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Waiting for Godot

Samuel Beckett

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Course Hero. "Waiting for Godot Study Guide." Course Hero. 27 Oct. 2016. Web. 23 Sep. 2023. <https://www.coursehero.com/lit/Waiting-for-Godot/>.

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Course Hero. (2016, October 27). Waiting for Godot Study Guide. In Course Hero. Retrieved September 23, 2023, from https://www.coursehero.com/lit/Waiting-for-Godot/

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Course Hero. "Waiting for Godot Study Guide." October 27, 2016. Accessed September 23, 2023. https://www.coursehero.com/lit/Waiting-for-Godot/.

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Course Hero, "Waiting for Godot Study Guide," October 27, 2016, accessed September 23, 2023, https://www.coursehero.com/lit/Waiting-for-Godot/.

Waiting for Godot | Infographic

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Check out this Infographic to learn more about Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot. Study visually with character maps, plot summaries, helpful context, and more.

waiting-for-godot-samuel-beckett_UPDATEThe tragicomedy Waiting for Godot was the first truly successful play in the genre called Theatre of the Absurd. Like other absurdist plays, it asks a serious question: Does the human condition have meaning? The conversations of the main characters, Vladimir and Estragon, are ridiculous, their actions pointless. Godot never comes.Nothing MattersTHEMES Sources: Encyclopaedia Britannica, The Independent, Merriam-Webster’s Encyclopedia of Literature, Samuel-Beckett.net Copyright © 2016 Course Hero, Inc.Vladimir/DidiA manEstragon/GogoA manPozzoPompous man; believes he has control over circumstances Leafless TreeRepresents lack of vitality and meaning Lucky's BaggageSymbolizes the burdens humans carry and can't put downPozzo's RopeRepresents the impediments to freedom that make up the human conditionLuckyLeashed and burdened man BoyGodot's messenger Estragon, Act Iothing happens, nobody comes, nobody goes, it's awful! Acts in Waiting for Godot 2Rank of Waiting for Godot in a National Theatre survey of the most significant English-language plays1Years Beckett spent away from his Paris home to avoid the Nazi Gestapo during World War II~2Seats for Waiting for Godot's 1953 Paris world premiere production75Waiting for Godotby the NumbersThe Irish playwright's works in both French and English concentrate on the basic dilemmas and anguish of human experience and explore identity and purpose. Beckett generally avoided public appearances, even declining to give the traditional acceptance speech after being awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for 1969.SAMUEL BECKETT1906–89Absurdity of ExistenceNothing is worthwhile, so Vladimir and Estragon agree to leave. But they never move, and nothing changes.Purposelessness of LifeVladimir and Estragon realize there is nothing to do, and Pozzo and Lucky are just as lost.Folly of Seeking MeaningVladimir and Estragon wait, hoping for meaning and direction, but Godot never arrives. Main CharactersSymbolsAuthorSamuel Beckett1953FrenchPlay AuthorFirst PerformedOriginal LanguageWaiting for GodotDrama
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