The Chairs Analysis

The Old Man and Old Woman's house is surrounded by stagnant water. We detect symbolism. The fact that the water is stagnant could represent the way in which the elderly couple's lives have stalled....

The Chairs is set in the house of the Old Man and Old Woman. The crazy thing about this particular house is that it's surrounded by stagnant water as far as the eye can see. The fact that the water...

Well, the play is definitely a drama, because, you know...it's a play, a piece of literature meant to be spoken by actors in front a live audience. We also think it qualifies as a tragicomedy. Ione...

The Chairs is in many ways scathingly satirical, skewering the idea that human beings have some greater purpose in life. When the Old Man's dreams all come to nothing at the end of the play, we're...

The Chairs takes its name from the chairs that the Old Man and Old Woman set up for their invisible guests. The way these chairs are arranged is perhaps intended to remind the audience of the seats...

The very last moment of The Chairs does nothing but raise questions. After failing to deliver the Old Man's message, the frustrated Orator exits. At this point, Ionesco tells us in his stage direct...

OK, so a lot of this play may seem like nonsense. The characters talk about all kinds of random stuff for apparently random reasons. This can make The Chairs seem more than a little mysterious at t...

The Old Man and Old Woman are stuck in the same old cycle.At the beginning of the play, the Old Man and Woman are doing what they apparently do every evening. They hang out in their house, which is...

The Chairs is often labeled a tragic farce. This seems pretty accurate when you look at it from Booker's point of view. The play has structural similarities to both tragedy and comedy:The Old Man p...

The Old Man and Old Woman are hanging out in their house telling nonsensical stories. The Old Man claims that he has a message for the world. The act peaks as we learn that tons of people are showi...

Ionesco was middle-aged by the time he started writing plays. (Source)Among other jobs, Ionesco worked as a translator, French teacher, and cultural attaché. (Source)Ionesco's father wanted hi...

There's no sex in The Chairs. At one point, the Old Woman gets frisky with the invisible Photo-engraver, but that's about it. Other than that, the play stays safely in the PG range.

Stan Laurel (31)