Waiting for Godot

Samuel Beckett’s

Waiting for Godot,

which was performed in

Paris in 1953 and in

London in 1955, in

generally considered

the starting point of

“Absurd Drama”.

The literary critic Martin

Esslin applied the term

“absurd” to the works

of a group of dramatists

eho emerged in the

1950s (among which

Here are the main features of the

Theatre of the Absurd:

- Abscene of a real story or plot;

- Vagueness about time;

- The value of language was reduced; in

fact, what happens on the stage

trascends, and often contradicts, the

words spoken by the characters;

- Extensive use of pauses, silences,

miming and farcical situations which

reflected a sense of anguish;

- Incoherent babbling made up the

dialogue.

THE GROUP OF

DRAMATISTS

They did not form a school, since each

playwright regarded himself as an

outsider, with his own roots and

background and a personal approach to

form and subject matter.

Samuel Beckett (1906-1989)

Main works

• Waiting for Godot (written in French in

1952 1954

and translated into English in )

• Endgame (1958)

• Krapp’s Last Tape (1959)

• Happy Days (1961)

• Breath (1970)

Samuel Beckett

HAROLD PINTER

He was born in 10 October 1930 in East London,

playwright, director, actor, poet and political

activist. He died 24 December 2008. He wrote

twenty-nine plays including The Birthday Party, The

Caretaker, The Homecoming, and Betrayal etc..

THE CARETAKER

CHARACTE

RS:

Davies,

Haston

and Mick.

THE CARETAKER

Aston:

The older brother of Mick, Aston appears shy,

reserved, and slow. He speaks haltingly and has

trouble finishing projects. He reveals that when

younger he was subject hallucinations, and then,

against his will, was put into a mental facility and

given electroshock treatment. He confesses he has

difficulty ordering his thoughts. He is also very

compassionate, offering Davies a place to stay and a

job. He is finally pushed to his limits when Davies

mocks his treatment and "make[s] too much noise"

(60). He has a good relationship with Mick, although

they do not speak to each other.

THE CARETAKER

Davies:

Davies is an itinerant and a tramp. After a fight

at his cafe job, he is brought by Aston to the

room where he is offered the caretaker position

by both Aston and Mick. Davies is loud,

confident, arrogant, and full of himself. He has a

martyr complex, believing that everyone else,

particularly other races, is out to get him. His

identity is questionable, as his papers have been

at Sidcup for a long time. He eventually alienates

Aston with his irritability, laziness, and mean-

spiritedness, and is forced out of the room.