Author: Samuel Beckett
Title: Waiting for Godot
Publication: Paperback, Grove Press
Pages: 109 pages
Genre: Drama
Acquisition: Work text
Date Completed: May 4, 2010
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
"Nothing happens. Twice," said Beckett scholar Thomas Cousineau. Samuel Beckett called Waiting for Godot "that mess of a play", and referred to it as a minor, "left hand" work. I could very easily call Waiting for Godot my favorite play. In Beckett's work nothing can be taken for granted, and nothing is presented without motive. Beckett attempts to break down the distinctions between his characters and the audience, and challenges conventional dramatic presentation with his focus on the Theatre of the Absurd. My favorite theme for analysis and discussion is Beckett's portrayal of identity and the requirements for existence, but the copious themes and motifs at work within the short play make Waiting for Godot a fantastic piece to work with in the classroom. I teach Beckett's famous tragicomedy every semester, and I look forward to the experience time and again.
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