The Birthday Party

The moment when Stanley “snaps” occurs when McCann snaps his glasses. Trace the glasses throughout the play as a symbol. What do they signify? How do they function in the text and the narrative?

The Birthday Party is considered part of the Theatre of the Absurd, the midcentury Western dramatist movement. Research the Theatre of the Absurd and explain the movement. Where did it come from, and why? What are typical conventions used by absurdist playwrights? What makes The Birthday Party absurd?

Choose an absurdist play by another playwright, such as Samuel Beckett, Jean Genet, or Eugène Ionesco. Compare that play with The Birthday Party. How are they both absurd? How do they approach absurdism differently, or in a similar manner?

Imagine you are working on a revival of The Birthday Party today. What do you think remains relevant about the play? How does it connect to current issues? What do you think hasn’t aged well, or might need to be changed? Your analysis should consider the absurdist philosophy embedded in the play.

What is the significance of questioning and questions in the play? What does it mean when different characters ask questions of each other? When is it threatening? When is it not? Use examples from the text to support your arguments.

Stanley may be the protagonist, but is he a hero? What would heroism look like in an absurd world? To develop an answer, cite at least two examples from the play. You may also compare Stanley to a protagonist in another absurdist work.

How would you characterize the relationship between Meg and Stanley? Read their exchanges carefully, and consider how they speak to and about each other. What is the significance of their relationship within the play’s wider themes?

It is often unclear in the play what is true and what is a lie. Why do the characters appear so unreliable? Choose one moment or plot point that is ambiguous or about which the characters contradict each other. What do you interpret as the truth in that situation, and why?