DRAMA II
MODERN DRAMA
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Lecture 17
SYNOPSIS
Absurdist Drama
 Dialogue and Language/Humor
of Absurdist Drama
 Plot & Structure of Absurdist Drama
 THEMES in Waiting for Godot
 Aspects to Consider
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ABSURDIST DRAMA
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ABSURDIST DRAMA
Waiting for Godot is a two-act stage drama
classified as a tragicomedy. In 1965, critic Martin
Eslin coined the term theater of the absurd to
describe Godot and other plays like it.
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As a result, these plays also became known as
absurdist dramas.
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ABSURDIST DRAMA
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A group of dramatists in 1940's Paris believed life is
without apparent meaning or purpose; it is, in
short, absurd, as French playwright and novelist
Albert Camus (1913-1960) wrote in a 1942 essay,
"The Myth of Sisyphus." Paradoxically, the only
certainty in life is uncertainty, the absurdists
believed.
An absurdist drama is a play that depicts life as
meaningless, senseless, uncertain.
For example, an absurdist's story generally ends
up where it started; nothing has been accomplished
and nothing gained.
The characters may be uncertain of time and
place, and they are virtually the same at the end of
the play as they were at the beginning.
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DIALOGUE AND
LANGUAGE/HUMOR
OF ABSURDIST DRAMA
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DIALOGUE AND LANGUAGE OF
ABSURDIST DRAMA
The language in an absurdist drama often goes
nowhere.
 Characters misunderstand or misinterpret
one another, frequently responding to a
statement or a question with a non sequitur or
a ludicrous comment.
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DIALOGUE AND LANGUAGE OF
ABSURDIST DRAMA
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Estragon, who has a sore foot, is attempting to remove his
boot. Though he tugs hard, it won't come off. In frustration,
he says, "Nothing to be done."
Vladimir replies, "I'm beginning to come round to that
opinion. All my life I've tried to put it from me,
saying, Vladimir, be reasonable, you haven't yet
tried everything. And I resumed the struggle.“
In Act II, the two men agree that they are happy in spite of
their problems. Then Estragon asks:
"What do we do, now that we are happy?"
"Wait for Godot," Vladimir says. "Things have changed
here since yesterday."
"And if he doesn't come?"
"We'll see when the time comes. I was saying that things
have changed here since yesterday."
"Everything oozes."
"Look at the tree."
"It's never the same pus from one moment to the next."
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DIALOGUE AND LANGUAGE OF
ABSURDIST DRAMA
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The absurdity of the dialogue is the author’s way
of calling attention to the seeming absurdity
of life.
For Samuel Beckett, the world wobbles on its
axis, and the people who inhabit it do not
always think logically or talk sensibly.
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HUMOR
Waiting for Godot contains the deadpan humor
of the down and out, the destitute, who cope by
making sport of their circumstances—and
themselves.
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They are like Sisyphus and Tantalus, each
doomed forever to seeking a goal that he cannot
reach.
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But while trying to reach their goal, Vladimir
and Estragon remain cheerful and jocular.
 Their hapless drollery calls to mind the
buffoonery of film comedians Laurel and Hardy,
Charlie Chaplin, and Buster Keaton.
 A full appreciation of the humor requires a close
reading of the play and/or attendance at a
performance of it.
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PLOT & STRUCTURE OF
ABSURDIST DRAMA
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PLOT STRUCTURE OF ABSURDIST DRAMA
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The structure of a typical absurdist drama is like a
spaceship orbiting earth or a Ferris Wheel revolving
on an axle: The spaceship and the Ferris wheel
endlessly repeat their paths. If only the passengers on
the spaceship and the Ferris wheel could break free
and fly off on their own . . . but they cannot.
They are tethered to forces beyond their control. The
same is true of Vladimir and Estragon in Waiting for
Godot. They wait for Godot at the beginning of the
play, wait for Godot in the middle of the play, and
wait for Godot at the end of the play. Godot never
comes.
So Vladimir and Estragon continue to revolve—but
never evolve. They are caught in the absurdity of
continuously moving but never progressing.
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THEMES IN WAITING FOR
GODOT
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THEME OF CHOICES
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Waiting for Godot consists of two men unable to act,
move, or think in any significant way while they kill
time waiting for a mysterious man, Godot.
The characters fail to realize that this very act of
waiting is a choice; instead, they view it as a
mandatory part of their daily routine.
Even when these men manage to make a conscious
decision, they can’t translate that mental choice into a
physical act. They often "decide" to leave the stage,
only to find that they are unable to move.
Such inaction leads to stagnancy and repetition in the
seemingly endless cycle of their lives.
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THEME OF CHOICES: QUESTIONS
What is the barrier between the decision to act
and action itself in Waiting for Godot? Why are
the men unable to move after they’ve decided to
do so?
 Are Vladimir and Estragon condemned to wait
for Godot, or is the act of waiting a choice itself?
 Does Lucky’s position as a servant seem to be a
choice on his part?
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THEME OF CHOICES: THINKING CALL
If Vladimir and Estragon realized they had the
freedom of choice, they could break their daily
cycle of habit and inaction. The problem is one of
consciousness.
 Vladimir and Estragon are fully aware of their
situation and of their ability to choose, but the
uncertainty surrounding the result of any
potential action prevents them from breaking the
stagnant cycle of their waiting.
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DRAMATIC REFERENCES: CHOICES
Quote #1VLADIMIR
Two thieves, crucified at the same time as
our Saviour. One—
ESTRAGON
Our what?
VLADIMIR
Our Saviour. Two thieves. One is supposed
to have been saved and the other . . . (he
searches for the contrary of saved) . . .
damned. (1.62-64)
 Vladimir’s story of the two thieves reminds us of
the frequent absence of choice in an uncertain
world; neither thief chose to be damned or be
saved, but were subject to arbitrary chance.
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Quote #2ESTRAGON
I'm going.
He does not move. (1.67)
 The ability to choose is rendered useless when a
decision cannot be joined with action. This seems
constantly to be the case in Waiting for Godot.
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Quote #3ESTRAGON
Who believes him?
VLADIMIR
Everybody. It's the only version they know.
ESTRAGON
People are bloody ignorant apes. (1.87-89)
 Waiting for Godot argues that people are driven
to beliefs by habit, popularity, and ignorance,
rather than by conscious choice.
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Quote #4ESTRAGON
Let's go.
VLADIMIR
We can't.
ESTRAGON
Why not?
VLADIMIR
We're waiting for Godot. (1.91-94)
 For Vladimir, the act of waiting for Godot
prevents him from choosing any other course of
action. Yet his decision to wait for Godot at all is
a choice in itself; if he realized the radical
personal freedom afforded to him by choice, he
could decide to leave the stage.
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 Quote
#5ESTRAGON
An Englishman having drunk a little
more than usual proceeds to a brothel.
The bawd asks him if he wants a fair
one, a dark one or a red-haired one. Go
on. (1.162)
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OK, we have to explain this joke in order for us to make our
argument. Our reference is a very reputable scholar. The
rest of the joke (which is cut off by Vladimir’s refusal to tell
it) is that the Englishman has to decide whether he wants
a blonde, brunette, or red-head. He chooses and is led
through one of three doors.
He is then faced with two doors and asked another choice,
this time in regard to the upper half of the female body and
size. He chooses and is led through another door.
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Quote #5ESTRAGON (Discussion conti…)
 He is then faced with two doors and asked to
choose again, this time based on size and the
lower half of the female anatomy.
 At the end, the Englishman walks through a door
only to find himself alone and back on the street.
The relevance in this theme is that the
Englishman makes a series of choices which are
essentially arbitrary and cannot ultimately
determine the course of his action. Like much of
Waiting for Godot.
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Quote #6ESTRAGON
What exactly did we ask him [Godot] for?
[…]
VLADIMIR
Oh . . . Nothing very definite.
ESTRAGON
A kind of prayer.
[…]
ESTRAGON
And what did he reply?
VLADIMIR
That he'd see.
ESTRAGON
That he couldn't promise anything.
VLADIMIR
That he'd have to think it over.
[…]
VLADIMIR
Consult his family.
ESTRAGON
His friends.
VLADIMIR
His agents. (1.202-217)
Even Godot, or at least Vladimir’s conception of Godot, is incapable of making independent choices.
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WAITING FOR GODOT
THEME OF PHILOSOPHICAL VIEWPOINTS: THE
ABSURD
Waiting for Godot is hailed as a classic example
of "Theatre of the Absurd," dramatic works that
promote the philosophy of its name.
 This particular play presents a world in which
daily actions are without meaning, language fails
to effectively communicate, and the characters at
time reflect a sense of artifice, even wondering
aloud whether perhaps they are on a stage.
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QUESTIONS ABOUT PHILOSOPHICAL
VIEWPOINTS: THE ABSURD
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Vladimir and Estragon’s situation is so absurd that it
doesn’t resemble any reality we’re familiar with. How
is it possible, then, that the play can comment on our
own lives? Does Beckett suggest a level of absurdity
in the real world?
Do Estragon and Vladimir recognize that their
actions are absurd? Or does everything seem "normal"
to them?
How do the absurd characters of Pozzo and Lucky
comment on Gogo and Didi? Who seems more
rational?
At one moment is the play meta-fictional? In other
words, where do the characters seem to reveal an
understanding (or at least a suspicion) that they are
part of a contrived reality? How does this affect the
way we see the play?
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WAITING FOR GODOT THEME OF TRUTH
Waiting for Godot is a play driven by a lack of
truth – in other words, uncertainty. Characters
are unable to act in any meaningful way and
claim this is so because they are uncertain of the
consequences.
 Without the presence of objective truth, every
statement is brought to question, and even
common labels (color, time, names) become
arbitrary and subjective.
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QUESTIONS ABOUT TRUTH
After the debate over whether or not to attempt
suicide, Estragon concludes in Act I, "Don’t let’s
do anything. It’s safer." Is doing nothing safer?
 Vladimir and Estragon are constantly faced with
uncertainty of consequence, and as such choose
not to choose. But what is the consequence of not
choosing in this play? Can we even be certain of
this?
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WAITING FOR GODOT THEME OF LIFE,
CONSCIOUSNESS, AND EXISTENCE
The portrait of daily life painted by Waiting for
Godot is a dismal one. It is repetitive and
stagnant. It lacks meaning and purpose and
entails perpetual suffering.
 The solution (which none of the characters take)
would seem to be action and choice despite the
ever-presence of uncertainty, and an awareness
of one’s surroundings and past actions.
 As one character says, "habit is a great deadener"
– our actions should stem from conscious choice
rather than apathy.
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QUESTIONS ABOUT LIFE,
CONSCIOUSNESS, AND EXISTENCE
What is the value of life in Waiting for Godot?
 Pozzo claims that life has no meaning because it
is fleeting; Vladimir counters that life has no
meaning because we deadened it with habit.
Which statement, if either, does the play
support?
 Vladimir wonders towards the end of Act II
whether or not he is even awake. Why does it
take him until now to ask this question? What
has happened over the course of the play that
might have led him to this doubt? Does asking
this question symbolize any sort of transition for
him?
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WAITING FOR GODOT THEME OF TIME
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Time presents a slew of problems in Waiting for
Godot. The very title of the play reveals its central
action: waiting.
The two main characters are forced to whittle away
their days while anticipating the arrival of a man who
never comes.
Because they have nothing to do in the meantime,
time is a dreaded barrier, a test of their ability to
endure. Because they repeat the same actions every
day, time is cyclical.
That every character seems to have a faulty memory
further complicates matters; time loses meaning
when the actions of one day have no relevance or
certainty on the next.
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QUESTIONS ABOUT TIME
Characters in Waiting for Godot repeatedly forget
the events of yesterday. If memory is faulty and
one cannot remember past actions, do these
actions have any meaning?
 Can we trust Vladimir and Estragon’s memories
of events that have supposedly occurred before
the start of the play?
 Does time pass any differently in Act II than it
does in Act I?
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WAITING FOR GODOT THEME OF
RELIGION
Religion is incompatible with reason in Waiting
for Godot. Characters who attempt to understand
religion logically are left in the dark, and the
system is compared to such absurd banalities as
switching bowler hats or taking a boot on and off.
 Religion is also tied to uncertainty, since there is
no way of knowing what is objectively true in the
realm of faith.
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QUESTIONS ABOUT RELIGION
Who has a better understanding of religion,
Vladimir or Estragon?
 We’ve said that in Waiting for Godot, religion is
incompatible with logic. If this is true, what’s the
next step? Does the play argue that we should
accept religion despite its lack of rationality, or
that we should reject it for the same reasons?
 If Godot is a representation of God, what do
Vladimir and Estragon expect will happen if he
does finally show up?
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WAITING FOR GODOT THEME OF
FRIENDSHIP
Friendship is tricky in Waiting for Godot, as each
character is fundamentally isolated from every
other.
 Relationships teeter between a fear of loneliness
and an essential inability to connect. This tension
is central to the play.
 The problems that keep characters apart vary
from physical disgust to ego to a fear of others’
suffering.
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QUESTIONS ABOUT FRIENDSHIP
What is the best term to describe Vladimir and
Estragon’s relationship? Are they friends?
Companions? Master and slave? Mere
acquaintances?
 Vladimir and Estragon constantly ask whether
they would be better off without each other.
So…would they?
 Of Vladimir and Estragon, which man is more
eager to draw closer, and which man is more
hesitant?
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WAITING FOR GODOT THEME OF
FREEDOM AND CONFINEMENT
Every character in Waiting for Godot seems to
live in a prison of his own making.
 Each is confined to a state of passivity and
stagnancy by his own inability to act.
 The one character who is literally the slave of
another is no more restricted than those who are
technically free; in fact, he may be more free
because he is at least aware of his imprisonment.
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QUESTIONS ABOUT FREEDOM AND
CONFINEMENT
Does Lucky choose to be a slave?
 Why does Vladimir want to play the part of
Lucky when he’s pretending with Estragon?
 Between Estragon and Vladimir, who has more
freedom?
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WAITING FOR GODOT THEME OF
SUFFERING
Suffering is a constant and fundamental part of
human existence in Waiting for Godot. Every
character suffers and suffers always, with no
seeming respite in sight.
 The hardship ranges from the physical to the
mental, the minor to the extreme. It drives some
men to find companionship (so as to weather the
storm together), causes others to abuse their
companions (to lessen the suffering of the self),
and for still others leads to self-isolation (since
watching people suffer is a kind of anguish on its
own).
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QUESTIONS ABOUT SUFFERING
What is the worst kind of suffering we see in
Waiting for Godot?
 Have Estragon and Vladimir ever been happy?
How do they define "happy?"
 Is there any purpose served by Gogo and Didi’s
suffering? Do they learn from it?
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WAITING FOR GODOT THEME OF
MORTALITY
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None of the characters in Waiting for Godot shy away
from the fact that death is inevitable. In fact, death
becomes at times a solution for the inanity of daily
life.
The main characters contemplate suicide as though it
were as harmless as a walk to the grocery store,
probably because there’s nothing in their life worth
sticking around for anyway.
They ultimately do not commit suicide because they
claim not to have the means, but also because they
are uncertain of the result of their attempt (it may
work, it may fail).
Because they can’t be sure of what their action will
bring, they decide on no action at all.
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QUESTIONS ABOUT MORTALITY
Why do Estragon and Vladimir want to kill
themselves?
 Why don’t they?
 If death is inevitable and ever-impending, as
Pozzo points out, how do we live our lives with
any sense of purpose? Does Waiting for Godot
propose a solution to this problem?
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THEME OF HOPE
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Vladimir and Estragon are lowly bums. Their
only material possessions—besides their tattered
clothes—are a turnip and a carrot.
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Nevertheless, they have not given up on life; they
do not descend into depression, pessimism, and
cynicism. Even though they frequently exchange
insults, they enjoy each other’s company and help
each other.
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Above all, though, they wait.
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They wait for Godot. They do not know who he is
or where he comes from. But they wait just the
same, apparently because he represents hope.
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THEME OF SEARCH FOR MEANING
Vladimir and Estragon are homeless rovers
attempting to find an answer to a question all
human beings face: What is the meaning of life?
Godot may have the answer for them.
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So they wait. After Godot fails to appear on the
first day, they return to the tree the next day to
continue waiting. He does not come.
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Vladimir and Estragon decide to leave the area.
However, the stage direction at the end of the
play says, "They do not move." Apparently, they
plan to continue their search for meaning by
continuing to wait for Godot.
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THEME OF DEPENDENCY
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Vladimir and Estragon depend on each other to
survive.
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Although they exchange insults from time to
time, it is clear that they value each other's
company. One could imagine Pozzo without
Lucky—until the second act, when the audience
learns he has gone blind.
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Unable to find his way, Pozzo is totally
dependent on Lucky. Lucky, of course, is tied to
Pozzo—by a rope and by fear of being abandoned.
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THEME OF MONOTONY
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Life is tedious and repetitive for Vladimir and
Estragon. In the first act of the play, they meet at
a tree to wait for Godot.
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In the second act, they meet at the same tree to
wait for Godot. Irish critic Vivian Mercer once
wrote in a review of the play, "Nothing happens,
twice."
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ASPECTS TO CONSIDER
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SYMBOLISM: QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER
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Author Beckett reportedly denied that he intended
any person, thing, or idea in the play as a specific
symbol. However, the reader is free to interpret the
play—and the mind of Beckett. At the very least, the
reader or playgoer may wish to consider the following
questions:
Do Vladimir and Estragon represent humankind as
fallen children of Adam and Eve and their original
sin? The motif of redemption occurs several times in
the play—notably, when Vladimir speaks of Christ as
the "Saviour." On the last page of the play (in most
texts), Estragon asks what will happen if Godot
comes. Vladimir answers, "We'll be saved."
Is the tree intended to be a symbol of the cross on
which Christ was crucified? Keep in mind that
Vladimir and Estragon discuss the thieves crucified
with Christ.
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The tree is bare when Vladimir and Estragon meet
near it on the first day. However, on the second day,
author Becket says in his stage directions, it has "four
or five leaves." Do the leaves symbolize hope? New
life?
Does Godot represent God, as some essayists
maintain? Bear in mind that at least a dozen French
words (not counting suffixes, prefixes, and inflectional
forms) begin with the first three letters of this name,
including godasse, godelureau, goder, godailler, godet,
godiche, godichon, godichonne, godille, godiller,
godillot, godron, godronnage, and godronner.
When Pozzo asks who Godot is, Estragon answers,
"Personally I wouldn't even know him if I saw him."
Estragon appears to be answering truthfully.
Nevertheless
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REVIEW LECTURE 17
Absurdist Drama
 Dialogue and Language/Humor
of Absurdist Drama
 Plot & Structure of Absurdist Drama
 THEMES in Waiting for Godot
 Aspects to Consider
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AGENDA LECTURE 18
1.
2.
3.
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5.
Waiting for Godot Symbolism, Imagery & Allegory
Setting
Waiting for Godot Genre, TONE, STYLE & Title
Waiting for Godot as Booker’s Seven Basic Plots
Analysis: Tragedy Plot
Social Acceptance of Waiting for Godot
Critical Analysis
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