Waiting for Godot is a great example of the theatre of the Absurd. The whole
play revolves around nothing but this whole meaningless thing has some meaning.
The same is a depiction of modern life. All the people around us are of the
same type. Two people start their talk on one topic, then their conversation
shifts towards another topic, and in the end, their whole conversation seems
meaningless.
Some of the themes of this play are as follows:
Humor and Absurd:
The dialogues of the play Waiting for Godot are
meaningless, nonsensical lines, and wordplay is there. Characters usually
forget everything, even the things which took place yesterday. This nature of
the play leads to absurdist humor. To make this play a darker kind of comedy
incidents are mixed with some serious and tragic content. Estragon tells
about “billions
of others” but does not elaborate. Vladimir and Estragon
even do not know the“they” who gave the threat to
beat them. Lucky is manipulated and physically abused on the stage. Vladimir
and Estragon both talk about suicide pleasantly. All these events have a
discomforting effect on an audience who thinks that how to react to this
mixture of tragedy and comedy, playfulness and seriousness. Vladimir
says in the play that “one daren’t even laugh anymore” and
the same is the case with the audience they do not know whether they should
laugh at this play or should cringe. There is a mismatch between the
characters' tone and speech. This refers to the modern world that is free of
meaning and significance.
Time:
Beckett’s plays are related to modernism and post-modernism. One
central aspect of this play is the conception of time. The important thing is
that the time is uncertain, and nobody knows when this play is taking place.
The period of this play is unclear. Except for Vladimir, nobody is sure
that act two occurred one day after act one. No one remembers anything of act
one, and Vladimir and Estragon do not agree on the time of their
conversation. Time is uncertain, but the repetition of events, dialogues, and
places are certain. All the characters speak the same things and meet at the
same place in act two, which shows the infinity of time in this play. The
ending of it is not proper. Maybe it goes the same, the same, and the same.
Maybe Vladimir and Estragon meet at the same place and utter the
same dialogues daily before the play starts.
Waiting, Boredom, and Nihilism:
Waiting is the central act of the play. Nothing is happening in
this play. Vladimir and Estragon spend the entire time waiting
for Godot, who never comes. Estragon wants to leave, but Vladimir
stops him. They both become a bore to death. There is “nothing
to be done” and “nothing to do”. They both want to
discuss different topics, but cannot decide on a single one. The characters and
audience both become bored and are waiting for a great event, the climax to
take place in the play, but nothing happens till the end. This all-nothingness
is nihilism which leads to this thing that there is no morality, reality, or
truth. All scenes are of no emotion or meaning.
Dehumanization:
This play is full of emotional, mental, and physical suffering. Vladimir
and Estragon are starving to death, and are in physical pain even though
they are bored to death. They both fear anonymous “they”, who
are threatening to beat them. Estragon tells about “billions
of people”, who have been killed but does not elaborate on
them. Lucky is poorly treated, and pulled by a rope tied around his
neck. Lucky is beaten by Pozzo, addressed as a “pig” and
treated as a pack of animals. Estragon kicks Lucky again and
again. Estragon wants the leftover bones of the chicken eaten by Pozzo.
There is no dignity in their characters.
Religion:
The theme of religion is also one
of the themes of this play. Vladimir and Estragon both talk about
the story of the two thieves mentioned in the Gospels of the Bible.
There are four Gospels, and all four have described this story
differently, showing the contradiction in their Holy book. This contradiction
is discussed by Beckett in his play. As this play belongs to modern
times, and it is written at a time when the followers of every religion were
waiting for their savior to come into this world and save them from the dangers
of the world. But what happened? Wars took place at that time. So many people
were killed. There was not any humanity left in the people. The Godot
mentioned in this resembles the savior. So the people, who were waiting for
their Godot suffered disillusionment, and all their wait went in vain.
And same is the case in this play.
