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A theme in literature means it is the topic or idea in a story. Some stories have more than one theme, but always have a central theme that ties everything together.
Absurdity of Life
The Theater of the Absurd grew as a response to the collapse of moral, religious, and social structures in the twentieth century. The primary aim of its plays was to point out the absurdity of life. Absurdist thinkers agreed that human life had become so illogical, and language such an inadequate form of communication, that the only refuge was laughter. In absurdist plays, life was reduced to an illusion, to highlight the absurdity and hopelessness of the world. Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett (1953),The chairs by Eugene Ionesco and the care taker by Harold Pinter (1958) represented the absurdity of life.
Aging
Twentieth century had a disturbing tendency to idolize the young and reject the elderly, and a number of modern dramas turned their attention to the issue of aging, both positively and negatively. Some modern playwrights displayed a vivid fascination with youth that underscored their own fear of aging. Others approached the idea of age more optimistically, pointing out how valuable older people could be, while acknowledging the ways in which Western society sadly tended to ignore and marginalize the elderly. Some of the examples are Sweet Bird of Youth by Tennessee Williams (1956),Im Not Rapp Port by Herb Gardner (1984) and Arsenic and Old Lace by Joseph Kesselring (1941).
Death
The appearance of death, attitudes toward it, and its impact on those left behind were common themes in modern drama, as in all literature. While some playwrights sought placatory justification for their characters deaths, others portrayed them as a senseless waste. Synge, Shaw & Norman ensured that men were needlessly lost. They did it in their plays Riders to the Sea by John M. Synge (1904) ,Bury the Dead by Irwin Shaw (1936) & night Mother by Marsha Norman (1983).
The Holocaust
The horrors of what happened to the European Jews under the control of the Nazi regime in the 1930s1940s were so intense that it was not until the 1960s that most writers were able to approach the topic, and this delay was even more evident among playwrights. The immediacy of drama made portrayals of the Holocaust on stage particularly disturbing, and, some felt, inappropriate. Many felt that anything less than the reality of what went on in the extermination camps actually occurring on stage, which would be impossible for any actors to perform, would only lessen the impact of what had occurred and would be an insult to those who died. However, an increasing number of dramas attempted to speak to those horrific events, in an attempt to understand how people could so brutally murder their fellow human beings in such numbers. Important plays were Playing for Time by Arthur Miller (1981), The Diary of Anne Frank by Frances Goodrich (1955) & The Condemned of Altona by Sartre (1959).
Issues of Sexuality
Open displays or discussion of sexuality in modern drama swiftly escalated as the twentieth century progressed, beginning with a virtual silence about such matters to a point where talk about sex had become relatively commonplace and full frontal nudity hardly even shocking. In 1947, the rape of Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire is only inferred, as it took place offstage, but by 1975 we watched Alan Strang, in Equus, simulated an orgasm while naked onstage, and by the 1980s, playwrights were relatively free to openly discuss homosexuality. Some plays used sex as a means of titillation or to shock their audiences; others explored issues of sexuality with greater sensitivity, striving to expand our understanding and tolerance of both heterosexuality and homosexuality. Equus by Peter Shaffer (1975),A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams (1947) & The Normal Heart by Larry Kramer (1985) highlighted issues of sexuality.
Religion (Christianity)
Although there are considerations of many of the worlds religions in modern drama, by far the religion most commonly referred to has been Christianity. However, the way in which this one religion has been approached is multifaceted. While some playwrights choose to examine theological differences and social relationships between alternative branches of Christianity, others are more interested in the role of religion itself as it pertains to human survival and happiness. Others choose to satirize organized religion, pointing out its potential strengths and weaknesses. Such aspects can clearly be seen in St. Joan by George Bernard Shaw (1923), The Amen Corner by James Baldwin (1965) & Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All to You by Christopher Durang (1979).
Substance Abuse
Although numerous drug addicts and drinkers appear in plays by pioneering modern dramatists Tennessee Williams and Eugene ONeill, in the first half of the twentieth century few playwrights chose to consider such a potentially explosive topic as substance abuse in their work. It is an issue filled with pitfalls, given the public tendency to shun such topics for fear that any discussion of them may promote, or seem to condone, the taking of drugs or alcohol. But by the 1950s, attitudes had relaxed sufficiently to allow for a frank, yet sympathetic, presentation of the effects of alcohol and drugs on peoples lives, although playwrights approached the question of addiction from differing perspectives. While ONeill shows us drinkers and dope addicts desiring but unable to change, Jack Gelber presents addicts content with their addiction, and Michael Gazzo suggests both the desire and possibility of kicking the habit. The plays are Long Days Journey Into Night by Eugene ONeill (1957),Hatful of Rain by Michael Gazzo (1954) &The Connection by Jack Gelber (1959).
Womens Issues
There was a decided shift in womens issues in the final quarter of the last century. Plays began to explore the future of women rather than their past. As women began to take a more prominent role in public life and the workplace, dramatists questioned the quality of such advances and what they lost in the process. At the heart of many of these explorations remained the concern over a womans relationship with the men around her and how that contributed to her self-definition as both woman and human being. Important plays were Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/ When The Rainbow Is Enuf by Ntozake Shange (1976),The Heidi Chronicles by Wendy Wasserstein (1988) & Oleanna by David Mamet (1992).