The Theatre of Absurd and
Samuel Beckett (1906-1989)
Samuel Beckett
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
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SAMUEL BECKETT
The Theatre of the Absurd and Samuel Beckett
2. Historical background
•
The aftermath of World War II
increased by the Cold War.
•
The atrocities of the Nazi
concentration camps.
•
The Allies’ atomic bomb.
•
Disillusionment coming from the
realization that Britain had been
reduced to a second-class power.
The nuclear bombing of Hiroshima, 1945
The infamous entrance to Auschwitz.
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The Theatre of the Absurd and Samuel Beckett
3. 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.
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A sense of anguish,
helplessness and
rootlessness
developed especially
among the young
The Theatre of the Absurd and Samuel Beckett
4. French existentialism
• 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
4. 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)
The Theatre of the Absurd and Samuel Beckett
5. The Theatre of the Absurd: main features
•
Absence of a real story or plot.
•
No action since all actions are insignificant.
•
Vagueness about time, place and the characters.
•
The value of language is reduced; in fact, what happens on the
stage transcends, and often contradicts, the words spoken by
the characters.
•
Extensive use of pauses, silences, miming and farcical
situations which reflect a sense of anguish.
•
Incoherent babbling makes up the dialogue.
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The Theatre of the Absurd and Samuel Beckett
6. 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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The Theatre of the Absurd and Samuel Beckett
7. Samuel Beckett (1906-1989)
Main works
•
Waiting for Godot (written in French in
1952 and translated into English in 1954)
•
Endgame (1958)
•
Krapp’s Last Tape (1959)
•
Happy Days (1961)
•
Breath (1970)
Samuel Beckett
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The Theatre of the Absurd and Samuel Beckett
8. Waiting for Godot
• 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.
Poster for a staging of Waiting for Godot.
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The Theatre of the Absurd and Samuel Beckett
8. Waiting for Godot
• Theme: the static situation of
waiting.
• Plot: the two tramps are waiting
for a mysterious Godot who
never turns up.
Poster for a staging of Waiting for Godot.
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The Theatre of the Absurd and Samuel Beckett
9. Waiting for Godot: characters
•
Vladimir and Estragon are
complementary.
•
Lucky and Pozzo are linked
by a relationship of master and
servant.
•
Vladimir and Lucky represent
the intellect.
Waiting for Godot, London, Peter Hall Co.
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The Theatre of the Absurd and Samuel Beckett
9. Waiting for Godot: characters
•
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.
Waiting for Godot, London, Peter Hall Co.
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The Theatre of the Absurd and Samuel Beckett
10. Waiting for Godot: structure
•
The play has a circular structure
 it ends almost exactly as it
begins.
•
The two acts are symmetrically
built  the stage is divided into
two halves by a tree, the human
races into two, Vladimir and
Estragon.
Waiting for Godot, London, Peter Hall Co.
•
It is pervaded by a grotesque
humour.
•
Its tone is tragic and desperate.
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The Theatre of the Absurd and Samuel Beckett
11. Waiting for Godot: themes
•
Human impotence in the face of life’s meaninglessness.
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A static world where nothing happens.
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Absence of a traditional time  there is no past, present and
future, just a repetitive present.
•
Disintegration of language  absurd exchanges, broken and
fragmented dialogues.
•
The lack of communication  use of para-verbal language:
mime, silences, pauses and gags.
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The Theatre of the Absurd and Samuel Beckett
12. Beckett vs. Osborne
Beckett
Osborne
Plot
Obscure, non
consequential
True-to-life,
consequential
Setting
Symbolic, bare
Realistic, related to
working class
Theme
Meaninglessness of
human experience
Social critic against
middle-class values
Stage Directions
Repetitive, frequent
Detailed, informative,
clear
Language
Everyday, meaningless Everyday, simple, clear
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