Waiting For Godot Existentialist Theatre Analysis

Along with all these depiction of identity crises, gender role, sexual identity, manifestation of existential identity also finds currency in modern continental drama with much more intensity. Existentialism as a philosophical and cultural movement in art, drama and theology emerged from the early 20th century which considers the individual experiences at the center of understanding human existence, rather than moral thought. Despite the fact that existential ideas originated in earlier twentieth century Europe but these idea are still much more relevant in our contemporary world because it is a rebellion against the systemic modes of thought associated with philosophical identity crisis, emphasizing on authentic experience rather than external

The 'existentialist theatre ' somehow differs from the ‘Theatre of the Absurd’ in the sense that the existentialist theatre expresses the irrationality and the incomprehensibility of the human existence in a comprehensible and logically constructed form, whereas the ‘Theatre of the Absurd abandons’ the traditional dramatic conventions and strive to invent a new form for expression of the new content. Therefore, in an Absurdist play, irrationality and incomprehensibility are reflected even in its form. Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot can aptly be called best depiction of Theatre of the absurd. Sartrean philosophy assume that the search for a rational order in human life is a futile desire. In Waiting for Godot, Estragon and Vladimir try to create order to some extent in their lives by waiting for Godot who never comes or perhaps doesn 't have any existence. Eventually, they repeatedly relinquish to the futility of their condition, recapitulating these line: "Nothing to be done", "Nothing happens, nobody comes, nobody goes, it 's awful!" This proves the existentialist view that humans exist in "absurd" universe in which meaning cannot created by the natural order, but a provisional and unstable meaning to life is provided by human’s actions and interpretations. The assumption that destiny, God or some Supreme Being toys with the lives of men is surprisingly clear. Each moment of each day, humans holds up for some unknown sign from God that his enduring will close. Although it is also clear that each day, God does not