Aina García Coll

aigari@alumni.uv.es

SAMUEL BECKETT Waiting for Godot

A play first performed at the Arts Theatre, in London, on 3^rd August 1955. It is a contemporary play in prose, classified by the author as a “tragicomedy”, and consists of three acts.

DRAMATIS PERSONAE:

ESTRAGON: He is a tramp and sleeps in a ditch where he is hit every night. He has no memory beyond what is immediately said to him, and relies on Vladimir to remember for him. Estragon is impatient and constantly wants to leave Vladimir, but is restrained from leaving by the fact that he needs Vladimir. It is Estragon's idea the one of hanging themselves. Estragon has been compared to a body without an intellect, which therefore needs Vladimir to provide the intellect.

VLADIMIR: He is a tramp like Estragon, but retains a memory of most events. However, he is often unsure whether his memory is playing tricks on him. Vladimir is Estragon’s friend because Estragon provides him with the chance to remember past events. Vladimir is the one who makes Estragon wait with him for Mr. Godot's imminent arrival throughout the play. Vladimir has been compared to the intellect which provides for the body, represented by Estragon.

LUCKY: Lucky is the slave of Pozzo. He is tied to Pozzo via a rope around his neck and he carries Pozzo's bags. Lucky is only allowed to speak twice during the entire play, but his long monologue is filled with nonsensic sentences. He is silenced only by the other characters who fight with him to take of his hat. Lucky appears as a mute in the second act.

POZZO: Pozzo is the master who rules over Lucky. He stops and talks to the two tramps in order to have some company during his “journey”. In the second act Pozzo claims he is blind and requires their help. He cannot remember people he has met. His transformation between the acts may represent the passage of time.

A BOY: The boy is a servant of Mr. Godot. He plays an identical role in both acts by coming to inform Vladimir and Estragon the Mr. Godot will not be able to make it that night, but will surely come the next day. Just as Pozzo does, the boy never remembers having met Vladimir and Estragon before.

THE PLOT: Vladimir and Estragon are on a country road nowhere with a single tree present. Estragon is trying to pull off his boot, but without success. Vladimir enters and greets Estragon, who informs him that he has spent the night in a ditch where he was beaten. With supreme effort Estragon succeeds in pulling off his boot. He then peers inside it to see if there is anything there while Vladimir does the same with his hat. Estragon wants to leave but Vladimir forces him to stay because they are both waiting for someone called Godot to arrive. Neither of the two tramps knows when Godot will appear, or even if they are at the right place. Later it is revealed that they do not even know what they originally asked Godot for. Estragon gets bored of waiting and suggests that they pass the time by hanging themselves from the tree. They both like the idea but cannot decide who should go first. They are afraid that if one of them dies the other might be left alone. In the end they decide it is safer to wait until Godot arrives. Estragon asks Vladimir whether they still have rights. Vladimir indicates that they got rid of them. He then fears that he hears something, but it turns out to be imaginary noises. Vladimir soon gives Estragon a carrot to eat.

Pozzo and Lucky arrive. Lucky has a rope tied around his neck and is carrying a stool, a basket, a bag and a greatcoat. Pozzo carries a whip which he uses to control Lucky. Estragon immediately confuses Pozzo with Godot which gets Pozzo upset. Pozzo spends several minutes telling off and shouting at Lucky. Lucky is completely silent and obeys like a machine. Pozzo has Lucky put down the stool and open the basket of food which contains chicken. Pozzo then eats the chicken and throws away the bones. Lucky stands in a stooped posture holding the bags after each command has been completed and appears to be falling asleep. Estragon and Vladimir go to inspect Lucky who intrigues them. They ask why he never puts his bags down. Pozzo will not tell them, so Estragon proceeds to ask if he can have the chicken bones that Pozzo has been throwing away. Pozzo tells him that they technically belong to Lucky. When they ask Lucky if he wants them, he does not reply, so Estragon is given the bones. Pozzo eventually tells them why Lucky hold the bags the entire time. He thinks it is because Lucky is afraid of being given away. While Pozzo tells them why Lucky continues to carry his bags, Lucky starts to weep. Estragon goes to wipe away the tears but receives a terrible kick in the shin. Later, Pozzo gives an oratory about the night sky. He asks them how it was and they tell him it was quite a good speech. Pozzo is ecstatic at the encouragement and offers to do something for them. Estragon immediately asks for ten francs but Vladimir tells him to be silent. Pozzo offers to have Lucky dance and then think for them.

Lucky dances for them and when asked for an encore repeats the entire dance step for step. Estragon is unimpressed but almost falls trying to imitate it. They then make Lucky think. What follows is an ensemble of nonsensical unfinished sentences which always start ideas but never bring them to completion. The three men finally wrestle Lucky to the ground and yank off his hat at which point he stops speaking. His last word is, "unfinished."

Pozzo and Lucky leave the scene. Vladimir and Estragon return to their seats and continue waiting for Godot. A young boy arrives having been sent by Mr. Godot. Estragon is outraged that it took him so long to arrive and scares him. Vladimir cut him off and asks the boy if he remembers him. The boy says this is his first time coming to meet them and that Mr. Godot will not be able to come today but perhaps tomorrow. The boy is sent away with the instructions to tell Mr. Godot that he has seen them. Both Estragon and Vladimir discuss past events and then decide to go away for the night. Neither of them moves from his seat.

They come to the same place next day at the same time. Estragon's boots and Lucky's hat are still on the stage. Vladimir enters and starts to sing until Estragon enters too. Both admit that they feel better when alone but convince themselves they are happy when together. They are still waiting for Godot. Estragon and Vladimir poetically talk about "all the dead voices" they hear. They are haunted by voices in the sounds of nature, especially of the leaves rustling. Vladimir shouts at Estragon to help him not hear the voices anymore. Estragon tries and finally decides that they should ask each other questions. They manage to talk for a short while. Estragon has forgotten everything that took place the day before. He cannot remember his boots and thinks they must be someone else's. For some reason they fit him now when he tries them on. There are new leaves on the tree since the night before and Estragon comments that it must be spring. But when Vladimir looks at Estragon's shin, it is still bleeding for Lucky’s kick. Vladimir finds Lucky's hat and tries it on. He and Estragon spend a while trading hats playing a typical clown-like scene, until Vladimir throws his own hat on the ground and asks how he looks. They then decide to play at being Pozzo and Lucky. Estragon leaves only to immediately return panting. He says that they are coming. Vladimir thinks that it must be Godot who is coming to save them. He then becomes afraid and tries to hide Estragon behind the tree, which is too small to hide him. The conversation then degenerates into abusive phrases. Estragon says, "That's the idea, let's abuse each other." They continue to hurl insults at one another until Estragon calls Vladimir a critic. They embrace and continue waiting.

Pozzo and Lucky enter but this time Pozzo is blind and Lucky is mute. Lucky stops when he sees the two men. Pozzo crashes into him and they both fall helplessly in a heap on the ground. Pozzo in desperation offers to pay for help by offering a hundred francs. Estragon says that it is not enough. Vladimir does not want to pick up Pozzo because then he and Estragon would be alone again. Finally he goes over and tries to pick him up but is unable to. Estragon decides to leave but decides to stay when Vladimir convinces him to help first and then leave. While trying to help Pozzo, both Vladimir and Estragon fall and cannot get up. When Pozzo talks again Vladimir kicks him violently to make him shut up. Vladimir and Estragon finally get up, and Pozzo goes on calling for help. They help him and Pozzo asks who they are and what time it is. They cannot answer his questions. Estragon goes to wake up Lucky. He kicks him and starts hurling abuses until he again hurts his foot. Estragon sits back down and tries to take off his boot. Vladimir tells Pozzo his friend is hurt. Vladimir then asks Pozzo to make Lucky dance or think for them again. Pozzo tells him that Lucky is mute. When Vladimir asks since when, Pozzo gets into a rage. He tells them to stop harassing him with their time questions since he has no notion of it. He then helps Lucky up and they leave.

Vladimir reflects upon the fact that there is no truth and that by tomorrow he will know nothing of what has just passed. There is no way of confirming his memories since Estragon always forgets everything that happens to him.

The boy comes again but does not remember meeting Estragon or Vladimir before. He tells them it is his first time coming to meet them. The conversation is identical in that Mr. Godot will once again not be able to come but will be sure to arrive tomorrow. Vladimir demands that the boy be sure to remember that he saw him. Vladimir yells, "You're sure you saw me, you won't come and tell me tomorrow that you never saw me!" The two tramps decide to leave but cannot go far since they need to wait for Godot. They look at the tree and again think about hanging themselves. Estragon takes off his belt but it breaks when they pull on it. His trousers fall down. Vladimir says that they will hang themselves tomorrow unless Godot comes to save them. He tells Estragon to put on his trousers. They decide to leave but again do not move.

SPACE: The play is mostly set in the country, near of a tree and a big stone where characters meet and talk.

TIME: Play tells the facts that happened during an evening and the morning of the day after. This is a continuous play.

LITERARY RESOURCES: In this play the author uses some metaphors in order to explain what characters think and also to show how their minds are. He also uses a really simple and vulgar language in which we can see some insults. This is a really dynamic play because of all its dialogues. We can advice a repetition in a dialogue between Vladimir and Estragon (ESTRAGON: Lets go -VLADIMIR: We can't -ESTRAGON: Why? -VLADIMIR: We're waiting for Godot)

PERSONAL OPINION:

It is an interesting play and quite amusing, when it is spiced with a very special humour. Anyway, Waiting for Godot represents a new concept of theatre in the history of British drama. A new concept of theatre in which reality is no more the thing to look for on stage. Therefore, there comes a new concept of drama which is based in the invisible part of the theatre. We face a play in which neither time nor the place are important. The things that are important now are the metaphor, situations and ideas which might be understood by the actors performance. This is, this play does not represent any reality nor any story. It is just important as we think about what has been shown to us.

Waiting for Godot puts two unknown tramps nowhere. They never tell anything about their past nor they do about their future. They do not seem to know anything but one thing: they are waiting for a man called Godot. There could be said that they do not even know why. But are we not always trying to find something to wait for in order to continue living? It is just their one and only reason to live. They do not know even why but it is in fact. It is shown how time passes for them without they noticing it. Another thing that can be noticed is the way they are characterised as clowns. There could be said that even two nonsensic clowns have more in common with us than we think. They represent the vanality and simplicity of life, seen sometimes from a comical view, but also seen from a rather tragic view. Maybe the more tragic plays are the ones which can also be seen as comic. That is why it might have been titled as a “tragicomedy”.