Join us on a literary world trip!
Add this book to bookshelf
Grey
Write a new comment Default profile 50px
Grey
Subscribe to read the full book or read the first pages for free!
All characters reduced
Rhinoceros and Other Plays - cover

Rhinoceros and Other Plays

Eugène Ionesco

Publisher: Grove Press

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

Summary

“With outrageous comedy” this classic of Absurdist drama “attacks the most serious subjects: blind conformity and totalitarianism, despair and death” (The New York Times). 
 
In Rhinoceros, as in his other plays, Eugene Ionesco startles audiences with a world that invariably erupts in explosive laughter and nightmare anxiety. A rhinoceros suddenly appears in a small town, tramping through its peaceful streets. Soon there are two, then three, until the “movement” is universal. This is not an invasion of wild animals, but a transformation of average citizens into beasts, as they learn to move with the times. As the curtain comes down, only one desperate man remains. 
 
Rhinoceros is a commentary on the absurdity of the human condition made tolerable only by self-delusion. It shows us the struggle of the individual to maintain integrity and identity in a world where all others have succumbed to the “beauty” of brute force and mindlessness.
Available since: 03/31/2015.
Print length: 162 pages.

Other books that might interest you

  • The Big Smoke - cover

    The Big Smoke

    Adrian Matejka

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0
    Winner of the Anisfield-Wolf Award and finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry, the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award, and the National Book Award in Poetry—a collection that examines the myth and history of the prizefighter Jack JohnsonThe legendary Jack Johnson (1878–1946) was a true American creation. The child of emancipated slaves, he overcame the violent segregationism of Jim Crow, challenging white boxers—and white America—to become the first African-American heavyweight world champion. The Big Smoke, Adrian Matejka's third work of poetry, follows the fighter's journey from poverty to the most coveted title in sports through the multi-layered voices of Johnson and the white women he brazenly loved. Matejka's book is part historic reclamation and part interrogation of Johnson's complicated legacy, one that often misremembers the magnetic man behind the myth.
    Show book
  • Come on Over (NHB Modern Plays) - cover

    Come on Over (NHB Modern Plays)

    Conor McPherson

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0
    A short play from the author of The Weir.
    A Jesuit priest, sent to investigate a 'miracle' in his home town, re-encounters the woman who loved him thirty years before.
    Show book
  • The Strongbox (NHB Modern Plays) - cover

    The Strongbox (NHB Modern Plays)

    Stephanie Jacob

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0
    A story of domestic servitude and abuse of power, as authoritarian Kat, her ageing mother, Ma, and their teenaged slave, Maudie, jostle for power – and affection – in their dilapidated London home.
    The Strongbox by Stephanie Jacob was first performed as part of the 2018 VAULT Festival, London.
    Also available in the collection Plays from VAULT 3.
    Show book
  • A Poem A Day: Spring - The Season in Verse - Poems to make your day - cover

    A Poem A Day: Spring - The...

    D. H. Lawrence, Lord Byron,...

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0
    In meteorological terms Spring begins on March 1st and runs through to May 30th.   Nature transforms the landscape, colours the skies and begins her epic journey of renewal and offerings.  Colour, energy and beauty all abound. 
     
    Here, each and every day is celebrated with distinct and separate verse; Some poems commemorate the day it was written, others the birth or death of the writer or a particular significant moment that engages poet with date and verse.   
     
    Our classic poets wax lyrical on each and every day.
    Show book
  • Hafiz's Little Book of Life - cover

    Hafiz's Little Book of Life

    Hafiz Hafiz

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0
    Have you heard the name “Hafiz”?! Here are soaring flights of fancy and solid life lessons, from one of the greatest poets of all time—made new by two award-winning translators. This is the perfect introduction to Hafiz for all lovers of poetry and seekers of love, spirituality, and meaning. “Hafiz’s poetry aims to close the gap between mortal humans and the divine, and this book opens a door to the poet’s gardens. From the first page, you are invited to settle into a sublime sanctuary and partake in enchantment until you feel the Beloved inside your beating heart and running through your veins.” —Ari Honarvar, author of A Girl Called RumiI have this gem And it’s looking for a beholderHafiz’s Little Book of Life is a lush collection of more than 250 selections from his lifework (his divan). Alongside a Quran, a copy of his divan can be found in average homes in Iran—where stars can be heard singing his poetry on the radio, and lines from his poems are quoted on the street. His poetry is sure to strike a chord in the hearts of readers everywhere. This vital collection of mystical poetry focuses on the issues we encounter in everyday life. Each brief poem may be savored as an oasis of clarity in the hurried literacy of our time, or the entire book enjoyed in one sitting, as a five-course meal—embracing the world, wine, love, wisdom, and ecstasy. Let the unforgettable words of Hafiz shine through you with their love, depth, and celebration of life. This book also includes a vivid portrait of the poet and his times, an extensive glossary, translators’ notes, a bibliography, and an appendix on Hafiz as an oracle.   
    Show book
  • Museum of My Soul - cover

    Museum of My Soul

    Dornel Phillips

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0
    Museums have different exhibits displaying different eras, regions, etc., and so does this book. My goal is to highlight three sections in romantic relationships, as per how I see them. Every good story has a rise, climax, and fall, this is shown through the book's three sections. Many believe relationships to be a mirror, as do I. Our partners act as a reflection of how we show up in the world. They show us the things we need to work on. Whether and how long those relationships last, is a topic for another conversation. The three exhibits (sections) the book is divided into are as follows: Exhibit A: Falling (The infatuation stages of early love) Exhibit B: Being broken (Relationships acting as our mirrors, showing us our faults) Exhibit C: Ending (When the relationship can no longer work and it comes to its conclusion) I hope you enjoy your tour through the Museum of My Soul, enjoy your stay, and hopefully, you'll come again.
    Show book