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Genre

Absurdist Fiction

Satire and Mystery Fiction

A genre of novels, plays, poems, films and other media focused on characters who cannot find any inherent purpose in the situations they face, extending existentialist philosophy's account of the pointlessness of the human condition. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Facts
Place of Origin
Early to mid-20th-century Europe, extending from existentialist philosophy through writers including Franz Kafka, Jean-Paul Sartre, Samuel Beckett, Eugene Ionesco and Albert Camus. 1
Notable Example
Franz Kafka's The Trial, written between 1914 and 1915, recognised as Kafka's most well-known fiction. 1
Defining Trait
Characters confront situations in which no inherent purpose or meaning can be found; the genre is considered an extension of, or divergence from, existentialism. 1
Absurdist Fiction
Filter Results2 entries

The Metamorphosis

Absurdist Fiction

The Trial

Absurdist Fiction
Connections

Associated With

Albert Camus, Authors

Named among the most well-known composers of absurdist fiction.

Source Absurdist Fiction (Wikipedia)
OBERIU, Movements
Samuel Beckett, Authors

Named among the most well-known composers of absurdist fiction.

Source Absurdist Fiction (Wikipedia)

Held Differently

Theatre of the Absurd, Movements

A different facet of the same territory, not a rejection: Absurdist Fiction is the broader prose-and-drama genre; Theatre of the Absurd names the mid-20th-century dramatists working the mode specifically on stage.

Source Absurdist Fiction (Wikipedia)

Features Author

The Metamorphosis, Works
Source The Metamorphosis (Wikipedia)
The Trial, Works
Source The Trial (Wikipedia)
In the Other Atlases
  • Also in Geography Atlas: Europe, originated there.
Sources
1. Absurdist Fiction (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation
  • Opening paragraph
    Absurdist fiction is a genre of novels, plays, poems, films, or other media that focuses on the experiences of characters in situations where they cannot find any inherent purpose in life.
  • Context and origins section
    Franz Kafka, Jean-Paul Sartre, Samuel Beckett, Eugene Ionesco, Albert Camus are considered to be the most well-known composers of absurdist fiction. Absurdism as a philosophical movement is an extension of, or divergence from, Existentialism, which focuses on the pointlessness of mankind. The Trial, written between 1914 and 1915, is recognised as Kafka's most well-known fiction.
  • Associated With: Albert Camus
    Franz Kafka, Jean-Paul Sartre, Samuel Beckett, Eugene Ionesco, Albert Camus are considered to be the most well-known composers of absurdist fiction.
  • Associated With: Samuel Beckett
    Franz Kafka, Jean-Paul Sartre, Samuel Beckett, Eugene Ionesco, Albert Camus are considered to be the most well-known composers of absurdist fiction.
  • Associated With: Theatre of the Absurd
    Absurdism as a philosophical movement is an extension of, or divergence from, Existentialism, which focuses on the pointlessness of mankind.
View the Source
The Trial (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationFeatures Author: The Trial, Lead section, genre (absurdist)
Quote, Features Author: The Trial, Lead section, genre (absurdist)
Absurdist fiction
View the Source
The Metamorphosis (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationFeatures Author: The Metamorphosis, Infobox, Genre field
Quote, Features Author: The Metamorphosis, Infobox, Genre field
Existentialism, Absurdism, Fiction
View the Source
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