Introduction

Ionesco, Eugène 1912–

Ionesco is a French dramatist and major figure in the theater of the absurd. He creates a darkly comic portrait of the human condition, exposing man's tragic alienation, his obsession with violence and power, and the impossibility of true communication. In this world, the grotesque is exaggerated, the ordinary made surreal. To Ionesco, "theater is the projection on the stage of the world within." Though personal and dreamlike, this vision assumes universal proportions. An experimentalist, he has also written short stories, a novel, and a screenplay. (See also CLC, Vols. 1, 4, 6, 9, 11, and Contemporary Authors, Vols. 9-12, rev. ed.)

Source: Contemporary Literary Criticism, ©1980 Gale Cengage. All Rights Reserved. Full copyright.