Waiting for Godot

Waiting for Godot (sometimes subtitled: tragicomedy in 2 acts) is an absurdist play by Samuel Beckett, written in the late 1940s and first published in 1952 by Grove Press, after having been refused by more mainstream publishers. Beckett originally wrote Godot in French, his second language, as En attendant Godot (literally: While Waiting for Godot). The simplicity of the dialogue reflects this French origin. An English translation by Beckett himself was published in 1955.

Interpretations

Beckett uses the characters' interaction to symbolise the tedium and meaninglessness of modern life, both major themes of the existentialists. Critic Vivian Mercier summed up the two act play with the words "nothing happens, twice." Another critic used a line from the play to sum up his review: "Nothing happens, nobody comes, nobody goes, it's awful!" This critic is referring to the work's drawn out scenes and scarcity of characters.

Related Topics:
Existentialists - Vivian Mercier

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Despite its essential bleakness, however, it has many moments of comedy, some of it recalling the deadpan slapstick of Charlie Chaplin and Beckett's idol Buster Keaton. Some of the business involving hats was adopted from a routine done by the Marx Brothers, and it may be noted that the character schema - four characters, one of whom is mute, and one of whom bears an Italian name - may have been derived from the same source. Critic Kenneth Burke argued that the interaction of Vladimir and Estragon is based on that of Laurel and Hardy. Near the end of the play, to give one example of the play's sillier moments, Estragon removes the cord holding his trousers up so he can hang himself with it, and his trousers fall down. In the original French production Beckett was adamant that the actor playing Estragon, who was reluctant to perform so foolish a piece of business, follow the directions to the letter.

Related Topics:
Slapstick - Charlie Chaplin - Buster Keaton - Marx Brothers - Kenneth Burke - Laurel and Hardy

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Many readers of this play have understood the character "Godot" as a symbolic representation of God. They see Godot's persistent failure to appear and Vladimir and Estragon's aimless waiting as representations of the masses hoping for a being who will never appear. This is a common interpretation of the play, but one that Beckett himself vehemently denied all his life, saying "Christianity is a mythology with which I am perfectly familiar, and so I use it. But not in this case!" Other interpretations hold Pozzo as the all encompassing "exploiter" or dictator, because of his tyrannical abuse of his servant and slave, Lucky, who won't even think without being told to (and when he does refuses to listen to Pozzo's orders for a time afterwards). His using of Vladimir's and Estragon's search for Godot to make them stay and talk with him is compared with opportunistic leaders use of their citizens' devotion to God to further their own means.

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This was Beckett's third attempt at drama after an abortive attempt at a play about Samuel Johnson, and the considerably more conventional Eleutheria (which Beckett suppressed after writing Godot). Godot was the first to be performed. It was a big step back towards normal human experience after his novel The Unnamable. Subtitled "a tragicomedy," the script has little indication of setting or costume (but for Beckett's note that all four of the major characters wear bowler hats); the only indication for decor is the typically succinct "A country road. A tree. Evening" prior to Act I. As such, Godot is capable of sustaining a wide range of interpretation, including who, or what, Godot is.

Related Topics:
Samuel Johnson - Eleutheria - Bowler hat - Who

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While the name "Godot" is commonly pronounced with an emphasis on the second syllable (i.e. "guh-DOH"), this is in fact incorrect. According to Beckett, the emphasis is on the first syllable (i.e. "GOD-oh"). The incorrect pronunciation is apparently (also according to Beckett) North American in origin http://www.thecampuschronicle.com/archive/vol_4/05_07/.

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Skilled comedians, like Robin Williams and Steve Martin in one production (also Bert Lahr in the 1950s), have had the most success with the characters in popular esteem, and there is a heartfeltness about the dialogue and situation that is not always completely aligned with despair, along with dream-like, poetic passages; perhaps this is why the play is loved by its fans.

Related Topics:
Robin Williams - Steve Martin - Bert Lahr

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Beckett went on to resume his march towards the void in his new medium, and his later plays have had much less popular success, though they continue to be produced, and are generally accepted as important works.

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