Ionesco, Eugene (Vol. 4) | Ionesco, Eugene 1912–
Ionesco, Eugene 1912–
Ionesco is a Rumanian-born French dramatist associated with the Theatre of the Absurd. His essentially comic plays nevertheless most often take the form of nightmares, in which his main themes—loneliness and isolation of the individual—are developed in intentional non sequiturs and grotesque metamorphoses to the point of paroxysm and unbearable psychological tension. (See also Contemporary Authors, Vols. 9-12, rev. ed.)
The first thing that strikes me about Ionesco's work is its theatricality. What Ionesco does is to take ideas which are now in the air—some people would say à la mode—and make arrestingly vivid stage images of them. The effect in general is usually macabre and witty while the writing is both sprightly and sharp with overtones of pathos….
Attentive spectators will find [his] plays understandable … if they do not seek to grasp every word in a literal or information-bearing sense....
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