Waiting for Godot | Samuel Beckett

Waiting for Godot is a 1953 play by Samuel Beckett that has become one of the most important and enigmatic plays of the 20th century. The story revolves around two men waiting for someone – or something – named Godot. His play remains one of the most magical and beautiful allegories of our time.

Beckett was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature and commended for having “transformed the destitution of man into his exaltation”.

Waiting for Godot belongs to "The Theatre of the Absurd”, focusing on absurdist fiction. It shares the existentialist condition that there is no God or superior knowledge we can depend on. However, a major difference from existentialism that it does not share that we can create our own meaning.

It is better described as an absurdist play. This stems from the absurdist philosophy of Albert Camus, who describes the Absurd in his essay “The Myth of Sisyphus”, as the human incapacity of finding meaning in a meaningless world. The characters are doomed to be faced with the Absurd, and all they can do is try to pass the time.

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📘 The Book

▶ Waiting for Godot: A Tragicomedy in Two Acts

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⌛ Timestamps

0:00 Introduction
2:10 Act I
6:28 Act II
8:23 Analysis

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🎶 Music used

1. Mesmerize – Kevin MacLeod
2. They Got Away - Documentary Music – CO.AG Music

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Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

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📝 Sources

- Waiting For Godot: A Tragicomedy in Two Acts (1900) – Samuel Beckett

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#godot #samuelbeckett

[Eternalised]

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[TheLivingPhilosophy]

Great book and I have to say what a fantastic condensed explanation of the distinction between absurdism and existentialism. Top notch

[michaelyesidmedinavillamiz]

Amazing lecture! I have seen this play live (in Philadelphia/US), and throughout I grew frustrated watching the two men go on and on and watching them wait and wait. I was with a friend who had the same sentiments; at intermission she asked if we should leave, and because the intermission was after more than half the play, I wanted to stay to see how things played out. I just had to see Godot. Was he/she God? Death? A dream realized? 🤷🏽‍♀ So we stayed. Of course I left the play disappointed and unfulfilled because of its ending. That was a year ago. I have frequently thought of the play from time to time, smirking at the time wasted in seeing it. It wasn’t until this very moment (about 20 mins ago at 6:39AM Saturday mourning/morning) that I realized how clever Sam B was; not only was his audience thrust into the play themselves to casually see which character they identified with, but for me and my friend, we actually became the two main characters if but for one moment. “Do you wanna leave?” “No...let’s WAIT and see.” And to that end I’ll say, live in every moment; whatever’s coming will come anyway, if it’s meant to; but don’t waste your time watching the time, waiting to act, waiting for Godot. In doing so (waiting) you will upset the balance of your suffering. Just live in the meantime ❤#waitingforgodot

[aminberjaouitahmaz]

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[hindugramsci]

The play reminds me of the quote from Shawshank Redemption "Hope is a good thing and no good thing should ever die".
The Hope of Godot (purpose, meaning, happiness) to appear in our lives is what engages us in futile tasks like the characters in the play. The realisation that Godot would never appear and we would have to accept this fact and carry on without it is the main theme of the play in my opinion.
Your Videos are exceptionally good. Please keep making 10 minute analysis videos of books. They are the best thing available on this platform.

[Mari_Ember]

Seriously, these videos are so engaging. I read Waiting for Godot in my Drama class, and man, it sure is something I didn't expect. Thank you for this awesome video, friend!

[martymcfryll]

Having only been introduced to this play today, it gives me a sense of deja vu and it gives me excitement you feel that anything could be waiting around the corner

[akashsarkar]

I'm writing an essay on the Meaning in meaningless in Beckett's theatre and this video is the exact stuff I needed.

[loganagle]

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[natt]

Friend! You should have many views, excellent interpretation, thank you for delving into the reading, it is an infinite pleasure.

Thank you for placing the subtitles in Spanish, greetings from Colombia!

[nazmulgani]

Excellent!!!! Complex issues have been explained so easily,

[panthersoul]

Godot represents hope… an external actor that will bring meaning to their lives. Godot is nebulous and unknown except to the boy that brings the hope. The boy represents the naive innocence of society that tells us about the hope that there is meaning and that it will indeed arrive and it cares about you….you have meaning to it. You matter therefore you are alive. Lucky is the man that has purpose. Day 1 is youth day 2 is old age.

[sajidahmed]

Great video, Comrade! I have read it a year ago. Seems like i have to return to it again.

[Equilibrium]

Great video, friend! Enjoyed every single bit of it.

[sohype]

I saw this play in highschool, it was very weird and gave me an empty and alien feeling

[simengrandal]

Samuel Beckett, whose writing is often surrounded by an aura of genius, was masterful in his ability to distill human experience down to its most basic essences. His work, especially "Waiting for Godot" in my view, carries with it a duality that is both deeply moving and inexplicably confusing.

It is precisely in this play's lack of conventional action and obvious meaning that its genius lies. By creating a world where the traditional narrative is absent, Beckett challenges viewers to engage with the play on a more personal and introspective level. I completely agree that 'Waiting For Godot' should not be exclusively classified as an existentialist play, and that it should rather be considered an absurd, though not meaningless, fiction. In my opinion, the existentialist perspective in this play is made visible by the fact that it is the viewer themselves who must fill the void left by the missing action, which leads to a deeper understanding of their own existential questions and concerns. The pointless waiting and the repetitive dialogue create a mirror for the audience, reflecting the human condition and the intractable questions about the nature of existence.

This is what appeals so strongly to me, and at the viewer's own discretion, I think. The linguistic power and philosophical depth in the play, despite the fact that the dialogue appears to be banal and repetitive, digs deep into existential and metaphysical questions that I believe resonate with many readers' and viewers' perceptions of the senselessness and unpredictability of human experiences. It is precisely this form of dramaturgy that creates a metaphor for the static and, for many, often absurdly cyclical nature of human existence. We are all in some aspect of our lives 'waiting for Godot' - searching for meaning, purpose and validation.

If you are someone who identifies with existentialism (and absurdism😜), I strongly recommend that you give this masterpiece of a dialogue-based absurdist theater play a try. You will undoubtedly find "Waiting for Godot" both provocative and affirming. Beckett's play not only provides nourishment for existential thinking, but also for a sense of solidarity in the face of the absurd. You know, there is a kind of catharsis in acknowledging the absurd and laughing at it, as well as a comfort in understanding that one's own search for meaning is a universal experience.😉

I really enjoyed the play "Waiting for Godot", not only as a literary and cultural experience, but also as a meditative exercise. The play is timeless and it is as relevant today as what it was when first performed 80 years ago, and it will also remain as relevant in the future. Samuel Beckett has created a paradox with his Magnum Opus. Its structural buildup is a contradiction that falls on its own absurdity because the author has managed to combine two elements of art that cannot be reconciled. Despite all the underlying absurdity, it is a work that allows you to explore the fundamental questions of your life, through a framework of theatrical minimalism and philosophical depth.

[InspirationFromThePast]

It's rather interesting to see different take on life, but quite fortunately not all of us are constantly in negative state of mind, and other type of literature are out there to balance it out.

[davejones]

Beckett was asked about the first line..."Nothing to be done." He said when he was in a Paris library he found a very old manuscript 12th or 13th century written by some kind of a monk and the opening line was...you guessed it...Nothing to be done. Writiers will use whatever works at the time.

[PhilosophyToons]

Have you seen the Waiting for Godot play with Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen?

[WastingTime]

Its the definition of reality. A terrible one to face for a lot of people, especially with religious beliefs. Not saying me being atheistic makes it any more easy, but atleast I am accepting of the fact that nothing matters at the end. We all here to pass time. Thats our only purpose. However we chose to pass it. And we must choose.