Presentation Sem-2

1. ‘Waiting for
Godot’ as ‘an
absurd
theatre’

2. Introduction :-
★ Name :- Aarti Bhupatbhai Sarvaiya
★ Roll No :- 01
★ Enrollment No :- 4069206420220027
★ Sem :- 2(M.A.)
★ Batch :- 2022-2024
★ Paper No. :- 107
★ Paper Code :- 22400
★ Paper Name :-The Twentieth Century Literature: From World War II to
the End of the Century
★ Submitted to :- Smt. S. B. Gardi, Department of English,M.K.B.U.
★ Dated on :- 12 March,2023
★ Email :- aartisarvaiya7010@gmail.com

3. Introduction
About the
Writer
About the
Play
‘Waiting for
Godot’ as an
Absurd Theatre
Conclusion References
Points to Ponder :-

4. Introduction to The term ‘Absurd’ :-
❏ The term ‘Absurd’ was first used by Martin Esslin. A bottom review of Absurdist
writers takes things rationally, not romantically. A critic defines Absurd as;
“The absurd presupposes a human judgement, only man can confront
the disparity of experience.”
❏ For this, Samuel Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot” is a masterpiece of Absurdist play.
Almost nothing happens in the play, the action takes place on a stage presenting two
characters; Vladimir and Estragon. The setting represents the post war era where
human existence becomes a challenging one.(shaheer)

5. About the Writer :-
➢ Samuel Beckett was born in a suburb of Dublin, Ireland.
➢ In his writing he alternated between English and French and translated
his own works.
➢ Samuel Beckett produced his most important works—four novels, two
dramas, a collection of short stories, essays, and art criticism—during an
intensely creative period in the late 1940s.
➢ Irishman Beckett had settled in France and wrote in both French and
English.
➢ His experiences during World War II—insecurity, confusion, exile,
hunger, deprivation—came to shape his writing.
➢ In his most famous work, the drama ‘Waiting for Godot’, he examines
the most basic foundations of our lives with strikingly dark humor.

6. About The Play :-
● Waiting for Godot, tragicomedy in two acts by Irish writer
Samuel Beckett, published in 1952 in French as ‘En Attendant
Godot’ and first produced in 1953. Waiting for Godot was a true
innovation in drama and the Theatre of the Absurd first theatrical
success.
● The play consists of conversations between Vladimir and
Estragon, who are waiting for the arrival of the mysterious Godot,
who continually sends word that he will appear but who never
does.

7. ‘Waiting for Godot’ as ‘an Absurd Theatre’
➢ The theatre of absurd illustrates an attitude and a frame of mind towards life, where
human existence is a conundrum of illogical, senseless, and hopeless activity. (Shyam)
➢ The movement, activity, and chats of the characters of an absurd drama do not carry any
real sense. And it is on this idea that Beckett penned his most popular absurd play
“Waiting for Godot”. It does not have a proper plot or a proper setting. The talks and the
actions of the two central characters Vladimir and Estragon do not carry any real sense.
And all these make Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot” an absurd play.(shyam)

8. Continue….. :-
➢ The lack of action :-
➢ The most significant feature of an absurd play is the lack of action. Either nothing or very
little happens throughout the whole play. In ‘Waiting for Godot‘ there is nothing
significant except waiting and waiting. (Maity)
➢ Loss of Identity :-
➢ In an absurd drama, the characters lose their identity. In ‘Waiting for Godot‘ the tramps
have no identity and even if, they lose their identity in the course of the action. Their
identity and their relationship are in doubt. They.cover the day jointly but spend the night
apart. Life to them is an endless rain of blows.

9. Continue….. :-
> Lack of plot or story :-
Waiting for Godot doesn’t tell any story about the characters. They (characters) do
not go anywhere, remain in the same place and utter meaningless sentences.
> Lack of characterization :-
Characters’ past is unknown in the play and are directly introduced to the audience.
Only their names and their miserable life is presented.

10. Continue….. :-
>No proper beginning and end :-
The play has no beginning and end. It starts with a situation and ends same with it. Even
the acts have the same kind of situations. “Waiting” is the key in the play which shows a
journey from nothingness to nothingness. (shaheer)
>Useless dialogues :-
Most of the play’s dialogue serves no purpose, especially Lucky’s speech, highly
symbolic but apparently no meaning. Action loses its importance because of unworthy
dialogues, and are just to written to pass the time.(shaheer).

11. Conclusion :-
Thus, ‘Waiting for Godot‘ is an absurd play which mocks
the futility of man’s life and its meaninglessness. The whole
background of the play reminds of man’s loneliness and
alienation. There is suffering, agony, anxiety, waiting,
futility and all sorts of absurdity. So from the points of view
of structure, theme, motive, characters, atmosphere, setting
and language, we find the play as an absurd one. (Maity)

12. References :-
1. Maity, Supriya. “Samuel Beckett's ‘Waiting for Godot’ as an Absurd Drama.” Literary Ocean, 16
Mar. 2020, literaryocean.com/samuel-becketts-waiting-for-godot-as-an-absurd-drama/.
1. Samuel Beckett – Facts. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Prize Outreach AB 2023. Fri. 10 Mar 2023.
<https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/1969/beckett/facts/>
1. Shaheer. “Waiting for Godot as an Absurd Play.” Literature Times, 3 April. 2020,
literaturetimes.com/waiting-for-godot-as-an-absurd-play/.
1. Shyam, and Adheena Fernandez. “Waiting for Godot as an Absurd Play.” Thinking Literature by
Shyam, 5 Nov. 2022, thinkingliterature.com/waiting-for-godot-as-an-absurd-play/.

13. THANK You