Towards a kinesic reading of the theater of the absurd (Case of Samuel Beckett)

Abstract

Résumé :

Abstrait:

In the 1950s, the Palo Alto school focused on the issue of human communication. Researchers from this school, notably Watzlawick, Jackson, Beavin, Edward T. Hall, and Birdwhistell, among others, developed several concepts, particularly non-verbal communication (kinesthetics, proxemics, chronemics, paralanguage, etc.). The purpose of this contribution is to examine this dimension of non-verbal communication in literature, specifically in the contemporary theater of the famous playwright Samuel Beckett. This will be explored through his plays, especially Waiting for Godot, Endgame, Fragments from Theater II, etc. In these works, we will specifically demonstrate how Beckett invests in kinesthetics, a key concept developed by the systems theorist of this American school, namely RAY Birdwhistell.