Existentialism and Religious Allegory in Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot (1954)

Abstract

Since the first performance of Samuel Beckett‘s master piece Waiting for Godot; the play suffered various remarks and comments. Beckett in this work presents a clear picture of human existence together with the issue of beliefs; by emphasizing on the figure of Godot, and the relations between the characters: Estragon and Vladimir, Pozzo and lucky. The play is regarded as an ambiguous piece of art, as the critics debated whether it is existential or religious. This work aims to juxtapose these views rather than highlighting the various reading of the play; by analyzing it through philosophical view concentrating on how Beckett employed and reflect existentialism in literature, then set off the religious allegory that are founded within the play; providing evidences from Beckett‘s oeuvre. After all, the play reveals that Beckett succeeded in assembling between Existentialism and religion creating one of the most absurd play in the history of literature