R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots) (Penguin Classics)

Book Description
R.U.R.—written in 1920, premiered in Prague in 1921, and first performed in New York in 1922—garnered worldwide acclaim for its author and popularized the word robot. Mass-produced as efficient laborers to serve man, ŠCapek’s Robots are an android product—they remember everything but think of nothing new. But the Utopian life they provide ultimately lacks meaning, and the humans they serve stop reproducing. When the Robots revolt, killing all but one of their masters, they must strain to learn the secret of self-duplication. It is not until two Robots fall in love and are christened "Adam" and "Eve" by the last surviving human that Nature emerges triumphant.

Language Notes
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Czech

Download Description
AKA Rossum's Universal Robots (first use of the term "robot" in any language). Play translated by Paul Selver and Nigel Playfair.

The Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of Literature
(in full R.U.R.: Rossum's Universal Robots) Drama in three acts by Karel Capek, published in 1920 and performed in 1921. This cautionary play, for which Capek invented the word "robot" (derived from the Czech word for forced labor), involves a scientist named Rossum who discovers the secret of creating humanlike machines. He establishes a factory to produce and distribute these mechanisms worldwide. Another scientist decides to make the robots more human, which he does by gradually adding such traits as the capacity to feel pain. Years later, the robots, who were created to serve humans, have come to dominate them completely.


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R.U.R. -- written in 1920 -- garnered worldwide acclaim for its author and popularized the word "Robot." Mass produced, efficient, and servile labor, Capek's robots remember everything, but lack creative thought, and the Utopian life they provide ultimately lacks meaning. When the robots revolt, killing all but one of their masters, they must attempt to learn the secret of self-duplication. But their attempts at replication leave them with nothing but bloody chunks of meat. It is not until two robots fall in love and are christened "Adam" and "Eve" by the last surviving human that Nature emerges triumphant.


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