Endless Waiting: An Analysis of the Element of Time in Samuel Beckett’s Play “Waiting for Godot”

Abstract

“Waiting for Godot”, the most well-known and successful play of the “Theatre of the Absurd”, is widely acknowledged as a landmark in the latter. However, its significance extends far beyond that. Written and first performed in the early 1950s, Waiting for Godot predates the formal emergence of postmodernism, yet it remarkably anticipates many of its defining characteristics. Time is one of the crucial themes in Waiting for Godot. Through varied manifestations of repetition, the play explores the problem of time in the larger frame of Postmodernism, the timeless wait for meaning and Godot which never comes is the most exciting part of the play and one of research findings. Beckett’s presentation of the characters' daily routine and their attempt to seek clarity reveals that time and absurdity go hand in hand in reflecting the vulnerability of human existence in the crucible of an unforgiving temporal existence.