The rise of tragicomedy and its avatars in the 20th century European drama: Chekhov, Pirandello and Stoppard

The present thesis focuses on the rise of tragicomedy as a separate genre and its avatars in the 20th century European Drama namely in Chekhov?s The Seagull, Pirandello?s Six Characters in Search of an Author and Stoppard?s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.The study consists of two main chapters in which the textual and theoretical analysis of the plays under consideration as modern tragicomedies are rendered after conveying various definitions of the genre. The first part of Chapter I includes the development of tragicomedy as a genre by pointing out the very essence of the genre and the influences on its emergence illustrated in various examples in European Drama and by providing diverse definitions of the term. In the second part of the Chapter, the basic information concerning the contribution of the aforementioned playwrights to the development of modern tragicomedy is pointed out with the illustrations from the plays.The core concern in Chapter II is to convey a comparative analysis of the plays applying theoretical, theatrical and comparative methods. In this respect, in the first phase of the chapter, the metatheatrical characteristics of the plays in question are examined after providing various definitions of the term ?metatheatre? by its inventor Abel and the drama critics namely Calderwood, Pavis and Hornby. In the lights of the definitions of metatheatre, the mentioned plays are examined considering the contribution of the term to the tragicomic response. In the second part of Chapter II, the theatrical devices in the plays such as language, stage directions, scenery and the costumes which reinforce the tragicomic effect on the audience are discussed in compare and contrast analyses applying theoretical techniques.In the conclusion part, in the light of the findings in the main body, and by comparing and contrasting these findings, the plays are compared as the examples of modern tragicomedy indicating the common and different techniques employed by Chekhov, Pirandello and Stoppard.Keywords: Tragicomedy, Chekhov, Pirandello and Stoppard, metatheatre