A Probe into Absurdism in Edward Albee’s Play <i>The Zoo Story</i>

Liang Jianhua; Zhuang Qing

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ellc.20220704.12

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A Probe into Absurdism in Edward Albee’s Play The Zoo Story

Liang Jianhua, Zhuang Qing

Published in English Language, Literature & Culture (Volume 7, Issue 4)

Received: 19 October 2022 Accepted: 28 November 2022 Published: 8 December 2022

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Abstract

As an American playwright who established his fame in 1960s, Albee finds his name and plays widely listed among critics’ hails and attacks. Liked or disliked, praised or condemned, original or posturing, he has played an undoubtedly essential role in the development of American play. This paper attempts to study Edward Albee’s style of Theatre of the Absurd with special focus on his play The Zoo Story (1959). It first explores the distinguishing characteristics that mark the playwright Edward Albee out from other writers, that is, the description of violence in his plays, his standing on the borderline between absurdism and realism, and the attack upon the optimism of the American Dream. Then by seeking recourse to literary theories like the Theatre of the Absurd, and the Theatre of Cruelty, and philosophical terms such as Existentialism, the latter part of the paper deals with the specific discussion of Albee’s play The Zoo Story, commenting on its devaluation of language, the existential choice and violence in action, and simulation in characterization. The paper intends to draw the conclusion that absurdism is permeated in the play, which indicates that Albee enriches the philosophy and practice of the Absurd theatre and continues its tradition through transplanting it in the soil of American theatre.

Published in	English Language, Literature & Culture (Volume 7, Issue 4)
DOI	10.11648/j.ellc.20220704.12
Page(s)	98-103
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Edward Albee, Theatre of the Absurd, The Zoo Story, Absurdism

References

[1]	Cohen, Robert. (1994). Theatre. 3^rd ed. Palo Alto: Mayfield Publishing Company, 229.
[2]	Bennett, Michael Y. (2015). The Cambridge Introduction to Theatre and Literature of the Absurd. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 39.
[3]	MacNicholas, John (1981). “Edward Albee.” Twentieth Century American Dramatists Part I: A-J. A Bruccoli Clark Book: Detroit, pp. 3-22, 4, 5.
[4]	Bottoms, Stephen. Ed. (2005). The Cambridge Companion to Edward Albee (Cambridge Companions to Literature). Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 16.
[5]	Gussow, Mel (1999). Edward Albee: A Singular Journey: A Biography. Simon & Schuster: New York, 17.
[6]	Esslin, Martin (1961). The Theatre of the Absurd. Anchor Books: New York, 225, 80.
[7]	McCarthy, Gerry (1978). Edward Albee. Macmillan Publishers Ltd: London, 8, 47.
[8]	Cohen, Ruby (1974). “Edward Albee”. American Writers: A Collection of Literary Biographies. Unger Leonard ed. Charles Scribner’s Sons: New York, pp. 71-95, 71.
[9]	Way, Brain (1986). “Albee and the Absurd: The American Dream and the Zoo Story”. Critical Essays on Edward Albee. Philip C. Kolin & J. Madison Davis, ed. G. K. Hall & Co.: Boston, pp. 65-73, 73.
[10]	Albee, Edward (1962). “The Zoo Story”. Famous American Plays of the 1950s. Ed. Lee Strasberg. Dell Publishing Co.: New York, pp. 385-415, 390, 389, 392, 400, 404, 412, 399.
[11]	Roudané, Matthew (1987). Understanding Edward Albee. Matthew J. Bruccoli ed. University of South Carolina Press: Columbia, 199, 8, 30, 42, 43, 14, 27.
[12]	Crowell, Steven. Ed. (2012). The Cambridge Companion to Existentialism. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 292.
[13]	Camus, Albert. (1996). “The Myth of Sisyphus.” The Experience of Philosophy. Belmont & London: Wadsworth Publishing Company, pp. 519-526, 523.
[14]	Marcia, David. (2019). “Art Is a Hammer: Aura, Textual Awareness, and Comedy in Albee”. Edward Albee as Theatrical and Dramatic Innovator. David A. Crespy & Lincon Konkle. eds. Leiden & Boston: Brill Rodopi, pp. 128-146, 130.
[15]	Bigsby, C. W. E. (1986). “Confronting Reality.” Critical Essays on Edward Albee. Philip C. Kolin & J. Madison Davis. ed. Boston: G. K. Hall & Co, pp. 80-87, 81.

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Liang Jianhua, Zhuang Qing. (2022). A Probe into Absurdism in Edward Albee’s Play The Zoo Story. English Language, Literature & Culture, 7(4), 98-103. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ellc.20220704.12

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Liang Jianhua; Zhuang Qing. A Probe into Absurdism in Edward Albee’s Play The Zoo Story. Engl. Lang. Lit. Cult. 2022, 7(4), 98-103. doi: 10.11648/j.ellc.20220704.12

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AMA Style

Liang Jianhua, Zhuang Qing. A Probe into Absurdism in Edward Albee’s Play The Zoo Story. Engl Lang Lit Cult. 2022;7(4):98-103. doi: 10.11648/j.ellc.20220704.12

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@article{10.11648/j.ellc.20220704.12,
  author = {Liang Jianhua and Zhuang Qing},
  title = {A Probe into Absurdism in Edward Albee’s Play The Zoo Story},
  journal = {English Language, Literature & Culture},
  volume = {7},
  number = {4},
  pages = {98-103},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ellc.20220704.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ellc.20220704.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ellc.20220704.12},
  abstract = {As an American playwright who established his fame in 1960s, Albee finds his name and plays widely listed among critics’ hails and attacks. Liked or disliked, praised or condemned, original or posturing, he has played an undoubtedly essential role in the development of American play. This paper attempts to study Edward Albee’s style of Theatre of the Absurd with special focus on his play The Zoo Story (1959). It first explores the distinguishing characteristics that mark the playwright Edward Albee out from other writers, that is, the description of violence in his plays, his standing on the borderline between absurdism and realism, and the attack upon the optimism of the American Dream. Then by seeking recourse to literary theories like the Theatre of the Absurd, and the Theatre of Cruelty, and philosophical terms such as Existentialism, the latter part of the paper deals with the specific discussion of Albee’s play The Zoo Story, commenting on its devaluation of language, the existential choice and violence in action, and simulation in characterization. The paper intends to draw the conclusion that absurdism is permeated in the play, which indicates that Albee enriches the philosophy and practice of the Absurd theatre and continues its tradition through transplanting it in the soil of American theatre.},
 year = {2022}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - A Probe into Absurdism in Edward Albee’s Play The Zoo Story
AU  - Liang Jianhua
AU  - Zhuang Qing
Y1  - 2022/12/08
PY  - 2022
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DO  - 10.11648/j.ellc.20220704.12
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AB  - As an American playwright who established his fame in 1960s, Albee finds his name and plays widely listed among critics’ hails and attacks. Liked or disliked, praised or condemned, original or posturing, he has played an undoubtedly essential role in the development of American play. This paper attempts to study Edward Albee’s style of Theatre of the Absurd with special focus on his play The Zoo Story (1959). It first explores the distinguishing characteristics that mark the playwright Edward Albee out from other writers, that is, the description of violence in his plays, his standing on the borderline between absurdism and realism, and the attack upon the optimism of the American Dream. Then by seeking recourse to literary theories like the Theatre of the Absurd, and the Theatre of Cruelty, and philosophical terms such as Existentialism, the latter part of the paper deals with the specific discussion of Albee’s play The Zoo Story, commenting on its devaluation of language, the existential choice and violence in action, and simulation in characterization. The paper intends to draw the conclusion that absurdism is permeated in the play, which indicates that Albee enriches the philosophy and practice of the Absurd theatre and continues its tradition through transplanting it in the soil of American theatre.
VL  - 7
IS  - 4
ER  -

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Author Information

Liang Jianhua

School of Basic Education, Guangdong Teachers College of Foreign Language and Arts, Guangzhou, China
Zhuang Qing

Faculty of English Language and Culture, Institute of Foreign Literature and Culture, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, Guangzhou, China

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APA Style

Liang Jianhua, Zhuang Qing. (2022). A Probe into Absurdism in Edward Albee’s Play The Zoo Story. English Language, Literature & Culture, 7(4), 98-103. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ellc.20220704.12

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ACS Style

Liang Jianhua; Zhuang Qing. A Probe into Absurdism in Edward Albee’s Play The Zoo Story. Engl. Lang. Lit. Cult. 2022, 7(4), 98-103. doi: 10.11648/j.ellc.20220704.12

Copy | Download

AMA Style

Liang Jianhua, Zhuang Qing. A Probe into Absurdism in Edward Albee’s Play The Zoo Story. Engl Lang Lit Cult. 2022;7(4):98-103. doi: 10.11648/j.ellc.20220704.12

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ellc.20220704.12,
  author = {Liang Jianhua and Zhuang Qing},
  title = {A Probe into Absurdism in Edward Albee’s Play The Zoo Story},
  journal = {English Language, Literature & Culture},
  volume = {7},
  number = {4},
  pages = {98-103},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ellc.20220704.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ellc.20220704.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ellc.20220704.12},
  abstract = {As an American playwright who established his fame in 1960s, Albee finds his name and plays widely listed among critics’ hails and attacks. Liked or disliked, praised or condemned, original or posturing, he has played an undoubtedly essential role in the development of American play. This paper attempts to study Edward Albee’s style of Theatre of the Absurd with special focus on his play The Zoo Story (1959). It first explores the distinguishing characteristics that mark the playwright Edward Albee out from other writers, that is, the description of violence in his plays, his standing on the borderline between absurdism and realism, and the attack upon the optimism of the American Dream. Then by seeking recourse to literary theories like the Theatre of the Absurd, and the Theatre of Cruelty, and philosophical terms such as Existentialism, the latter part of the paper deals with the specific discussion of Albee’s play The Zoo Story, commenting on its devaluation of language, the existential choice and violence in action, and simulation in characterization. The paper intends to draw the conclusion that absurdism is permeated in the play, which indicates that Albee enriches the philosophy and practice of the Absurd theatre and continues its tradition through transplanting it in the soil of American theatre.},
 year = {2022}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - A Probe into Absurdism in Edward Albee’s Play The Zoo Story
AU  - Liang Jianhua
AU  - Zhuang Qing
Y1  - 2022/12/08
PY  - 2022
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ellc.20220704.12
DO  - 10.11648/j.ellc.20220704.12
T2  - English Language, Literature & Culture
JF  - English Language, Literature & Culture
JO  - English Language, Literature & Culture
SP  - 98
EP  - 103
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2575-2413
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ellc.20220704.12
AB  - As an American playwright who established his fame in 1960s, Albee finds his name and plays widely listed among critics’ hails and attacks. Liked or disliked, praised or condemned, original or posturing, he has played an undoubtedly essential role in the development of American play. This paper attempts to study Edward Albee’s style of Theatre of the Absurd with special focus on his play The Zoo Story (1959). It first explores the distinguishing characteristics that mark the playwright Edward Albee out from other writers, that is, the description of violence in his plays, his standing on the borderline between absurdism and realism, and the attack upon the optimism of the American Dream. Then by seeking recourse to literary theories like the Theatre of the Absurd, and the Theatre of Cruelty, and philosophical terms such as Existentialism, the latter part of the paper deals with the specific discussion of Albee’s play The Zoo Story, commenting on its devaluation of language, the existential choice and violence in action, and simulation in characterization. The paper intends to draw the conclusion that absurdism is permeated in the play, which indicates that Albee enriches the philosophy and practice of the Absurd theatre and continues its tradition through transplanting it in the soil of American theatre.
VL  - 7
IS  - 4
ER  -

Copy | Download