John Osborne's Play Luther: A New Discourse in Existentialism

Abstract

This paper aims at exploring the presence of existentialist contents in the play Luther (1961) written by eminent litterateur John Osborne.  The play focuses on Martin Luther, the sixteenth-century monk who publicly spoke out against age-old practices and beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church thus become one of the foremost instigators of the Protestant Reformation. The drama has a historical setting and a timeless theme. The present paper explores the basic concepts of existentialism, its emergence and how it has dominated various literary works over the years. The paper then makes an in-depth analysis of Luther to understand the various literary techniques employed by the author to express his existentialist theme in the work. It has been found that among the most essential techniques that the author has used include settings, thematic concern, various symbols and motifs and dialogues.