POSTMODERNISM

Referstoalate20thcenturymovementcharacterizedbybroadskepticism,
subjectivism,orrelativism;ageneralsuspicionofreason;andanacutesensitivityto
theroleofideologyinassertingandmaintainingpoliticalandeconomicpower.
Postmodernismtendstorefertoacultural,intellectual,orartisticstatelackingaclear
centralhierarchyororganizingprincipleandembodyingextremecomplexity:
contradiction,ambiguity,diversity,andinterreferentiality. Itassertsthatknowledge
andtrutharetheproductofuniquesystemsofsocial,historical,andpolitical
discourseandinterpretation,andarethereforecontextualandconstructed.
Accordingly,postmodernthoughtisbroadlycharacterizedbytendenciesto
epistemologicalandmoralrelativism,pluralism,selfreferentiality,andirony.
Insteadofthemodernistquestformeaninginachaoticworld,thepostmodernauthor
eschews,oftenplayfully,thepossibilityofmeaning,andpostmodernliteratureis
oftenaparodyofthisquest.
Thisdistrustoftotalizingmechanismsextendstotheauthor;thuspostmodernwriters
oftencelebratechanceovercraftandemploymetafiction/metatheatretoundermine
theauthorsunivocalcontrol.
Thedistinctionbetweenhighandlowcultureisalsoattackedwiththeemploymentof
pastiche,thecombinationofmultipleculturalelementsincludingsubjectsandgenres
notpreviouslydeemedfitforliterature.
Majorpostmodernistphilosophers:Heidegger,Derrida,Foucault,Baudrillard.
Majorpostmodernistwriters:Nabokov,Eco,Vonnegut,JeanRhys,etc.

Questioninganddissolving
Questioningoffundamentalpremisesofhumanism,universaltruths:religion,
philosophy,law,democracy.Thegrandnarratives(alwaysinfavoroftheonein
power),themasternarrativesthatwouldjustifyoursocialstructureandinstitutions.
DissolutionofassumptionsofWesternthought(foundationalthoughtof
Enlightenment):beliefintheself(coherent,autonomous),originality(simulacra),
rationality(illusion),languageasatransparentmediumofcommunication.

TheatreoftheAbsurd(Beckett,Ionesco)
TheplaysoftheTheatreoftheAbsurdexpressasenseofshockattheabsence,the
lossofanyclearandwelldefinedsystemsofbeliefsorvalues.Allassurancesof
hope,allexplanationsofultimatemeaninghavesuddenlybeenunmaskedas
nonsensicalillusions,emptychatter,whistlinginthedark.Suchasenseoflossof

meaningmustinevitablyleadtoquestioningoftherecognizedinstrumentforthe
communicationofmeaning:language.Consequently,theToftheAbsurdistoavery
considerableextentconcernedwithacritiqueoflanguage,anattackaboveallon
fossilizedformsoflanguage,whichhavebecomedevoidofmeaning.
WhatIamsayingdoesnotmeanthattherewillhenceforthbenoforminart.Itonly
meansthattherewillbeanewform,andthatthisformwillbeofsuchatypethatit
admitstothechaos,anddoesnottrytosaythatthechaosisreallysomethingelse.
Theformandchaosremainseparate.Tofindaformthataccommodatesthemess,
thatisthetaskoftheartist(Beckett,1961).

WaitingforGodot
Acting/living/waiting

Repetition
Thecharactersareengagedinaperpetualactofwaiting.Timedoesnotpassinthis
world;rather,thecharactershavetofindwaysofpassingthetime.Onesolution
adoptedbyBeckettscharactersismechanicalrepetition,reenactingsituations
withoutperceivinganysignificanceintheserepeatedactions.
Openendedness
WhoisGodot?Whyarethecharacterswaiting?Wheredothecharacterscomefrom?
Whatkindofworldisthere?
Symmetries
Beckettsearlyplaysareconstructedonaseriesofsymmetries,pointingtothefact
thatcharactersareoftenorganizedinpairs;totheimportanceofdialogueand
repetition.
WaitingforGodotandPostmodernism

Anopenplay,whichbelongstoablurredgenrebetweentragedyand
comedy;anexampleofthediscourseofindeterminacy.
Selfcriticalexaminationoflanguageasanappropriatemediumof
communication.
Selfcriticalexaminationoftheliterarymedium:metatheatre.
Intertextuality:Atextthatreliesonother/previoustexts(textsthatare
invoked,parodied,misquoted,echoed)

QuestioningofLanguage
Languageisnolongerpresentedasavehiclefordirectcommunication.
Characterstalktomaketimepass,engaginginspeechactivities,asking
questions,tellingjokes,insultingeachother,singingasong,deliveringalong
speech,talkingtoeachotherwithafewwords,asifplayingpingpongwith
words.

Automaticdialogueasaformofcommunication:repetition,recurrence,
doubling.

Metatheatre
Spectatorsareforciblyremindedthattheyarebeingconfrontedbypiecesof
theatre.
Beckettsplaysaremetatheatrical,inthattheysimultaneouslyareand
commentupontheatre.
InWFGVladimirandEstragonlookforwardtoaplaythatisntgoingto
happen.
Intertextuality
Beckettisconstantlyreferringnotonlytoideasbutalsotothewaysinwhichthese
ideashavebeenformulated.Popular(low)culturejuxtaposeswithancientand
modernphilosophyandcanonicaltextsof(high)culture.Suspiciousofallauthority
andespeciallyoftheauthorityofthefoundingtextsofWesternCulture,Beckettstuds
WFGwithreferencestotheseverytextsinordertomakehisreadersthinkand
speculate,tomakethemparticipateinhisanxiousoscillationsbetweenuncertainty
aboutwhatmaybetrue.Thisabdicationofauthorialpowerandthisappealtothe
creativeinterventionofreadersmarkBeckettoutasoneofthefoundingfathersof,
andoneofthemajorwitnessesto,ourpostmoderncondition.

Postmodernliterature
Literaturecharacterizedbyrelianceonnarrativetechniquessuchasfragmentation,
paradox,andtheunreliablenarrator;andoftenis(thoughnotexclusively)defined
asastyleoratrendwhichemergedinthepostWorldWarIIera.Postmodernworks
areseenasaresponseagainstdogmaticfollowingofEnlightenmentthinkingand
Modernistapproachestoliterature.
Whilethereislittleconsensusontheprecisecharacteristics,scope,andimportanceof
postmodernliterature,asisoftenthecasewithartisticmovements,postmodern
literatureiscommonlydefinedinrelationtoaprecursor.Forexample,apostmodern
literaryworktendsnottoconcludewiththeneatlytiedupendingasisoftenfoundin
modernistliterature(Woolf,Joyce,Faulkner),butoftenparodiesit.Postmodern
authorstendtocelebratechanceovercraft,andfurtheremploymetafictionto
underminethewriter'sauthority.Anothercharacteristicofpostmodernliteratureis
thequestioningofdistinctionsbetweenhighandlowculturethroughtheuseof
pastiche,thecombinationofsubjectsandgenresnotpreviouslydeemedfitfor
literature.
Comparisonswithmodernistliterature
Bothmodernandpostmodernliteraturerepresentabreakfrom19thcenturyrealism.
Incharacterdevelopment,bothmodernandpostmodernliteratureexplore
subjectivism,turningfromexternalrealitytoexamineinnerstatesofconsciousness,
inmanycasesdrawingonmodernistexamplesinthe"streamofconsciousness"styles

ofVirginiaWoolfandJamesJoyce,orexplorativepoemslikeTheWasteLandbyT.
S.Eliot.Inaddition,bothmodernandpostmodernliteratureexplores
fragmentarinessinnarrativeandcharacterconstruction.TheWasteLandisoften
citedasameansofdistinguishingmodernandpostmodernliterature.Thepoemis
fragmentaryandemployspastichelikemuchpostmodernliterature,butthespeakerin
TheWasteLandsays,"thesefragmentsIhaveshoredagainstmyruins".Modernist
literatureseesfragmentationandextremesubjectivityasanexistentialcrisis,or
Freudianinternalconflict,aproblemthatmustbesolved,andtheartistisoftencited
astheonetosolveit.Postmodernists,however,oftendemonstratethatthischaosis
insurmountable;theartistisimpotent,andtheonlyrecourseagainst"ruin"istoplay
withinthechaos.

Postmodernthemesandtechniques

Irony,playfulness,blackhumor
Intertextuality(pastiche)
Metafiction
Temporaldistortion
Magicalrealism
Technocultureandhyperreality
Paranoia
Fragmentation