Beckett's Waiting for Godot

Morgan Schuler and Ashley Lee
English 150
Wednesday 13 November 2013, 6 p.m. section

Outline of Recitation

• Introduction to Waiting for Godot (about one minute)
• Author information
• Short plot summary
• Recitation (roughly 2 minutes)
• More background information about the play and the author (roughly 3 minutes):
  • Samuel Beckett wrote it in French and then translated it to English — why it's so stilted sounding
  • Background on the characters (Godot is never seen, only talked about)
  • Explain absurdism
• 16 minutes of discussion about Waiting for Godot: (about 4 minutes per topic)
  1. Morgan will discuss theatre of the absurd and how it applies to the passage.
     • Example question: What components of this passage immediately portray its absurdism?
  2. Ashley will discuss the setting of the passage, and connect it to larger course themes.
     • Example questions: What significance does the dead tree play in this scene, if any?
  3. Morgan will discuss the theme of choices and how choices play an important role in the passage.
     • Example Questions: Do the men seem happy about their choices, or that they
  4. Ashley will discuss the character's concept of time and how it affects their memory.
     • Example Questions: How reliable are Vladmir and Estragon of their memories of their interactions with Godot? Do they seem to have a realistic grasp of the passage of time?