DRAMA II Modern Drama

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DRAMA IIModern Drama

• Lecture 17

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Synopsis

• Absurdist Drama
• Dialogue and Language/Humorof 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.
• As a result, these plays also became known as
  absurdist dramas.

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Absurdist Drama

• 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/Humorof 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

• 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

• The absurdity of the dialogue is the authors 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 circumstancesand
  themselves.
• 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

• 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 revolvebut
  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

• 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 cant 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 theyve decided to
  do so?
• Are Vladimir and Estragon condemned to wait for
  Godot, or is the act of waiting a choice itself?
• Does Luckys 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. OneESTRAGON 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)
• Vladimirs 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)
• 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 Vladimirs 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 Vladimirs 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

• Vladimir and Estragons situation is so absurd
  that it doesnt resemble any reality were
  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, "Dont
  lets do anything. Its 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
  ones 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

• 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 Estragons 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?
• Weve said that in Waiting for Godot, religion is
  incompatible with logic. If this is true, whats
  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
  Estragons relationship? Are they friends?
  Companions? Master and slave? Mere acquaintances?
  
• Vladimir and Estragon constantly ask whether they
  would be better off without each other. Sowould
  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 hes 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 Didis
  suffering? Do they learn from it?

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Waiting for Godot Theme of Mortality

• 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 theres 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 cant 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 dont 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

• Vladimir and Estragon are lowly bums. Their only
  material possessionsbesides their tattered
  clothesare a turnip and a carrot.
• 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 others company
  and help each other.
• Above all, though, they wait.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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

• Vladimir and Estragon depend on each other to
  survive.
• Although they exchange insults from time to time,
  it is clear that they value each other's company.
  One could imagine Pozzo without Luckyuntil the
  second act, when the audience learns he has gone
  blind.
• Unable to find his way, Pozzo is totally
  dependent on Lucky. Lucky, of course, is tied to
  Pozzoby a rope and by fear of being abandoned.

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Theme of Monotony

• 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.
• 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

• 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 playand 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 playnotably, 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/Humorof Absurdist Drama
• Plot Structure of Absurdist Drama
• THEMES in Waiting for Godot
• Aspects to Consider

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AGENDA Lecture 18

• Waiting for Godot Symbolism, Imagery Allegory
• Setting
• Waiting for Godot Genre, TONE, STYLE Title
• Waiting for Godot as Bookers Seven Basic Plots
  Analysis Tragedy Plot
• Social Acceptance of Waiting for GodotCritical
  Analysis