The absurd : from lexicographic and philosophical definitions towards an aesthetic category

Vol.36,No.2(2015)

Mariana Kunešová

Stable URL (handle):
http://hdl.handle.net/11222.digilib/134536

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Abstract
Rare are the terms which have during the past hundred years, as related to aesthetic conceptions, reached large popularity and deep critics such as the absurd. The most illustrative example of which is the conception of the "Theatre of the Absurd", coined in 1961 by the British theatre critic Martin Esslin and being considered poignant and operational as well as imprecise and vague. This study firstly puts out the following questions: Independently of Esslin's conception, can the absurd function as an operational aesthetic category? If so, what is its characteristics? The aim of this paper is to examine the aesthetic potential of the absurd as pointed out by its definitions and examples of use contained in dictionaries of general purpose and philosophy. Since the absurd became in the 1950's a concept in vogue related mainly to French existentialism, the study shall focus not only on contemporary definitions, but also on the ones from the decades preceding 1930, so that to understand to which extent considering the absurd as an aesthetic category is the heritage of Sartre and Camus.

Keywords:
absurd; definition; category; aesthetics; existentialism

Pages:
237–252
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