Here are Top 7 Plays By Samuel Beckett
Table of Contents
Human Wishes
It is a fragment consisting of only an act and is primarily the remnants of a historical play. The play is a dramatic presentation of some episodes from the life of Samuel Johnson and borrows its title from his long poem “The Vanity of Human Wishes” The episodes weave the interrelationship of Johnson and Hester Thrale, and draw from her Anecdotes and Diaries rather than the traditional and more popular Life of Samuel Johnson of James Boswell.
Beckett abandoned the play after the first act was completed. When asked why he had abandoned his play, Beckett had replied-“It was a question of putting it into the Irish accent as well as the proper language of the period. It would not do to have Johnson speaking a proper language, after the manner of Boswell, while all the other characters speak only the impossible jargon I put into their mouths.”
Waiting for Godot
Through his characters Vladimir and Estragon who become the heart and soul of the play, Beckett ventures to present the polarities of existence-hope and despair, loneliness and companionship. Two tramps are locked in an absurd situation, that is, they wait for an absent-present entity called Godot. Their waiting becomes symbolic and it comes to represent a cycle that never ends- the cycle of human suffering.
A messenger arrives at the end of each act and reveals some information periodically on Godot. He brings him a ray of hope in the monotonous and repetitive lives of Vladimir and Estragon. Through the absent presence of Godot, Beckett seems to be commenting indirectly on the divine presence in human lives as ‘Godot’ bears an etymological resemblance to ‘God’. The Godless Godot’s power is defied, denied and doubted and is a post-modern approach to show the decay of all established order.
For years Beckett had held reservations about screening the play. He did not want to edit of the original one nor did he want women to feature in the play.
Act Without Words I
It is yet another short play by Samuel Beckett. It is a mime, Beckett’s first (followed by Act Without Words II). At the very beginning of the play, Beckett presents us with a desert scene with a man who is extremely exhausted and in need of water and other things. In spite of his repeated tries, he does not reach water which is symbolic of his salvation.
Like many of Beckett’s works, the play was originally written in French (Acte sans paroles I) and was translated into English by Beckett himself. It was written in 1956 and was first at the Royal Court Theatre in London. It followed Beckett’s iconic Endgame.
Act Without Words II
is a short mime play by Samuel Beckett, following his Act Without Words I. This too, like many of Beckett’s works, was a piece that was originally composed in French (Acte sans paroles II), then translated into English by Beckett himself. It is a very short 10-minute mime involving two players, ‘A’ and ‘B’, who are in two large sacks on the stage. Beckett specifies that A is ‘slow, awkward and absent’ whereas B is ‘brisk, rapid, precise’. This play like Waiting for Godot is marked by its repetitive pattern.
Endgame
This is yet another of Beckett’s huge successes especially noted for its unusual stage directions. This play is also marked by its patterns of circularity and was published in 1957 and originally written in French as “Fin de parttie”. The play is first performed in French at the Royal Court Theatre, London.
The play is set after an apocalyptic disaster. At the beginning of the play, the reader is introduced to two characters Hamm and his servant Clov. Hamm, his father Nagg, his mother Nell as well as Clov are trapped together in Hamm’s home. Beckett’s play forms critic of human existence and the habit or routine that the characters display becomes a major theme of the play.
Krapp’s Last Tape
It is a one-act play, written in English, in 1958. With the cast of one man, it was written after being inspired by Beckett’s experience of listening to Northern Irish actor Patrick Magee’s reading extracts from Molloy and From an Abandoned Work.
Krapp, the play’s protagonist and the only character present on the stage, spends his 69th birthday at his desk and listens to the tapes he had recorded earlier in his life. Filled with bitterness and regret, the words of his younger self, leave Krapp feeling broken, alone and dejected. He records a new tape, which is to be his last ever tape and although it is never confirmed in the text, it is suggested that this is the last tape he will ever make.
Happy Days
This is a play in two acts and received major positive remarks from the critics. It was named in The Independent as one of the 40 best plays of all time and forms a major allegory of the misery of the human condition. Winnie, buried to her waist, follows her daily routine and prattles to her husband, Willie, who is largely hidden and taciturn. Her frequent refrain is “Oh this is a happy day.” Later, in Act II, she is buried up to her neck but continues to talk and remember happier days
FAQs
What is Samuel Beckett best known for?
Beckett is best known for his play En Attendant Godot or Waiting for Godot, a play which caused quite a stir among the masses. He is also known for his Endgame, another of its kind, with its’ absurdist themes.
What is Beckett’s first play?
Samuel Beckett’s first ever play that founded his name as a modernist writer is Waiting for Godot although his first work ever was Eleutheria for which he had to cut off connections with his surroundings.
What was Samuel Beckett’s philosophy?
Samuel Beckett had a humorous approach to the ambiguities of life and focused mainly on the polarities of existence. In his plays he laid bare the absurdity of existence and dealt with darker themes of life and death; hope and despair; absence and presence.