A programme of Music, Visual Arts and Drama education
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Waiting for Godot - Class Notes
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A programme of Music, Visual Arts and Drama education
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12th Grade
In-depth class notes on the play: Waiting for Godot
Covers the following areas: A summary of the play, characters and their relationships, themes/issues, genre of the play and style of writing, structure of the play, the use of comedy, acting style, staging and the use of symbols
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Waiting for Godot
SUMMARY
The entire play takes place in the same nondescript place. The stage directions are
very specific throughout. When approaching the text with actors, a director should
treat this as a gift from Beckett, as the comic timings and rhythms can be found by
sticking to these directions. Of course, there is always room for interpretation, but
don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. The absurd nature of the text and dialogue may
at first seem daunting, and the play is broken into two acts with no distinguished
scenes. Honouring the specific stage directions should help the company to
understand the rhythms of the piece. These can always be moved away from, but it
is a good starting point from which
to tackle the text. Another thing to consider when starting the play, is that the absurd
scenarios may seem devoid of clear meanings. Rather than concerning the
production with any overriding meaning, it may be best at first to focus on small
sections of the text and try to make
these clear for yourselves. Hopefully a greater meaning will develop from this. The
play has been interpreted in many different ways over the years, and your
interpretation may or may not be entirely original. Just try not to force a meaning,
and instead allow it to emerge naturally from the text.
Act One
Waiting for Godot 1
, Evening. A country road. A tree.
The play opens, and we find Estragon sitting on a low mound trying and failing to
take off his boot. Vladimir, his companion, enters and greets him, asking where he
spent the night, to which he replies in a ditch. Vladimir, the more philosophical of the
two, muses that Estragon would be nothing if it weren’t for him. They discuss the
story of the two thieves in the Gospels, and why only one of the four accounts
speaks of a thief being saved.
Estragon announces that he is leaving, but does not move. This is a recurring motif,
as it becomes apparent that neither of the two men can leave. Vladimir explains the
reason for this: they are waiting for Godot. We never meet Godot. Though Godot
appears similar to God, it is worth noting that Beckett himself was quoted as saying
that if he had meant God he would have said God, not Godot. The two men believe
they are meeting Godot by a tree, which they are not even sure is this tree. They
also have a warped perception of time, and don’t know whether it is morning or
evening, or what day it is. Estragon falls asleep but is quickly woken by Vladimir,
who feels lonely. He won’t let Estragon tell him of his dream however, and he is quick
to stop him doing so. Estragon poses the idea, not for the last time, that maybe they
should part ways. Again, Vladimir states that his friend would not get far without him.
Vladimir clearly has a higher status than Estragon, or at least, he feels he does.
They argue, eventually coming together to
discuss how they might hang themselves from the tree, but the logistics prove too
troublesome. Instead, they decide to wait for Godot. Estragon asks for a carrot.
Vladimir finds one after rummaging in his bag. They are quickly very amicable with
each other. The way in which their relationship can change from friendly to hostile is
akin to that of
an old married couple. Suddenly, a terrible cry is heard offstage. The two men
huddle together for safety. Pozzo enters, with Lucky leading, a rope around his neck.
At first, the men wonder whether he is Godot, but Pozzo tells them his name and
asks if they have heard of him. They reply that they have not, mistaking his name for
Bozzo. Pozzo orders Lucky around, until he is sitting on the stool eating chicken and
drinking wine. Lucky is totally compliant and obedient towards Pozzo, who in turn,
treats his slave with total disregard. While he is eating, Vladimir and Estragon
inspect Lucky. They see he has a sore on his neck from the rope, and as they go to
question him, Pozzo instructs them to leave him in peace. The men seem indifferent
to Lucky’s suffering, showing intrigue rather than empathy. Estragon asks whether
he might have the bones of the chicken if Pozzo is finished with them. Pozzo replies
that though he doesn’t want them, the priority must go to Lucky. Estragon asks
Lucky, who doesn’t reply. At this, Pozzo lets Estragon have the bones, hoping his
Waiting for Godot 2
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