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English 413 Fall 2006
Samuel Beckett: The Comedy of the Abyss
Professor David Suchoff
Mon.-Wed. 2:30-3:45
Miller Library 008
Office Hours: Tues.-Thursday 2:30-3:30, M-W 4-4:30
And By Appointment.
Office: 215 Miller Library
Phone Number: x5286 home: 865-6398
Examination Group 4
The Comedy of the Abyss: Beckett faces the emptiness of modernity, and finds humor in it. His
absurd plays, in which nothing happens, parody the absurd ideals of a Western culture where
"everything waits to be called off to the dump" but life goes on as normal. As the "comedian of
the impasse," Beckett makes meaningless language speak, in a world that can't go on, but
must. The central texts of one of the hardest and most rewarding modern writers. Waiting for
Godot, Endgame, and prose.
Class procedure: Students (two or three) will volunteer each week to be lead-discussants the
following week. This involves meeting with your co-discussant before class, then coming to
class and either 1) writing discussion questions on the board 2) handing out written questions or
passages from the reading to be discussed 3) orally beginning discussion. You can expect to
do two or three of these during the semester. Other times, depending on course numbers, you
will be asked to bring in passages to read out loud, or DVD scenes from popular film that reflect
Beckett’s dark comedy.
Required Texts:
The Grove Companion to Samuel Beckett: A Reader’s Guide to His Works,
Life, and Thought
Beckett, Samuel. Endgame and Act Without Words. Grove/Atlantic.
More Kicks than Pricks. Grove/Atlantic.
Murphy. Grove/Atlantic.
Three Novels: Molloy, Malone Dies, The Unnamable. Grove/Atlantic.
Waiting for Godot. Grove/Atlantic.
Pilling, John
The Cambridge Companion to Beckett. Grove/Atlantic.
Ackerly, Chris.
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Dates of Readings/Paper Assignments
Wed. Sep. 6
Mon.
Wed.
Sep. 11
Sep. 13
Introduction: Modernism and The Comedy of the Abyss.
In class, “Dante and the Lobster;” after, read on reserve, Ihab Hassan,
“The Art of Impossibility,” Miller Reserve under Reserves, Suchoff,
EN413.
Special Class, Miller 008, 1-2:00 p.m: Read on reserve, Beckett,
“Dante…Bruno.Vico…Joyce,” and Beckett, “Ding Dong,” “What a
Misfortune,” “Love and Lethe,” in More Kicks Than Pricks.
Graded, In-Class Writing.
NO CLASS
Mon.
Wed.
Sep. 18
Sep. 20
Murphy (1938).
“ ”5 pp. Essay assigned.
Mon.
Wed.
Sep. 25
Sep. 27
Fri.
Sep. 29
Murphy Continued.
Linguistic Comedy As Politics:Waiting for Godot (1952); Michael
Worton, “Waiting for Godot and Endgame,” in Pilling, The Cambridge
Companion to Beckett, pp. 67-87.
3 pp. Essay due 12:00 noon my office.
Mon.
Wed.
Oct. 2
Oct. 4
Godot cont.
“”.
Mon.
Oct. 9
Wed.
Oct. 11
The Trilogy: Molloy (1950); on reserve, “Moran Molloy: The Hero as
Author (Kern, Edith).
“”
Mon.
Wed.
Oct. 16
Oct. 18
Fall Break
Molloy continued.
Mon.
Oct. 23
Wed.
Oct. 25
Malone Dies (1951); Paul Davies, “Three Novels and Four nouvelles,” in
Pilling, The Cambridge Companion to Beckett, pp. 43-66.
“”
Mon.
Wed.
Oct. 30
Nov. 1
“”.
5 pp. Essay assigned.
Mon.
Wed.
Nov. 6
Nov. 8
The Unnameable (1952).
“”.
Mon.
Wed.
Nov. 13
Nov. 15
“”; 5 pp. essay on Godot and one other work due in class.
“”;
Mon.
Wed.
Nov. 20
Nov. 22
Endgame (1957); Final Essay Topics handed out.
Thanksgiving Break
Fri. Sep. 8
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Mon.
Wed.
Nov. 27
Nov. 29
“”
Endgame.
Mon.
Wed.
Dec. 4
Dec. 6
Endgame—Film.
Last Class.
8-10 pp. Essay due Monday, Dec. 11 12:00 noon my office.
Take Home final due on Final Examination Date.
Course Policies/Requirements
Come to class ready to discuss the readings and to participate. Attendance and participation
are required and necessary for your writing to improve. Participation will help your grade.
There will be unannounced in-class writing assignments and group work throughout the
semester. Late essays will not be accepted. Papers are due in class on the dates listed
below; if you foresee a problem, see me beforehand. All essays are to be typed and doublespaced except for in-class writing assignments. Grades will be based on a weighted average of
all paper grades; credit is given for class participation. All graded assignments (essays) must
be completed in order to pass the class.
Required (by the Dean of Faculty) policy on missing class forNCAA athletics. Students who miss class to
attend games are vested with full responsibility for making up all work and learning all material missed on
their own. Help extended is restricted to regularly scheduled office hours. If this policy does not suit your
individual needs, a different class is surely for you.
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