Two works by French author Albert Camus explore the concept of the absurd in modern literature. The Myth of Sisyphus and The Stranger emphasize the psychological implications of the absurd.

Waiting for Godot, a play written in French by Irish born playwright Samuel Beckett is a tragicomedy in which nothing happens except conversations that suggest the meaninglessness of life. Although bleak and austere, the drama is humorous, making a statement about the will to live and the ability to hope when hope is lost.

According to The Reader’s Encyclopedia, the plays of Eugene Ionesco are characterized by deliberate non sequiturs, the logic of nightmares, and strange metamorphoses. These farces are essentially comic, however, because Ionesco is sympathetic to any human attempt, inadequate or otherwise, at communication and love. Two of his better-known works are The Chairs and Rhinoceros.

The Maids and The Balcony by French dramatist and novelist Jean Genet reveal a deep concern with the illusory nature of reality, particularly with the definitions of good and evil by a society that exhibits duplicity and hypocrisy.