Born in Rumania of a French mother, lonesco grew up in both his parents' countries before moving permanently to France in 1938. Most famous for his plays, he has also written fiction and criticism. Ionesco's play The Chairs (1952) is the epitome of the Theatre Of The Absurd, lonesco also has a keen ear for authoritarian lingo that, for all its fashionable propriety, does not make sense. This example comes from The Lesson (1951):
And, of course, the student responds:...