theme

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).

Ambition and Fame

Ambition was depicted by modern playwrights as striving for a variety of rewards. However, most agree that little was deemed worthwhile by society at large unless it brought in or reflected the acquisition of large amounts of money. This concentration on material success at the risk of demeaning the spirit was considered the aspect of fame and ambition that captivated modern dramatists. Such plays were Golden Boy by Clifford Odets (1937), The Great White Hope by Howard Sackler (1967) & Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw (1913).

Betrayal and Guilt

Miller, Hellman and Sheppard suggested that it was better for people to accept their guilt because there were those who refused to accept guilt and continued their betrayals. Such was the morality of the modern world that that behavior went unpunished, and possibly was even sanctioned. Such themes were highlighted in A View From the Bridge by Arthur Miller (1956), Buried Child by Sam Sheppard (1978) & The Little Foxes by Lillian Hellman (1966).

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).

Decisions and Life Choices

As the twentieth century progressed, it seemed that people were being offered more and more choices regarding the way they lived their lives. Choices had become almost a way of life, and the resulting decisions could affect each and every life. The Price by Arthur Miller (1968), Krapps Last Tape by Samuel Beckett (1958) & The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov (1904) let the readers know about the importance of decisions and life choices.

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.

Saving Lie or The Life-Lie

In The Quintessence of Ibsenism (1891), George Bernard Shaw explained the principle of what Henrik Ibsen saw as the life-lie and its relation to reality and idealism. Ibsen and Shaw both believed that many of us find reality so unpleasant that we try to cover it up with a mask of idealism, creating an alternative, unreal life for ourselves that is essentially a lie. They see this as dangerous because the further we move away from reality the more damage we cause to ourselves and others in our efforts to maintain that idealistic mask. They are both realists in that their plays tend to strip away the masks their characters create for themselves and force the audience to see the true nature of such characters. Eugene ONeill and Arthur Miller bring a recognition of this tendency to hide from unpleasant truths into American drama. While some may carry on by living the lie, others are drawn to face reality. For some, this awareness is productive, but for others, it is ultimately destructive. The Life Lie can be seen in The Wild Duck by Henrik Ibsen (1884), The Iceman Cometh by Eugene ONeill (1946) & All My Sons by Arthur Miller (1947).

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).

War and Violence

Despite the patriotism that overtakes most nations during times of war, it is nearly impossible to find any drama that suggests that war is anything other than bad, although they assert this with varying degrees of intensity. George Bernard Shaws Arms and the Man is decidedly comical in its satire of the ills of war. But assuming that some wars are inevitable, the play does not question the reasons for the war, and the soldiers involved are willing participants. Sean O'Casey The Plough and the Stars is a mix of the comic and the tragic, just as the combatants are a mix of the willing and the reluctant, the cowardly and the heroic. Although OCasey supports the reasons for the conflict, he clearly views the conflict itself as a blight on Ireland. David Rabes The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel, by contrast, presents a completely negative experience, bereft of humor, in which war is the result of unnecessary American macho posturing, and an indignity perpetrated on all those involved. Arms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw (1894),The Plough and the Stars by Sean OCasey (1926) & The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel by David Rabe (1971) are ineffable plays.

Marriage & Divorce

During the development of modern drama, attitudes toward marriage have greatly changed. From a commonly held belief that couples are bound together for life, with the wife as a lesser partner, societal attitudes have shifted to a recognition that men and women are equal and that divorce is socially acceptable. Henrik Ibsens 1879 A Dolls House shocked audiences with its portrayal of a wife who leaves her husband, but by the more permissive 1960s it became common for plays to portray couples splitting apart with little public condemnation. Marriage remains a commitment many desire to make, but not one as binding as it once appeared. Modern dramatists have fully explored the changing nature of marriage by considering what it takes to make a marriage work in modern times as well as the effect of divorce on couples who stay together and those who part. Barefoot in the Park by Neil Simon (1963), Dinner with Friends by Donald Margulies (1998) & Whos Afraid of Virginia Woolf by Edward Albee (1962) highlighted such themes.

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).