Waiting for Godot

Where does the play take place?

All the action takes place next to a tree on a country road, beginning on the evening of one day and ending on the evening of the next.

Why is the play 'Waiting for Godot' in two acts?

Waiting for Godot" appears to have been structured on sets of binaries. There are two messenger boys, two sets of characters and hence two acts. The two acts show two sides of the same character. Moreover, the two acts describe circular events which means the play could go on forever.

Describe important difference between Act I and Act II ?

It has a circular structure.The basic difference between Act I and Act II is the reversal of fortune of Pozzo and Lucky. Whereas Pozzo was clearly the master and Lucky was his slave in Act I, in Act II Pozzo is blind and Lucky mute.

What are the major themes of the play?

Humour and the absurd, freedom and confinement, modernism and postmodernism, condition of the universe, devaluation of language, uncertainty of all knowledge, search for meaning, choices, truth, time, religion, friendship,are the major themes .

Describe significance of Godot in the play ?

Beckett denies that Godot is "God". On the surface, Godot is a person for whom the characters are waiting, but who never arrives.Godot symbolizes a personal god to which we attach our hopes.

Define an absurd play?

It is the kind of play which shows the absurdity of human existence .It has meaningless dialogues .there is no realistic or logical development.Waiting for Godot is an example of absurd play.

Describe the qualities of theatre of the Absurd in Waiting For Godot ?

there is no significant change in setting ,It has a loose plot, , its characters are mechanical puppets, its theme is unexplained.

Interpret "short, stiff strides, with legs apart?

It refers to Vladimir who suffers from the enlargement of the prostate gland- a complaint common in old age.

“Certainly they beat me”- Who is beaten by and by whom?

Estragon informs that he had been beaten by some people whom he identifies only as ‘they’. What ‘they’ refers to remain a mystery, much like the malevolent cosmic forces, the tormenters of humanity. ‘They’ are as mysterious as ‘Godot’ is to be later.

Who planned to commit suicide by jumping off the Eiffel Tower?

Estragon and Vladimir had, during their younger days, together planned to commit suicide by jumping off the Eiffel Tower. But, Vladimir thinks, in their present condition, they would not be allowed to go up the Eiffel Tower and will thus be denied even the most despairing choice (of committing suicide).

What are the nicknames of Estragon and Vladimir?

It is interesting to note that only in the list of characters are the tramps named Estragon and Vladimir. Right through the plays the two address each other by their Gogo and Didi.

What is ‘mandrakes’?

The two tramps by mentioning ‘mandrakes’ give an evidence of their love for knowledge. An ancient fertility symbols, mandrake, is believed to grow below the gallows. Notably there, death and birth being two facts of the same coin, Gallows, a symbol of death, is put side by side with mandrakes, fertility symbol.

Where were the Vladimir and Estragon Waiting for Godot?

It was a willow tree having scarcely a leave on it or it was a shrub or a bush, under which they were waiting.

Estragon: I’m asking you it we’re tied?

Here Estragon asks Vladimir whether they are tied. They are tide to waiting for Godot. They can not get away from it was doing so would mean giving up hope, how so ever illusory that hope may be?

Why doesn’t he put down his bags?

There is complementarity in the master- slave relationship in Pazzo- Lucky relationship. While they enter on the stage lucky has a bag on the back. Pazzo’s treatment of Lucky as a beast of burden underscores human tragedy. ‘Lucky’ in order to impress Pazzo, doesn’t put down his bags.

Why is lucky given such a name?

There might be two suggestions about the source of his name – (i) lucky is ‘Lucky’ because he gets the bones or (ii) he is ‘Lucky’ because he has no expectations, hence he will not be disappointed further in his existence . “Blessed are those who do not hope, for they shall not be disappointed.”

What does it symbolize by Pazzo’s baldness?

The intellectual barrenness of Pazzo is symbolized by his baldness, in contrast to Lucky’s abundant white hair. Pazzo’s baldness fits well in the scheme of things – as then there is all round barrenness.

What is thinking hat?

it is Lucky who can’t think without his hat on. And in order to terminate Lucky’s thinking someone has to remove his hat, as if an energizer has been removed from a machine. Thinking, thus, becomes mechanical.

Why which name the boy address Vladimir?

The boy address Vladimir as Mr. Albert and Vladimir responds to it.

What is the different do you find the Willow tree in act ii?

In act. I we see that the tree, which was leafless in the first act, has four or five leaves.

What the tree stands for in the play?

The tree is associated with the central theme of barrenness, nothingness and death. As the two tramps wish to hang themselves on the bough, it reminds us for Christ’s crucifixion.

What does the two tramps pass signify?

The two tramps as a means of passing time propose different things: to sing, to think or to contradict each other, or ask each other questions.

What was Lucky carrying in his bag? What is the symbolic in it?

Lucky in his bag carries sand, a symbol of burden and of time (in hour glass) , in his bag.

What is the profit of Pazzo’s blindness?

Owning to Pazzo’s blindness, he has acquired a new might into the meaning of life. Life is a mere serious of meaningless repetitions activities.

What does Lucky’s ‘Dance in a Net’ symbolize?

Lucky’s dance symbolizes the destruction and suffering of human existence.

How is 'Waiting for Godot' a tragicomedy?

It is a mixture of comic and tragic elements. Musical devices, circus acts, cross-talks and the atmosphere of the play are stuff of pure comedy. However, Lucky's pathetic situation, the night-mares, the attempted suicide and above all Estrogen and Vladimir's waiting for something who never comes turn this comedy into a tragicomedy.

What was the original language of the Play?

It was originally written in French in 1948, with the title "En attendant Godot". Beckett personally translated the play into English.

What is the symbolism the of dog song ?

In the beginning of Act II, Vladimir moves about feverishly on the stage and suddenly begins to sing a dog song -- an old German Balled. It is a circular song. It is emblematic of the circularity and repetitiveness of the play as a whole. It also reinforces Beckett's idea of the loss of individuality, and creates more conflict between Vladimir and Estragon.