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.Although a woman is not an object as it was in PYGM, but she is somehow subordinate to a man.She is treated as someone who doesn't have to know about many things, she can be misled and deceited by men.+ PYGM is a story about men being in power/control of changing, in IBE it is also men who make but also stretch the rules in some way (if you know what I mean) It is them who have alter egos and make up stories.Differences:- PYGM as an exemplary well-made play, IBE exaggerates many of the conventions of the well-made play, such as the missing papers conceit (the hero, as an infant, was confused with the manuscript of a novel) and a final revelation (which, in this play, occurs about thirty seconds before the final curtain)- IBE - vast separation between private and public life in the upper-middle-class Victorian England (alter egos etc.), PYGM no one tries to hide their true identity, pretend to be someone else, e.g.Eliza wants to change the way she speaks, not to hide (but: you can also perceive Eliza as someone who wants to hide her origins, so then it will be similar to IBE As you see, personal interpretation is the key in this task)- PYGM Eliza learns how to behave as a duchess, but along the way realizes that she was happier poor.She only wants to feel respected, but her inner feelings get slightly trampled in the process.So, we observe a transformation and self-consciousness, self confident person wanting to improve her well being.She wants to achieve it mainly on her own with some help from Higgins.In IBE women (Gwendolen and Cecily) are shown as rather dull and easily influenced by the others, e.g.Lady Bracknell tells that Jack isn't a proper husband for Gwendolen, so she agrees indifferently.- education:IBE Lady Bracknell: I do not approve of anything that tampers with natural ignorance.Ignorance is like a delicate exotic fruit; touch it and the bloom is gone.The whole theory of modern education is radically unsound.Fortunately in England, at any rate, education produces no effect whatsoever.If it did, it would prove a serious danger to the upper classes, and probably lead to acts of violence in Grosvenor Square.Generally speaking, education of the commoners in not approved, it is even regarded as a threat for the upper class so it's good that they aren't educated.PYGM Education of the lower class is doable, it can be successful.lExplain the term “comedy of menace” as applied to Pinter's playslThe term "comedy of menace" was first used to describe Pinter's works by drama critic Irving Wardle.Comedy and menace may seem to be contradictory ideas, impossible to occur in the same play.However, this is precisely what Pinter does-by means of skillfully constructed dialogues and absurd situations, he mixes them together.Although Gus's and Ben's conversation appears to be funny (e.g.when they talk about lighting the kettle), there is a deeper meaning to it, which creates a menacing atmosphere and foreshadows the tragic end of the play.lDefine the theatre of the absurd, explain its origins and links with existentialism.lDEFINITION & ORIGINSThe innovative dramatic movement known as the theater of the absurd, which developed in Paris during the 1950s, took its name from Albert Camus' existentialist description of the dilemma of modern humanity.Considering humans to be strangers in a meaningless universe, he assessed their situation as absurd, or essentially pointless.Absurdist playwrights, led by Samuel Beckett, Eugčne 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 humor is infused with an underlying pessimism about the human condition.LINKS WITH EXISTENTIALISMThe Theatre of the Absurd is commonly associated with Existentialism.This philosophy was popular in Paris during the rise of Theatre of Absurd.Many of the Absurdists were contemporaries with Jean-Paul Sartre, a well-known existentialist, and many of the Absurdists had a complicated relationship with him.The absurdists' plays embody some aspects of that philosophy though the writers might not have been committed followers of it.The Absurdists took a page from Existentialist philosophy, believing that life was absurd, beyond human rationality, meaningless, a sentiment to which, for example, Endgame subscribes, with its conception of circularity and non-meaning.lExistentialist philosophy in Pinter/Beckettl- Existential philosophy became prevalent in the twentieth century as a symbol of the destruction of culture and tradition following World War II, asserting the hopelessness of humanity and focusing on life in a more honest but pessimistic manner than other socialistic philosophies.The philosophy recognizes the fact that humankind is capable of great evil and has limitless possibilities, yet this is a curse rather than a blessing: we are condemned to be free and are thus held accountable for our actions.The ludicrousity, however, is found in the existentialist belief that life has no purpose, and while the choices that we make are irrelevant on grand scale, they ultimately influence our self-definition.Jean-Paul Sartre postulates that existence precedes essence: the individual has no pre-defined purpose.If God were to create us, he states, then he would have a purpose for our creation, but there is no God and thus we must exercise our free will in order to decide our nature.- Life for an existentialist is arbitrary and meaningless; he is thrown into this world,dethroned, disarmed, and helpless.One of the basic existentialist standpoints is thatexistence precedes essence; has primacy over essence.That is why a sense ofthrownness captures man's thought.Therefore, there is a permanent experience of bewilderment, fear of unknown, and despair;- The Birthday Party (Pinter) is example of the existential drama in which thecharacter's security is undermined.There is an absurd attempt to escape from one's ownlimitations, one's past, and past failures, but they are always there to captivate theindividual.There is no exit, and the main point is that the individuals are not able toperceive their limitations: it is the lack of self-perception that causes the tragedy.- In The Dumb Waiter the metaphysical anguish occurs to the character who asksmany questions, inquiring for knowledge, attempting to step beyond one's limitations,an attempt which is futile in existentialism.- The Dumb Waiter, like many other Pinter plays, follows the same triangular human relationship by which the nature of the man-to-man connection is analyzed.It probes into the essence of man's position in the universe and his inquiry for knowledge,following the same path towards metaphysical and existential anguish, seen in The Birthday Party.The two characters on the stage, though apparently limited and undeveloped, examine a deeper and wider scope of human existence in which man is a play-thing employed.- Beckett explores the destructive effects of circumstances which include the loss of meaning, the feeling of isolation and alienation, the uncertainty of identity and existence
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