(January 15, 2015 at 8:10 pm)Rev. Rye Wrote: Um, Waiting For Godot isn't a philosophical work in itself. Granted, it's hard to write about it without turning your article into a philosophical treatise, but the play itself makes no theses. The reader just infers a philosophical meaning behind it because the actions on stage (by design) make no sense.
I'm not sure I agree at all with your opening statement, I personally think it is deliberately a philosophical work, so does Professor Knowlson, Beckett's Friend and official Biographer, he said 'It asks all the big philosophical questions - about life and death and the uncertain purpose of what goes on in between - but in a way that isn't limited to a particular place or era.'
I accept this hardly makes it a treatise, but that wasn't my question. I asked if it is a significant philosophical work, that a lot broader.
I would also argue that the actions on stage do ultimately make sense and a number of significant themes emerge (see my reply to Chas).
MM
"The greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinions" - Leonardo da Vinci
"I think I use the term “radical” rather loosely, just for emphasis. If you describe yourself as “atheist,” some people will say, “Don’t you mean ‘agnostic’?” I have to reply that I really do mean atheist, I really do not believe that there is a god; in fact, I am convinced that there is not a god (a subtle difference). I see not a shred of evidence to suggest that there is one ... etc., etc. It’s easier to say that I am a radical atheist, just to signal that I really mean it, have thought about it a great deal, and that it’s an opinion I hold seriously." - Douglas Adams (and I echo the sentiment)
"I think I use the term “radical” rather loosely, just for emphasis. If you describe yourself as “atheist,” some people will say, “Don’t you mean ‘agnostic’?” I have to reply that I really do mean atheist, I really do not believe that there is a god; in fact, I am convinced that there is not a god (a subtle difference). I see not a shred of evidence to suggest that there is one ... etc., etc. It’s easier to say that I am a radical atheist, just to signal that I really mean it, have thought about it a great deal, and that it’s an opinion I hold seriously." - Douglas Adams (and I echo the sentiment)
