Waiting
for Godot is a play by Samuel Beckett in which two characters, Vladimir(Didi)
and Estragon (Gogo) wait for the arrival of someone named Godot who never
arrives of someone named Godot who never arrives, and while waiting they engage
in a variety of discussions and encounter three other character. Waiting for
Godot is Beckett’s translation of his own original French-language play, En
attendant Godot and is subtitled “a tragicomedy in two acts”. The original
French text was composed between 9 October 1948 and 29 January 1949. The
premiere directed by Roger Blin was on 5 January 1953 at the Theatre de
Babylone Paris.
#About Author
Samuel Beckett, in full Samuel Barclay Beckett, (born April 13?, 1906, Foxrock, County Dublin, Ireland—died December 22, 1989, Paris, France), author, critic, and playwright, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1969. He wrote in both French and English and is perhaps best known for his plays, especially En attendant Godot (1952; Waiting for Godot).Samuel Beckett was born in a suburb of Dublin. Like his fellow Irish writers George Bernard Shaw, Oscar Wilde, and William Butler Yeats, he came from a Protestant, Anglo-Irish background. At the age of 14 he went to the Portora Royal School, in what became Northern Ireland, a school that catered to the Anglo-Irish middle classes.
From 1923 to 1927, he studied Romance languages at Trinity College, Dublin, where he received his bachelor’s degree. After a brief spell of teaching in Belfast, he became a reader in English at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris in 1928. There he met the self-exiled Irish writer James Joyce, the author of the controversial and seminally modern novel Ulysses, and joined his circle. Contrary to often-repeated reports, however, he never served as Joyce’s secretary. He returned to Ireland in 1930 to take up a post as lecturer in French at Trinity College, but after only four terms he resigned, in December 1931, and embarked upon a period of restless travel in London, France, Germany, and Italy. In 1937 Beckett decided to settle in Paris. (This period of Beckett’s life is vividly depicted in letters he wrote between 1929 and 1940, a wide-ranging selection of which were first published in 2009.)
Samuel Beckett, in full Samuel Barclay Beckett, (born April 13?, 1906, Foxrock, County Dublin, Ireland—died December 22, 1989, Paris, France), author, critic, and playwright, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1969. He wrote in both French and English and is perhaps best known for his plays, especially En attendant Godot (1952; Waiting for Godot).Samuel Beckett was born in a suburb of Dublin. Like his fellow Irish writers George Bernard Shaw, Oscar Wilde, and William Butler Yeats, he came from a Protestant, Anglo-Irish background. At the age of 14 he went to the Portora Royal School, in what became Northern Ireland, a school that catered to the Anglo-Irish middle classes.
From 1923 to 1927, he studied Romance languages at Trinity College, Dublin, where he received his bachelor’s degree. After a brief spell of teaching in Belfast, he became a reader in English at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris in 1928. There he met the self-exiled Irish writer James Joyce, the author of the controversial and seminally modern novel Ulysses, and joined his circle. Contrary to often-repeated reports, however, he never served as Joyce’s secretary. He returned to Ireland in 1930 to take up a post as lecturer in French at Trinity College, but after only four terms he resigned, in December 1931, and embarked upon a period of restless travel in London, France, Germany, and Italy. In 1937 Beckett decided to settle in Paris. (This period of Beckett’s life is vividly depicted in letters he wrote between 1929 and 1940, a wide-ranging selection of which were first published in 2009.)
1.What
connection do you seen in the setting (“A country road A tree Evening.”) of the
play and these paintings?
After
see this image I connect in the movie Waiting for Godot’s one seen in that seen Vladimir and Estragon stand like
this. In image the word Longing means hungry, desire and the craving. It was
connect with the Waiting. Longing means one kind of waiting.
2.
The tree is the only important ‘thing’ in the setting. What is the importance
of tree in both acts? Why does Beckett grow a few leaves in Act II on the
barren tree- The tree has four or five leaves-?
Tree
is symbol of good and bed thing. If tree is full of leaves its look good and we
like to see that but tree has not a single leave we don’t like that and its
look like barren. In first act the tree is barren and in second act tree has
four and five leaves. And its symbol for Vladimir and Estragon to God is come
one day. In the play nature is important part.
3.
In both Acts, evening falls into night and moon rises. How would you like to interpret this ‘coming of night
and moon’ when actually they are waiting for Godot?
Coming
of night and moon it was symbol of end of the day and coming the night. In both act coming of night and moon it was
symbol of a new hope. A second day God
is coming defiantly. But it the waiting for
god is one kind of the west the time because god never come. And moon
and night come everyday .
4.
The director feels the setting with some debris. Can you read any meaning in
the contours of debris in the setting of
the play?
suDebris
is west thing which never useful in another work. Like debris in this play
the Vladimir and Estragon west their
time in waiting for god. God never came but they both west their time like
debris. The whole play near the debris. In that debris we see the iron plate
and still. We also can say that the debris was there because that that time was
the influence of second world war -2.
the waiting for godot is also like a debris. Nothing difference between debris and west
time for waiting for godot.
5.
The play begins with the dialogue “ Nothing to be done”. How does the theme of
‘nothingness’ recurs in the play?
The
dialogue reflect the existentialism and nothingness. It also give a one idea of
the play it was nothingness. And after read play and watch movie we can say
that in both thing don’t see a useful thing. Waiting for Godot this thing it
was west of the time. Also reflect the existentialism because the Godot never
come and never see. So its reflect existentialism.
6.
Do you agree: “The play (Waiting For Godot), we agreed, was a positive play,
not negative, not pessimistic. As a saw it, with my blood and skin and eyes,
the philosophy is: ‘No matter what – atom bombs, hydrogen bombs anything –life
goes on. You can kill yourself, but you can’t kill life.” (E.G Marshal who
played Vladimir in original Broadway production 1950s)?
Yes,
I agree with the play was a positive play, not negative, not pessimistic. In
this play the positive thing is hope. They both don’t loss their hope. When coming
night and moon but they don’t loss their hope and another day they
waiting for Godot. Also I agree with E.G. Marshal. ‘ You can kill yourself, but
you can’t kill life’ it’s right because the life is long. No one kill
the life.
7.
How are the props like hat and boots used in the play? What is symbolical
significance of these props?
Hat
and boots are interesting symbol of the play. Hat is protect the head and boots
protect to the leg. Boots also represent the power of authority. We see the Estragon
trying to take of his boots. He fed up with the boots in first act. In second
act when he wear the boots after that he happy with boots. Because in second he
wear his boots and in first act he wear small shoes.
8.
Do you think that the obedience of lucky is extremely irritating and nauseatic
? Even when the master Pozzo is blind, he obediently hands the whip in his hand. Do you think that such a
capacity of slavishness in unbelievable?
Yes,
obedience of lucky is extremely irritating and nauseatic. Because his master
Pozzo is blind and he done his all work by Lucky. Lucky run away from the work
but he don’t do because he has some compulsion. Many time we face this thing we
don’t do some work but we have to do some
work because of pressure, need. Many time
we do work like Lucky.
9.
who according to you is Godot? God? An object of desire ? Death ? Gol? Success?
Or.....
According
to me Godot is An object of desire and Success. Desire is object to meet god. Because
when we have any desire and that full fill that time we see desire as a god. We
think that God full fill our desire. And also success is also a god. Because every
body think that we get success because of the god. God blessed us and we get
success in our work.
10.
“ The subject of the play is not Godot but ‘Waiting’” (Esslin, A search for the
self). Do you agree ? how can you justify your answer?
Yes,
I agree with the Esslin’s A search for the self. Throughout the life we
have hope or desire but for that thing
get we have passion or hope. In this play we see the subject is Godot but it
not right subject and the theme is Waiting. They both are waiting for the Godot
we see them to waiting.
