2014 February Chloe Sole

Grade 12 Mr van Wyk

Dramatic Arts
Characterization and Acting Style: Waiting for Godot
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Absurdism was brought into being by the 2 world wars. The world wars left people feeling lost in a
world subject to change and nonsensical. Absurdism sought to change theatre to represent its
ideologies. The absurdists all presented to the audience the idea that our lives were irrational, non-
linear and that humanity was searching for meaning in something that was meaningless. Absurdism
was a movement against naturalism. It was a revolt from realism preferring to focus on the
emptiness inside man and the emptiness within which man exists.
Due to the world wars people were isolated and turned away from everything they knew because it
had been destroyed and believed that their lives were pointless. The people of the world felt
confused and desperate. They kept searching for answers and never finding any. This mannerism of
humanity of continually searching and questioning but never obtaining a solid answer is clearly
indicated in Waiting for Godot.
Didi The same lot as usual?
Gogo The same lot? I dont know.
Movements such as existentialism, surrealism and Dadaism were essential to the development of
Absurdism. Existentialist theories such as Sartres existence precedes essence are visible in
Absurdist plays. The characters in Waiting for Godot are in a constant state of confusion and are
forever trying to prove their existence. The fact that they never retain a full mental history indicates
that they are struggling to prove their existence. When the boy who delivers Mr Godots message
does not remember them it casts more doubt on their existence.
The Theatre of the Absurd changed many things in relation to theatre. The absurdists changed their
characters to be able to represent the human mannerisms and not an individuals personality. Unlike
realism, Absurdism focused on society and not the individual. The language, which is forever trying
to express the inexpressible, has no personal contact with the individual. The characters have no
personality that can be discovered through what they say therefore the language has no subtext as it
has no connection to the characters.
The characters tend to be exaggerated and their actions made a lot more noticeable than that of a
character in a realist play. The characters in Waiting for Godot are ridiculous and their actions
somewhat resemble those of a clown. Such as Lucky who dances and when Estragon attempts to
imitate him he falls over. Similar to a common act by clowns at a circus. The characters are bizarre
and have no personal attachment for the actors to feel with. This is also a form of alienation. Such as
the alienation found in Brechtian/Epic Theatre. The audience is unable to feel empathy for the
characters as there is no emotional connection between the character and the words.
The characters actions are very important but they cannot be exploited to find a meaning
underneath. The disconnection of the actions and the words from the character is important to
Absurdism as it reminds us that it is not meant to be understood and that we fill our lives with
worthless actions in attempt to have the sense of progress. Such as when Estragon removes his boot
only to look in it and put it back on and when Vladimir takes his hat off and taps the inside top and
then puts it back on.
The characters are often found contradicting the words. Once again reminding us how useless
language is as a communication device.
Didi Yes, lets go (The do not move)
The characters are interchangeable. Each characters words are not restricted to that character.
What the characters say does not make it easier to differentiate between the two characters.
Vladimir It hurts?
Estragon Hurts! He wants to know if it hurts!
Vladimir No one ever suffers but you. I dont count. Id like to hear what youd say if you
have what I have.
Estragon It hurts?
Vladimir Hurts! He wants to know if it hurts!
It wouldnt have made a difference to the audience as to who said which line.
The characters background is never given away in the text. They do not ever speak of their history
other than the confusion of yesterday and the similarity of yesterday to today to indicate the
repetitiveness of our lives. Their words never reveal any personality or any history that would enable
the audience to understand why the character is the way he is. Facts are limited as absurdist
characters have no individual personality. Absurdism focuses on the truths and since nothing is
certain other than death and the uncertainty of everything. It is therefore unable to present the
audience with background of the characters as nothing is certain.