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Rhinoceros : Study Guide : Theatre of the Absurd  Rhinoceros
Summary and Analysis  by Eugene Ionesco  Theatre of the Absurd
The Theatre of the Absurd is a term for a distinct style of
drama written largely by European playwrights in the
1940s–1960s, though it has become something of a tradition that
lives on. On the whole, the Theatre of the Absurd rebelled
against theatrical traditions and expressed a confusing,
seemingly meaningless world where people encounter bizarre or
absurd circumstances. It changed the way comedy was expressed in
the theatrical tradition, often combining broad comedy with
horrific situations to produce tragicomedy in the line of, say,
Shakespeare, the Marx Brothers, and Charlie Chaplin. Arguably,
the Theatre of the Absurd found a way to hit the audience hard
with both the tragedy and the comedy, discomforting the audience
and withholding the catharsis.  English critic Martin Esslin
coined the term in his 1961 book Theatre of