Show that Becket has created in Waiting for Godot a modern tragedy which reveals particular problems of our age; man’s sense of his tragic existence, man’s grandeur in facing that existence, the classical idea of tragedy which comes to us from Aristotle’s poetics proposes specific requirement regarded as essential if a play is to be described as a tragedy, all of these are topic that we will discuss in our conversations. First of all, is Waiting for Godot Modern Tragedy or not?
1:The work must be concerned with the career of a person of noble birth.
2: The hero must be shown suffering.
3 The suffering must involve a transition from good fortune to bad fortune. The hero must be pre prominently good.
The suffering must, partly because of the suffering worst part be caused by a flaw or weakness in the hero’s own character.
The suffering should make the hero aware of the wrong he has done.
Judging by these standards waiting for Godot can not be described as a tragedy. Its heroes are not great men. Though they are suffering, they do not seem to be fully conscious of their suffering. There is no obvious progression from Fortune to misfortune and the characters do not seem to gain insight into their problems.
According to Aristotle‘s point of view, tragedy is a form of action that is not narrative, narration usually takes place in ‘Epic’, it should be acted not narrated. A tragedy revolves around one main issue, it creates pity and fear and by pity and fear a man passes through prosperity to adversity catharsis. When a tragedy takes place then the whole system disturbs by him, and the whole country or the whole society ruins by his tragedy. As in Oedipus Rex, we see that by cause of his tragedy his family, and his countrymen all were affected by his tragedy.
However, it is not necessary to judge by Aristotle’s standard alone in order to perceive the tragic element in the Play. To begin with, the concept of tragedy has been replaced in recent times. Modern writers have according thought ordinary characters to be more representative of our age since they are not shown remote from everyday concern, as the king and Prince might be. Moreover, we must stress that it is a man and not simply a particular character who is presented as a fallen creature in waiting for Godot estragon and bloody made are conscious to some extent of their degeneration for they mourn the loss of their former respectability. Furthermore, the source of tragedy in Waiting for Godot lies in a modern, not ancient concern. The play can be described as tragic simply because the characters betray are disturbing lack of awareness of their own condition Man’s this existence is seen as tragic, precisely because he lacks insight into the nature of that existence the particular problem of our age can be outlined by a knowledge of the implication of symbol in the play. It is easy for us to ponder over the irrelevance of religious solutions. The futility of intellectual consideration. Lack of communication among human beings. The obscurity of human action. Man, sense of his tragic existence is a more difficult aspect to delineate but mention should be made of the pressing urgency of passing Estragon and Vladimir’s conscience of their consciousness of their present impoverished circumstances. The way in which the tramps feel the need to stay together. The hopefulness with which day persists in waiting for Godot, who will solve their problems. Mans’s grandeur in facing his existence is not of cause scenes in any dynamic conflict in the play but rather in the sense of attraction, we feel for Estragon and Vladimir who, they are not human being openly grandeur, are nevertheless recognizable human beings. To use their discussion to wait for the code to use
As we know that when a tragedy happens then a pity and fear feeling arises but in the concept of MODERN TRAGEDY’ we find out pity and fear feelings in this play “Waiting for Godot” with the mixture of comedy
Royalty is one of the top features of any tragedy, when we take analysis either Waiting for Godot is a MODERN TRAGEDY’ or not then we find out that Waiting for Godot lacks royalty, there is no gods, and goddess, no prince and princess, no kings and queens rather they are an average man and this reveals modern tragedy. Because the days have gone when people believe in kings and queens because today’s era is related to democracy and in a democracy there is no concept of kings and queens. Today man’s problems are common oneself.
In Greek tragedy usually comes to see the tragic hero does his action unconsciously in Waiting for Godot all the tragic characters do actions consciously as well as unconsciously. As we know that tragedy happens when a character has an error of judgement. But they do all actions consciously as well as unconsciously.
Hubris or excessive pride is the soul of any tragedy. In a modern sense Waiting for Godot modern tragedy because all the characters have hubris.
Modern’s man tragedy is totally different from ancient man because circumstances have changed now. 98 per cent of people are linked with the working class and all of them have not clear vision about life. Due to heavy economical pressure, their only aim was to earn bread and butter. Life has lost charm from them. As we know that Waiting for Godot has various symbols in itself so, the road is also a symbol in this play, it has symbolic significance, and it is symbolized the road of life. Just like human life has no clear vision about life, the same is the case here the road also has no complete ending. It is linked with human life because human life has no clear purpose of life. A man tries to find his existence in this world. And this symbol also makes the tragedy of modern man
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He has found his meaning in the negation of his own personality. He is the Sheep who is found his Shepherd through Pozzo is the violent Shepherd Lucky wants to be led, nor to lead. He is shown in total submission to Pozzo. Pozzo’s response is of course the exact reverse of Lucky. He finds his meaning in the exercise of personal power. There is no rationale behind the exercise of that power.
So the characters represent the human race as well as symbols for us ‘Waiting for Godot’. And their tragedy is the tragedy of the whole of mankind, every man can move the mirror of the tragedy and can see his/ her face, all of them find he or she is a tragic one in this world. Keeping this fact in mind will make it easy for us to grasp the theme too. The characters not only represent mankind or symbols of mankind, ’Waiting for Godot ‘in addition they might also be said to represent typical responses of the human race. Estragon is the sensualist, the common unthinking materialist. He is happy while his ordinary needs are satisfied. His needs really are ordinary. Were it not for his bad dreams, he might be reasonably happy with comfortable boots for his feet and food for his stomach. Vladimir on the other hand has more rational, more intellectual concerns. He introduced the religious conversation in the play with his talk of thieves on the cross. He expresses awareness of their impoverished circumstances, looking back at the days when they were respectable. Further, it is Vladimir who sees a deeper significance in the plight of Pozzo and Lucky when they are grovelling on the ground. Calling for help” it is not every day that we are needed”, he comments. He might be said to be the embodiment of the rational man who seeks his intellect to make sense of his environment. However, his reason is no more fruitful than Estragon’s sensuality.
In Waiting for Godot’ Lucky is a character who is symbolized as a slave or we can say that today’s labourer in some factory who knows only his duty, on the other hand, Pozzo is one of the symbols in ‘Waiting for Godot’ who represents to industrialist, who wants to be more profit by his worker. And the workers have grown old, the hardhearted businessmen get out of them by their duties. This can be seen in the case when Lucky’s owner is going to sell him because he narrates that to Estragon he is not profitable now. This reveals the tragedy of the working class. Pozzo is a symbol of materialism now a day and Lucky is a symbol of poor work in the play “Waiting for Godot’, it is very clear-cut when we find out Pozzo drives out a piece of chicken from his bag and starts to eat it. He does not give any bite to his servant Lucky. When he finishes his piece of chicken, he throws it towards Lucky, then Lucky starts to eat this bone, this clears the concept of a hardhearted businessman approach. This scene reveals the industrialists get a big lion’s share of wealth while the poor servants gain only a little bit of coin. These coins never fill full their desires.
Some mention of the motive of nakedness in Beckett’s world is worthy of elaboration the most important reference here is to the incident near the end of the play. And of the play, where Estragon having used the string from his trousers in the vain attempt at hanging, suffer the integrity of having his trousers fall down. There is more to his incident than the obviously gross humour involved. It is profitable to call to mind the motif of nakedness in Shakespeare’s King Lear. Lear at first suffers from a kind of spiritual blindness in his ignorance. He banishes his daughter Cordelia because she will not make in public of formal declaration of her love for him. He turns instead to his elder daughter Goneril and Regan, whose full protestant love is patently hypocritical but Lear does not see the hypocrisy. He is blind to the dark depth of human nature. His understanding of the divine forces of the universe is similarly naïve. Proud of his royalty, he assumes those forces will act constantly on his behalf. His life from that moment becomes a growth in awareness, Awareness of the darkness of the human soul and of the appearance Indifference of the universe to the human race. The crisis in that process is his encounter with the mad beggar, Tom. When he sees this forlorn creature, babbling incoherently, naked in the middle of the storm Lear cries out is man no more than this? and he goes on to declare that indeed man is such a poor bear forked surely it is a poor bare forked animal which Beckett portrays in the person of Estragon. This is main the dramatist seems to be telling us to strip away from the pretensions, divorce him from the sophisticated of his rational schemes and theories expose the Puny grandeur of his aspiration and we see the creature for what he is by this method then we have reinforced the idea which is central in the theatre of absurd the absurdity of the incongruity between what man is and what he longs to be.
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