Samuel Beckett's 1969 play "Breath" is summarized as follows: 1) "Breath" is a 30-second play with no actors, text, characters or drama - only stage directions describing a lit stage and the sound of breathing. 2) The play reflects the meaningless and existential nature of human life through the crucible of life and death represented by the sound of breathing. 3) Symbols in the play like toys, books, medicine bottles represent different stages of life from childhood to old age and the progression towards death. The breathing sound suggests the earth itself is in danger from pollution and cries out for protection.

1. SAMUEL BECKETT
Interpretation of Documentary and play “Breath” by Samuel
Beckett
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2.  Samuel Beckett, was one of
the most prominent
playwrights of the 20th
century, In his career as
writer He wrote a thirty-
second play let for the stage
that does not include actors,
text, characters or drama
but only stage directions.
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INTRODUCTION OF THE
WRITER,

3. “BREATH”
Breath (1969) by Samuel beckett is
mainly focus the only theatrical text,
which demonstrates that how the piece
became emblematic of the
interdisciplinary exchanges that occur in
Beckett’s later writings, and of the cross-
fertilization of the theatre with the visual
arts. The play attends to fifty artworks
related with Breath (including sculpture,
painting, new media, sound art,
performance art) and contextualizes
Beckett’s Breath within the intermedial
and high-modernist discourse thereby
contributing to the expanding field of
intermedial Beckett criticism.
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4. INTERPRETATION OF BREATH
As per my point of view in this
particular documentary has sound of
Breath suggesting the crucieality of
life and death. The play reflects the
reality of human life. It reflects
meaningless and Existentialism. We
can see here that its not a normal
sound of Breath, it is sound of painful,
loud, and offensive breath.
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Breath is the symbol of Bridge
between life and death. Breathing is
the most sensitive part for human life,
so the pollution is increasing day by
day , this terrible sound of breath and
crying may predicament of future
catastrophe in breathing because of
heavy pollution on Earth.

5. CONCEPT OF MATERIALISTIC WORLD
In this video described materialistic
things. People born in materialistic
world. Earth is replaced by
Materialistic garbage.
How our life starts with breath in
Hospital and it ends in hospital too, at
the end our live ends and then its
become just like that garbage , or bio
west of hospital.
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The difference between natural and
materialist world is natural world has its
way to settle garbage in its own way, in
our world we are creating mess and
disturbing the atmosphere and others life
to.
It also shows that people are polluted a
much in natural world and turn it into
Materialistic world with full of garbage like
plastic , technical machines , medicines. It
also shows effect of global warming.

6. Cinematic view point
 This is a kind of work of art , what makes is more curious and attractive is – The cinematic
shots of capturing very normal thing to thing with complications.
 Here, we see the camera angel is constant running and creating round structure of video
shooting , generally it looks natural , but when we see it with critical perspective it criticize the
polluted world , the camera angel is just running with round criteria,
 It shows the garbage is like another world where we find problems in inhaling breath, because
in the documentary we find the sound of breath is very much loud, fast and painful.
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7. Symbolism
• I found symbol of 'swastika'
which we can connect with the
Hitler’s rule with full of anarchy,
swastika is a kind of symbol in
his nation. Another way If I want
to saw so that It's represented
sometimes our belief and
religion leads towards rubbish
things.
• Swastika ,cigarettes are so
offensively represent.
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8. Spiritual perspective of the symbol of
“Swastika”
Spirituality always sing a songs of eternal Beatitude, peace after death is the
center of human life. Mainly if we connect this symbol with documentary by
bucket, here we can assume that it must be out there for denoting or connecting
very ideas of Health and death.
Swastika is symbol of prosperity, health, good being etc. we can study this symbol
in both the way,
It can be symbolized as human health, human liberation, better being etc, it also
study in critical perspective as swastika is something related with death, and
illness.
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9. FOUNDED SYMBOLS IN THE DOCUMENTARY
Symbols always gives a hint to
understand hiding things , so in this
documentary we find symbols like,
• Toys - childhood ,Books –
Knowledge - royalty Bottle of
medicine - illness, old age, Breath-
Fear, fear of life and death,
Stretcher- last sleep, death, Mask-
protection( nowadays the concept
of mask is much fresh with
protection from Corona pandemic)
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The most attractive symbol of
Keyboard and ventilators is
something denoting the last breath
to entire life , as per the keys of
keyboard the human life is switched
in various way, each and every
phase of life is functions in different
way just like switch of keyboard.
Another symbol of ventilator
denoting and counting the last
minutes of life and last few breath
of human body.

10. Count..
 This all symbols are related to stage of human life. As per my point of view Samuel Beckett connect
his play with human life ( Process of life cycle ).
 See how machine and medicine take place in human life it counts the breath and heartbeat of
human, this very displacement of nature to mechanism is a vital theme of this documentary .
 Human life is entirely performed through the natural world, in the 21st century humans tend to be a
guest of hospital it is in a way good to see human progress towards save other human’s life ,
 But we have any solution to remove, demolish biological west properly?
 No, perhaps we created a world of garbage, a huge pollution in nature , so the major concern of the
documentary is to drags our attention towards pollution which mush associated with death and
many more disease.
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11. How Earth can BREATH?
 The terrible breathing of sound is nothing else but the earth itself, as per my point of view how
the natural each can breath with loading od rubbish garbage.
 The sound of Breathing is painful and near about to die, the Earth is in danger , our tends are
much more harming , more risky.
 Another interpretation of sound is like cry, of course The Earth is crying, nature is giver , a
savior, nature feeding us and we are destroying it in a massive way.
 Save nature, Save Earth.
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12. PREPARED BY TAMSA PANDYA
MA SEM-3, MKB UNIVERSITY
THANK YOU!