ACTIVITY

The play is full of activity but none of the actions change the situation. Gogo keeps looking in his boot, but his feet stay sore. Lucky tries to commit suicide with the rope, but he does it in such a manner that it is impossible. After World War II people felt that all their actions were senseless and meaningless. Whatever they did, did not stop the destruction of the war and it did not change their situation either.

TIP:

In tests and examinations you will be asked to write essays about your prescribed text and to answer paragraph questions. When answering such questions, you have to do this on three levels: First you have to identify an aspect of the specific dramatic principle that the question is asking about. Then you have to substantiate that fact with a relevant example from the text (examples are crucial to answering any questions). Lastly you have to relate that fact to the socio-political circumstances (the time and era when the play was written, as well as incidents in the life of the playwright that might have had an influence on the play) in which the text was created. In examinations, a question like this will typically count 25 – 30 marks. Make sure that you write enough! The general rule is a full written page for 10 marks. Also ensure that you do not repeat facts and ideas over and over again. You will only be awarded a mark for an idea or fact once.

ACTIVITY

Write an essay in which you examine the influences that Existentialism had on the Theatre of the Absurd. You should use the absurdist text Waiting for Godot as reference and to provide examples. Total: 25