Alice in Wonderland as a precursor to the theatre of the absurd.
Lewis Carroll’s Alice books, "Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland" and its sequel, "Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There", are widely regarded as masterpieces of children’s literature today, despite having been written more than a century ago. The timeless appeal of...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Final Year Project (FYP) |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2011
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10356/44499 |
| _version_ | 1811684807826997248 |
|---|---|
| author | Chua, Ke Ni. |
| author2 | Daniel Keith Jernigan |
| author_facet | Daniel Keith Jernigan Chua, Ke Ni. |
| author_sort | Chua, Ke Ni. |
| collection | NTU |
| description | Lewis Carroll’s Alice books, "Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland" and its sequel, "Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There", are widely regarded as masterpieces of children’s literature today, despite having been written more than a century ago. The timeless appeal of Carroll’s works lies in his fantastical and whimsical characters, and the Alice books remain popular with both adults and children. Underlying Carroll’s portrayal of Wonderland’s peculiar characters, however, are elements of the Theatre of the Absurd. The themes that emerge in the Alice books bear many similarities to those explored by the playwrights in the Theatre of the Absurd, despite the separation of a century between the time of Carroll’s works and the rise of the Theatre of the Absurd. This paper explores the prevalent themes in the Alice books, and examines how they may be interpreted as a precursor of Absurdist literature. The Alice books will be discussed in relation to Samuel Beckett’s "Waiting for Godot", with regard to the common themes of time, memory and language, that are prevalent in both Carroll’s and Beckett’s works. Time is a recurring theme in the Alice books and "Waiting for Godot". In addition, both Carroll and Beckett explore similar issues of memory, albeit in counterpoint. Finally, "Waiting for Godot" reveals the devaluation of language, which Carroll also addresses. |
| first_indexed | 2024-10-01T04:34:30Z |
| format | Final Year Project (FYP) |
| id | ntu-10356/44499 |
| institution | Nanyang Technological University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-10-01T04:34:30Z |
| publishDate | 2011 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | ntu-10356/444992019-12-10T12:42:15Z Alice in Wonderland as a precursor to the theatre of the absurd. Chua, Ke Ni. Daniel Keith Jernigan School of Humanities and Social Sciences DRNTU::Humanities::Literature::English Lewis Carroll’s Alice books, "Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland" and its sequel, "Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There", are widely regarded as masterpieces of children’s literature today, despite having been written more than a century ago. The timeless appeal of Carroll’s works lies in his fantastical and whimsical characters, and the Alice books remain popular with both adults and children. Underlying Carroll’s portrayal of Wonderland’s peculiar characters, however, are elements of the Theatre of the Absurd. The themes that emerge in the Alice books bear many similarities to those explored by the playwrights in the Theatre of the Absurd, despite the separation of a century between the time of Carroll’s works and the rise of the Theatre of the Absurd. This paper explores the prevalent themes in the Alice books, and examines how they may be interpreted as a precursor of Absurdist literature. The Alice books will be discussed in relation to Samuel Beckett’s "Waiting for Godot", with regard to the common themes of time, memory and language, that are prevalent in both Carroll’s and Beckett’s works. Time is a recurring theme in the Alice books and "Waiting for Godot". In addition, both Carroll and Beckett explore similar issues of memory, albeit in counterpoint. Finally, "Waiting for Godot" reveals the devaluation of language, which Carroll also addresses. Bachelor of Arts 2011-06-02T02:03:14Z 2011-06-02T02:03:14Z 2011 2011 Final Year Project (FYP) http://hdl.handle.net/10356/44499 en Nanyang Technological University 31 p. application/pdf |
| spellingShingle | DRNTU::Humanities::Literature::English Chua, Ke Ni. Alice in Wonderland as a precursor to the theatre of the absurd. |
| title | Alice in Wonderland as a precursor to the theatre of the absurd. |
| title_full | Alice in Wonderland as a precursor to the theatre of the absurd. |
| title_fullStr | Alice in Wonderland as a precursor to the theatre of the absurd. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Alice in Wonderland as a precursor to the theatre of the absurd. |
| title_short | Alice in Wonderland as a precursor to the theatre of the absurd. |
| title_sort | alice in wonderland as a precursor to the theatre of the absurd |
| topic | DRNTU::Humanities::Literature::English |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/10356/44499 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT chuakeni aliceinwonderlandasaprecursortothetheatreoftheabsurd |