scholar and one of William’s close advisers. Seeking to impose a more orderly structure on the English episcopacy, the king supported Lanfranc’s claims for the primacy of Canterbury in the English church. William also presided over a number of church councils, which were held far more frequently than under his predecessors, and introduced legislation against simony (the selling of clerical offices) and clerical marriage. A supporter of monastic reform while duke of Normandy, William introduced the latest reforming trends to England by replacing Anglo-Saxon abbots with Norman ones and by importing numerous monks. Although he founded only a small number of monasteries, including Battle Abbey (in honour of his victory at Hastings), William’s other measures contributed to the quickening of monastic life in England.
Probably the most regrettable effect of the conquest was the total eclipse of the English vernacular as the language of literature, law, and administration. Superseded in official documents and other records by Latin and then increasingly in all areas by Anglo-Norman, written English hardly reappeared until the 13th century
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29. John Galsworthy uses the Forsyte to represent the upper-middle class Victorian/Edwardian family. What characteristic, at least according to Galsworthy, BEST describes their mind-set?
John Galsworthy (14 August 1867 – 31 January 1933) was an English novelist and playwright. Notable works include The Forsyte Saga (1906–1921) and its sequels, A Modern Comedy and End of the Chapter. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1932. Galsworthy was born at what is now known as Galsworthy House on Kingston Hill in Surrey, England, the son of John and Blanche Bailey Galsworthy. His family was prosperous and well established. In 1895 Galsworthy began an affair with Ada Nemesis Pearson Cooper (1864–1956), the wife of his cousin Major Arthur Galsworthy.
From the Four Winds, a collection of short stories, was Galsworthy's first published work in 1897. These and several subsequent works were published under the pen name of John Sinjohn. His first play, The Silver Box (1906). Along with those of other writers of the period, such as George Bernard Shaw, his plays addressed the class system and other social issues, two of the best known being Strife (1909) and The Skin Game (1920).
He is now far better known for his novels, particularly The Forsyte Saga, his trilogy about the eponymous family and connected lives. These books, as with many of his other works, deal with social class, and upper-middle class lives in particular. Although sympathetic to his characters, he highlights their insular, snobbish, and acquisitive attitudes and their suffocating moral codes. He is viewed as one of the first writers of the Edwardian era who challenged some of the ideals of society depicted in the preceding literature of Victorian England.
The Forsyte Saga is a series of three novels and two interludes published between 1906 and 1921 by John Galsworthy. They chronicle the vicissitudes of the leading members of an upper-middle-class British family. Only a few generations removed from their farmer ancestors, the family members are keenly aware of their status as "new money". The main character, Soames Forsyte, sees himself as a "man of property," by virtue of his ability to accumulate material possessions—but this does not succeed in bringing him pleasure.
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Character Jolyon Forsythe is presented as the eldest among the "older" generation of the family. His philosophical mind makes it possible to observe some events of the narrative not through the eyes of the actor, but as if from an outside observer.
James Forsythe and his eternal phrase: "I never tell anything", as it represents in forsythes all the fears associated with the possible collapse and care, more often expressed in financial terms than in the manifestation of warmth.
Surrounding himself with luxury and trying to emphasize his wealth in every possible way, Swithin Forsythe can easily be taken as an example of a proud, full of self-conceit man who does not think about anything, in addition, whether he makes an impressive impression on others.
Soames Forsythe — a combination of sincere affection for his daughter and parents, with blind possessive feelings towards his first wife. He knows about painting, but the way he treats it, once again exposes him to a businessman.
Fleur Forsythe is a typical representative of the younger generation. Spoiled, does not know failure in anything girl, able on occasion to go for the tricks and lies for their own purposes.
Forsythe is an owner who is used to evaluate everything in monetary terms, he is extremely restrained and he rarely has sincere emotional impulses. But the most important drawback, which the author blames for this image, is that the true foresight is not able to truly comprehend the beauty (this is replaced by his desire to possess it or just "buy" it at a similar price).
But for all their cynicism, the heroes of the "Saga of Forsytes" show considerable care about the family. Family is highly valued by them.
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