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Samuel Beckett: the process of impoverishment in his theatre plays
Kmoníčková, Vendula ; Pilný, Ondřej (advisor) ; Wallace, Clare (referee)
Samuel Beckett's early plays are usually regarded as part of the tradition of the Theatre of the Absurd, while his later plays are largely considered to be minimalist. As there is no direct relationship between these two styles, they have never been put into perspective. Nevertheless, Beckett's drama for the stage tends towards progressive reduction regarding a number of aspects of the plays, due to which minimalism in Beckett is a logical development of Absurdism. The Theatre of the Absurd, such as Waiting for Godot, already meant reduction when compared to traditional drama. As Martin Esslin described, it lacked developed characters, plot with development and suspense, and dialogue as a means of dialectic exchange. The works that followed intensify the process of impoverishment, leading to mere static poetic images. Plays like Not I and That Time are valid examples of literary minimalism as described by Enoch Brater, Ulysse Duthuit, Leo Bersani, or John Barth.
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