Journal of Literary Criticism

Journal of Literary Criticism

Aporetic Structure: Absurd Drama as Repetitive Undecidabilities

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
1 Associate Professor, Department of Performing Arts, College of Fine Arts, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
2 Ph.D. Candidate in Theatre, Department of Performing Arts, College of Fine Arts, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
10.22034/jlc.2025.480404.1676
Abstract
Aporia represents a dead end, a situation from which there is no escape. In drama, it can lead to various interpretations and develop the theme of uncertainty. This research aims to analyze the role aporia plays in the structure of drama, drawing on Jacques Derrida’s concepts of deconstruction and undecidability. The findings reveal that the cyclical or circular structure embodies aporia, with absurd drama serving as a clear illustration. Absurd drama is aporetic because there is no resolution; characters repeat their actions and consistently arrive at the same outcomes, as if trapped in an inescapable loop. They encounter undecidability in nearly every choice they face. This cyclical or circular structure, where the beginning and end converge, creates an aporetic point that exemplifies a double bind. This type of aporia is evident in Waiting for Godot and Endgame by Samuel Beckett, as well as in Abbas Nalbandian’s A Deep, Comprehensive, and New Research on the Fossils of the 25th Geological Period or the 14th, 20th, etc., It Doesn't Matter. In these works, aporia reaches its peak, rendering the entire plot aporetic and making efforts to uncover a definitive meaning futile. Through an aporetic perspective on absurd drama, a new interpretation of undecidability emerges—one in which aporetic undecidabilities do not culminate in a sense of "nothingness." Instead, they are understood as a faint glimmer of hope. This hope, though delayed in its realization, is never entirely denied, as actions are perpetually renewed, returning to the starting point again and again.
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Volume 10, Issue 19
April 2026
Pages 81-47

  • Receive Date 25 September 2024
  • Revise Date 03 January 2025
  • Accept Date 12 January 2025