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DRAMA II
MODERN DRAMA
Lecture 19
SYNOPSIS
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An Introduction to
1. Philosophical Background of Waiting for
Godot

Theatre of Absurd

Existentialism

The Paradox of Consciousness
2. Becket: Critical Analysis (Analytical Mapping)

Characters
The Theatre of Absurd and
Samuel Beckett (1906-1989)
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Beckett is one of the most widely discussed and highly prized of
twentieth century authors, inspiring a critical industry to rival
that which has sprung up around James Joyce.
Samuel Beckett depicted on
an Irish commemorative coin
celebrating the 100th
Anniversary of his birth.
The Theatre of the Absurd and Samuel Beckett
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
Of all the English-language modernists, Beckett's work
represents the most sustained attack on the realist
tradition.
He, more than anyone else, opened up the possibility of
drama and fiction that dispense with conventional plot
and the unities of place and time in order to focus on
essential components of the human condition.
Writers like Václav Havel, John Banville, Aidan Higgins
and Harold Pinter have publicly stated their indebtedness
to Beckett's example, but he has had a much wider
influence on experimental writing since the 1950s, from
the Beat generation to the happenings of the 1960s and
beyond.
Philosophical Background of
Waiting for Godot
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1.
2.
3.
Effects of World War II (62 million
people killed [37.5 million in
WWI];
12 million in concentration camps;
Atomic bomb and the promise of
annihilation)
Philosophical Background
7
(No Exit by Sartre)
absurd content but
rational form or
presentation
Theatre of
the Absurd
Existentialism
The Paradox of
Consciousness
The Theatre of the Absurd and Samuel Beckett
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

The term "Theatre of the Absurd" was coined by Martin
Esslin in a book of the same name; Beckett and Godot
were centerpieces of the book.
Esslin claimed these plays were the fulfillment of Albert
Camus's concept of "the absurd"; this is one reason
Beckett is often falsely labeled as an existentialist.
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Though many of the themes are similar,
Beckett had little affinity for existentialism as
a whole.
 Broadly speaking, the plays deal with the
subject of despair and the will to survive in
spite of that despair, in the face of an
uncomprehending
and,
indeed,
incomprehensible world.
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
The words of Nell—one of the two characters in Endgame
who are trapped in ashbins, from which they occasionally
peek their heads to speak—can best summarize the themes of
the plays of Beckett's middle period:
Nothing is funnier than unhappiness, I grant you
that. ... Yes, yes, it's the most comical thing in the
world. And we laugh, we laugh, with a will, in the
beginning. But it's always the same thing. Yes,
it's like the funny story we have heard too often,
we still find it funny, but we don't laugh any
more.
The Theatre of the Absurd
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

The term theater of the absurd derives from the
philosophical use of the word absurd by such
existentialist thinkers as Albert CAMUS and Jean Paul
SARTRE.
Camus, particularly, argued that humanity had to resign
itself to recognizing that a fully satisfying rational
explanation of the universe was beyond its reach; in
that sense, the world must ultimately be seen as absurd.
The Theatre of the Absurd
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


The playwrights loosely grouped under the label of the
absurd endeavor to convey their sense of bewilderment,
anxiety, and wonder in the face of an inexplicable
universe.
They rely heavily on poetic metaphor as a means of
projecting outward their innermost states of mind.
Hence, the images of the theater of the absurd tend to
assume the quality of fantasy, dream, and nightmare;
they do not so much portray the outward appearance
of reality as the playwright's emotional perception of
an inner reality.
The Theatre of the Absurd
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One of the most important aspects of absurd drama
was its distrust of language as a means of
communication.
Language had become a vehicle of conventionalized,
stereotyped, meaningless exchanges. Words failed to
express the essence of human experience, not being
able to penetrate beyond its surface.
The Theatre of the Absurd constituted first and foremost
an onslaught on language, showing it as a very
unreliable and insufficient tool of communication.
The Theatre of the Absurd
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

Absurd drama uses conventionalized speech, clichés, slogans and
technical jargon, which is distorts, parodies and breaks down.
By ridiculing conventionalized and stereotyped speech patterns,
the Theatre of the Absurd tries to make people aware of the
possibility of going beyond everyday speech conventions and
communicating more authentically.
Conventionalized speech acts as a barrier between ourselves
and what the world is really about: in order to come into direct
contact with natural reality, it is necessary to discredit and
discard the false crutches of conventionalized language.
The Theatre of the Absurd
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
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Objects are much more important than language in
absurd theatre: what happens transcends what is being
said about it.
It is the hidden, implied meaning of words that assume
primary importance in absurd theatre, over an above
what is being actually said.
The Theatre of the Absurd strove to communicate an
undissolved totality of perception - hence it had to go
beyond language.
The Theatre of the Absurd
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

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Absurd drama subverts logic. It relishes the unexpected and the
logically impossible. …In trying to burst the bounds of logic and
language the absurd theatre is trying to shatter the enclosing walls of
the human condition itself.
Our individual identity is defined by language, having a name is the
source of our separateness - the loss of logical language brings us
towards a unity with living things. In being illogical, the absurd theatre
is anti-rationalist: it negates rationalism because it feels that rationalist
thought, like language, only deals with the superficial aspects of things.
Nonsense, on the other hand, opens up a glimpse of the infinite. It
offers intoxicating freedom, brings one into contact with the essence of
life and is a source of marvelous comedy.
The Theatre of the Absurd
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No dramatic conflict in the absurd plays! Dramatic
conflicts, clashes of personalities and powers belong
to a world where a rigid, accepted hierarchy of
values forms a permanent establishment.
Such conflicts, however, lose their meaning in a
situation where the establishment and outward reality
have become meaningless.
The Theatre of the Absurd
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However frantically characters perform, this only
underlines the fact that nothing happens to change their
existence. Absurd dramas are lyrical statements, very
much like music: they communicate an atmosphere, an
experience of archetypal human situations.
The Absurd Theatre is a theatre of situation, as against
the more conventional theatre of sequential events. It
presents a pattern of poetic images. In doing this, it uses
visual elements, movement, light.
The Theatre of the Absurd and Samuel Beckett
1. The Theatre of the Absurd and Samuel Beckett
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
NEW MEANING OF EXISTENCE
FRENCH EXISTENTIALISM
SAMUEL BECKETT
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The Theatre of the Absurd and Samuel Beckett
The Theatre of the Absurd: main features
Vagueness
about time,
place and the
characters.
Absence of a
real story or
plot.
No action since
all actions are
insignificant.
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Only Connect ... New Directions
The Theatre of the Absurd and Samuel Beckett
The Theatre of the Absurd: main features
The value of language
is reduced; in fact,
what happens on the
stage transcends, and
often contradicts, the
words spoken by the
characters.
Incoherent babbling
makes up the
dialogue.
Extensive use of
pauses, silences,
miming and farcical
situations which
reflect a sense of
anguish.
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The Theatre of the Absurd and Samuel Beckett
The Theatre of the Absurd: Main Themes
The sense of man’s
alienation
The cruelty of human
life
The absence or the
futility of objectives
The meaninglessness of
man’s struggle
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Only Connect ... New Directions
The Theatre of the Absurd and Samuel Beckett
The Theatre of the Absurd: Main Themes
Waiting for Godot
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No Setting: a desolate country
road and a bare tree.
•
Time: evening.
•
Characters: two tramps,
Vladimir and Estragon, bored by
a day of nothingness; Pozzo and
Lucky.
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Philosophical Background
2. Existentialism
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Believes in only that
which we can see,
that which “exists”
(e.g., Plato’s
“essence” and
Spinoza’s
“substance” are out
the philosophical
window)
Loss of
the sense
of
external
meaning
Loss of
belief in
reason
and faith
The Theatre of the Absurd and Samuel Beckett
New meaning of existence
•
Awareness of man’s propensity
to evil and conscience of the
destructive power of scientific
knowledge.
•
The lack of moral assurance and
the decline of religious faith.
•
The disillusionment with both
the liberal and social theories
about economic and social
progress.
•
Mistrust in the power of reason.
A sense of anguish,
helplessness and
rootlessness developed
especially among the
young
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The Theatre of the Absurd and Samuel Beckett
French existentialism
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Existentialism saw man
trapped in a hostile world.
•
Human life was meaningless
and this created a sense of
confusion, despair and
emptiness.
•
The universe was not
rational and defied any
explanation.
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Jean Paul Sartre (1905-1980)
The Theatre of the Absurd and Samuel Beckett
French existentialism
• The main exponent of this
philosophical current was the
French Jean Paul Sartre.
• Existentialists presented the
absurdity of human condition
by means of a lucid
language and logical
reasoning.
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Jean Paul Sartre (1905-1980)
Philosophical Background
Existentialism
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Existentialism states:
“There is, therefore, no preexistent spiritual realm, no
soul…,no cosmic compassion for or interest in human life, no
afterlife, no transcendence of worldly existence, no cosmic
meta-narrative, no angels and devils…, no divine will, no
preset destiny, no inevitable fate.”
Philosophical Background
Existentialism
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Existentialism believes
• 1. life has no
preset or
external
meaning of its
own
• 2. Life is
(without human
creation of it)
meaningless
• 3. Humans,
therefore, are
free (free will is
important)
Life is
reflection
the myth of
Sisyphus
free will is
important
• Humanity’s only
chance at
dignity lies in
Truth /Fact
Philosophical Background
Existentialism- The Myth of Sisyphus
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• --“I can’t go on; I must go on; I’m going
the courage to face the
truth, that we are alone
in an uncaring universe
the courage to face the
fact / possibility that
life is meaningless and
yet to still go on
• -- the courage and dignity of Sisyphus when
at the top of the hill he sees the rock roll
back and realizes his meaninglessness and
yet still goes down to set to work again.
Philosophical Background
3. The Paradox of Consciousness
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There are two possible interpretations of the existence
of human consciousness:
a. A divine gift
b. A cosmic joke
existence of human consciousness
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A divine
gift
• fire of the gods, part of the
divine plan, consciousness
brings us all our joy (love, art,
etc.)
A cosmic
joke
• consciousness was never
intended for humans and
brings us only suffering, pain,
and the existence of evil.
Philosophical Background
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(No Exit by Sartre)
absurd content but
rational form or
presentation
Theatre of
the Absurd
Existentialism
The Paradox of
Consciousness
The Theatre of the Absurd and Samuel Beckett
Beckett: Critical Analysis
Social Acceptance
Beckett
Plot
Obscure, non consequential
Setting
Symbolic, bare
Theme
Meaninglessness of human
experience
Stage Directions
Repetitive, frequent
Language
Everyday, meaningless
Only Connect ... New Directions
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The Theatre of the Absurd and Samuel Beckett
Analytical Mapping of characters
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Vladimir and Estragon are
complementary.
•
Lucky and Pozzo are linked
by a relationship of master and
servant.
Vladimir and Lucky represent
the intellect.
Only Connect ... New Directions
Waiting for Godot, London, Peter Hall Co.
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The Theatre of the Absurd and Samuel Beckett
Analytical Mapping of characters
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Estragon and Pozzo stand for the
body.
•
The two couples are mutually
dependent.
The character the two tramps are
waiting for is Godot  Biblical
allusions in this name.
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Only Connect ... New Directions
Waiting for Godot, London, Peter Hall Co.
Analytical Mapping of characters
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Estragon
 Estragon is one of the two protagonists.
 He is a bum and sleeps in a ditch where he is beaten
each night.
 He has no memory beyond what is immediately said
to him, and relies on Vladimir to remember for him.
 Estragon is impatient and constantly wants to leave
Vladimir, but is restrained from leaving by the fact
that he needs Vladimir.
 It is Estragon's idea for the bums to pass their time by
hanging themselves. Estragon has been compared to a
body without an intellect, which therefore needs
Vladimir to provide the intellect.
Analytical Mapping of characters
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Vladimir
 Vladimir is one of the two protagonists.
 He is a bum like Estragon, but retains a memory of
most events.
 However, he is often unsure whether his memory is
playing tricks on him.
 Vladimir is friends with Estragon because Estragon
provides him with the chance to remember past events.
 Vladimir is the one who makes Estragon wait with him
for Mr. Godot's imminent arrival throughout the play.
Vladimir has been compared to the intellect which
provides for the body, represented by Estragon.
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Lucky
Lucky is the slave of Pozzo.
He is tied to Pozzo via a rope around his neck and he
carries Pozzo's bags.
Lucky is only allowed to speak twice during the entire
play, but his long monologue is filled with incomplete
ideas.
He is silenced only by the other characters who fight with
him to take of his hat. Lucky appears as a mute in the
second act.
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a boy
The boy is a servant of Mr. Godot.
He plays an identical role in both acts by coming to
inform Vladimir and Estragon the Mr. Godot will not
be able to make it that night, but will surely come the
next day.
The boy never remembers having met Vladimir and
Estragon before. He has a brother who is mentioned
but who never appears.
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Pozzo
• Pozzo is the master who rules over Lucky.
• He stops and talks to the two bums in order to have
some company. In the second act Pozzo is blind
and requires their help.
• He, like Estragon, cannot remember people he has
met.
• His transformation between the acts may represent
the passage of time.
Discussion Questions
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


How is the play's title "Waiting for Godot"
related to its theme?
Point out religious allusions and linguistic
references in the play.
How is Waiting for Godot an absurdist play?
REVIEW Lecture 19
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An Introduction to
1. Philosophical Background of Waiting for
Godot

Theatre of Absurd

Existentialism

The Paradox of Consciousness
2. Becket: Critical Analysis (Analytical Mapping)

Characters
Agenda Lecture 20
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1. Analytical Mapping: Social Significance
2. Philosophical Background: Themes
A.
Social
B.
Psychological
C.
Religious
3. Dramatic references: Themes