<P> Critic Martin Esslin coined the term in his 1960 essay `` Theatre of the Absurd . '' He related these plays based on a broad theme of the Absurd , similar to the way Albert Camus uses the term in his 1942 essay , The Myth of Sisyphus . The Absurd in these plays takes the form of man 's reaction to a world apparently without meaning , and / or man as a puppet controlled or menaced by invisible outside forces . This style of writing was first popularized by the 1953 Samuel Beckett play Waiting for Godot . Though the term is applied to a wide range of plays , some characteristics coincide in many of the plays : broad comedy , often similar to vaudeville , mixed with horrific or tragic images ; characters caught in hopeless situations forced to do repetitive or meaningless actions ; dialogue full of clichés , wordplay , and nonsense ; plots that are cyclical or absurdly expansive ; either a parody or dismissal of realism and the concept of the `` well - made play '' . These plays were shaped by the political turmoil , scientific breakthrough , and social upheaval going on in the world around the playwrights during these times . </P>
<P> Critic Martin Esslin coined the term in his 1960 essay `` Theatre of the Absurd . '' He related these plays based on a broad theme of the Absurd , similar to the way Albert Camus uses the term in his 1942 essay , The Myth of Sisyphus . The Absurd in these plays takes the form of man 's reaction to a world apparently without meaning , and / or man as a puppet controlled or menaced by invisible outside forces . This style of writing was first popularized by the 1953 Samuel Beckett play Waiting for Godot . Though the term is applied to a wide range of plays , some characteristics coincide in many of the plays : broad comedy , often similar to vaudeville , mixed with horrific or tragic images ; characters caught in hopeless situations forced to do repetitive or meaningless actions ; dialogue full of clichés , wordplay , and nonsense ; plots that are cyclical or absurdly expansive ; either a parody or dismissal of realism and the concept of the `` well - made play '' . These plays were shaped by the political turmoil , scientific breakthrough , and social upheaval going on in the world around the playwrights during these times . </P>
who coined the term the theatre of absurd
who coined the term the theatre of absurd
Martin Esslin
Martin Esslin