NEW IB ENGLISH LITERATURE COURSE BD SOMANI INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL MUMBAI. EMAIL andrew.callahan@bdsint.org
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Nick Mount discusses the initial negative reactions that Waiting For Godot had among “sophisticated” theatre audiences in America and Europe, and how on the contrary, the audience at the San Quentin prison was enthralled by the play. He thereby accentuates on the non-pretentious air of Beckett’s play, and how this potentially appealed to the audience of prisoners. In the video, we also come to understand that the amnesia experienced by almost all the characters in the play(Estragon, Vladimir, Pozzo etc.), is much more of a “cultural amnesia”, rather than a personal loss of memory. The characters seem to have forgotten religion and large parts of Western inheritance entirely, according to Mount.
The idea that the play only became a success after upsetting its audiences creates the notion that that was Beckett's intention, and that he did not want people to immediately adore his work before thinking about it and truly understanding it for what it is. That makes the story of the San Quentin prison so poignant, because the audience truly comprehended the undercurrents of the play. Beckett himself not having a clear answer as to who Godot is perpetuates the idea that Godot is anyone who can provide hope for the future. However, according to Mount, since to many Godot represents God, it his never showing up is the disappearance of religion from the post-war world.
"Waiting for Godot is the most clear and truthful play I know" Nick Mount discusses how Waiting For Godot is a play without pretence and force, which makes it the most true. This particular idea appealed to me, because it reiterates the concepts of existentialism and inaction. The passage of time and the absence of a vision and resolution is an important idea that Mount explores. According to Mount, being forced to live in uncertainty is a notion the characters grasp gradually, and Beckett expresses this idea radically.
“Strip everything away from a man and what's left is the truth”. This ‘truth’, that Beckett’s work presents by lacking any pretentiousness whatsoever, is taken as offence by a “sophisticated audience”. This makes me realise that all the ‘distractions’ and ‘outside nebulous forces’ Beckett writes of resonate deeper within me, and humanity as a whole, than I imagined. As Beckett does know who Godot himself is, it can be concluded that Godot may be anyone who allows optimism to persist (for example, God). The fact that Godot (God) never arrives explains how religion died out in this “post-war world”, according to Mount. I second this statement and would further like to add that Godot (if he is God) is the ‘distraction’ that Beckett refers to, a distraction that is used by the whole world and, scarily enough, is the basis for most (if not all) religion. Additionally, in ‘Waiting for Godot’, Beckett manages to provide unities that humanity considers important (time, place, etc.) in a play that doesn’t provide any of those unities itself.
Nick Mount discusses the initial negative reactions that Waiting For Godot had among “sophisticated” theatre audiences in America and Europe, and how on the contrary, the audience at the San Quentin prison was enthralled by the play. He thereby accentuates on the non-pretentious air of Beckett’s play, and how this potentially appealed to the audience of prisoners. In the video, we also come to understand that the amnesia experienced by almost all the characters in the play(Estragon, Vladimir, Pozzo etc.), is much more of a “cultural amnesia”, rather than a personal loss of memory. The characters seem to have forgotten religion and large parts of Western inheritance entirely, according to Mount.
ReplyDeleteThe idea that the play only became a success after upsetting its audiences creates the notion that that was Beckett's intention, and that he did not want people to immediately adore his work before thinking about it and truly understanding it for what it is. That makes the story of the San Quentin prison so poignant, because the audience truly comprehended the undercurrents of the play. Beckett himself not having a clear answer as to who Godot is perpetuates the idea that Godot is anyone who can provide hope for the future. However, according to Mount, since to many Godot represents God, it his never showing up is the disappearance of religion from the post-war world.
ReplyDelete"Waiting for Godot is the most clear and truthful play I know" Nick Mount discusses how Waiting For Godot is a play without pretence and force, which makes it the most true. This particular idea appealed to me, because it reiterates the concepts of existentialism and inaction. The passage of time and the absence of a vision and resolution is an important idea that Mount explores. According to Mount, being forced to live in uncertainty is a notion the characters grasp gradually, and Beckett expresses this idea radically.
ReplyDelete“Strip everything away from a man and what's left is the truth”. This ‘truth’, that Beckett’s work presents by lacking any pretentiousness whatsoever, is taken as offence by a “sophisticated audience”. This makes me realise that all the ‘distractions’ and ‘outside nebulous forces’ Beckett writes of resonate deeper within me, and humanity as a whole, than I imagined. As Beckett does know who Godot himself is, it can be concluded that Godot may be anyone who allows optimism to persist (for example, God). The fact that Godot (God) never arrives explains how religion died out in this “post-war world”, according to Mount. I second this statement and would further like to add that Godot (if he is God) is the ‘distraction’ that Beckett refers to, a distraction that is used by the whole world and, scarily enough, is the basis for most (if not all) religion. Additionally, in ‘Waiting for Godot’, Beckett manages to provide unities that humanity considers important (time, place, etc.) in a play that doesn’t provide any of those unities itself.
ReplyDelete