Samuel Beckett's Waiting For Godot

Waiting for Godot is an example of existentialist and absurd drama, written by Irish playwright Samuel Beckett, marking the transition to modern contemporary drama. Life is portrayed as an illusion, as all the attempts to make life meaningful shatter. The protagonists Vladimir and Estragon wait, in vain, for someone named Godot whom they regard as their savior. Since they both lack essence and do not know what to do, they wait for an external figure. In this sense, the play challenges realism, offering an irrational, chaotic universe that is very cruel and meaningless.

There are a few characters in the play, and the dialogues are unconventional. The characters try to communicate but they fail to do so, and there are long silences between their words and speech. This can be explained by them being exhausted from being forced to wait for Godot and lacking motivation. Even though Vladimir and Estragon have known each other for a long time, no background information about them is revealed. In terms of characterization, they are portrayed as two mechanical puppets controlled by Godot, rather than actual people. Since characters experience trauma, they only perform habitual actions. All these aspects emphasized a lack of communication which does not lead to proper communication, challenging the multidimensional, everyday characters of realistic tradition.

There are many religious references throughout the play. They invent things to pass the time, play a game, and talk about crucifixion. Religion, in this sense, fails to function as a center to provide meaning to the lives of these characters. Therefore, religion becomes a construct that doesn't provide any relief from the agony of futile existence. Their sufferings are intensified by their endless process of waiting. They start creating activities to pass the time, such as telling religious stories that do not give them any hope or meaning. Religion and reality, in this sense, are just an illusion, and it does not inspire anything for them.

Absurd playwrights create their unique response to the crisis of representation, the futility of life, and the drama after the Second World War. They develop their responses in terms of form and content, and both are equally experimental. The depression after The First World War the rise of fascism and totalitarianism, and the unrest leading to the Second World War had a profound impact on existentialist philosophy, and such is reflected in the play. One of the central ideas is that the play takes place in a decentered universe in which the characters lack a center, and there is no organizing principle to make their lives meaningful to put the collapsing pieces together.

Another is the futility of life, as characters are stuck in the middle of nowhere on a country road waiting for Godot, thinking that he will make their lives meaningful. Just like Act 1, Act 2 has no climax or resolution. The play completes its circular motion, which is a challenge to the crisis of representation and episodic drama. The excessive focus on the flow of time shows that if we wait actively, time passes. But, when we simply await passively, we have to confront the action of time itself and how destructive time can be on us. Time, therefore, symbolizes constant change, and unless one makes a choice and creates their essence, one day will be like another.