Theme Of Uncertainty in Waiting for Godot

Waiting for Godot is one of the most prominent plays in the genre of Theatre of the Absurd. It was written by Samuel Beckett in 1952. The play is often referred to as a tragic comedy in two acts. It is about two tramps Vladimir and Estragon who are waiting for a character named Godot with whom they think they might have an appointment. Waiting for Godot portrays the absurdity of human life in a comic form. Uncertainty is one of the most prominent themes in this play. It can be seen in the play’s setting, plot, characters, time and action.

Waiting for Godot is set in an unknown location. The setting is described merely as a country road with a bare tree in the background. The uncertainty of location is also not resolved by the characters who are as much at a loss about their location as the audience. They are not sure where they are and whether it is the place where they are supposed to be.

            “Estragon :- You’re sure, it was here?

            Vladimir :- What?

            Est:- That we were to wait?

            Vl :- He said by the tree. Do you see any others?”

This problem remains unsolved throughout the play, maintaining the theme of uncertainty.

The plot of the play is non consequential. The events that take place and the actions performed by the characters do not lead to any proper consequence. Vladimir and Estragon engage themselves in various activities such as tugging at boots, eating carrots or even contemplating to hang themselves without any definite purpose. They perform these activities merely to relieve boredom and pass the time while they wait for Godot. Their words often do not correspond to their actions. Several times during the play, they say – “Let us go” but nobody moves. The uncertainty about what they are supposed to do is clearly stated by Estragon at the very beginning of the play- “Nothing to be done.” Such a statement at the beginning of a play no doubt intrigues the audience or the reader who becomes aware that several unknown incidents may take place in the course of the play. But Waiting for Godot is unique because of the fact that the characters actually do nothing throughout the play. Thus, it is not only the audience or the reader but also the characters themselves who remain unsure about the actions that may have taken place or should have taken place, thus maintaining the theme of uncertainty in the play through its plot and actions.

The characters of the play and their conversations also contribute to the theme of uncertainty in the play. The two tramps Vladimir and Estragon remain unsure about their actions, why and for whom they are waiting. Vladimir mentions several times that they are waiting for Godot. But neither of them has ever seen him. They are unaware of who he is or what he looks like. The character of Godot itself is undetermined as he does not appear in the play and it remains uncertain if he will ever come or if he exists at  all. Two other characters, Pozzo and Lucky, also appear in the play. However the purpose of their appearance and their contribution to the plot remains unclear. Vladimir and estragon merely continue to wait after Pozzo and Lucky leave. Towards the end of both acts another character appears – a boy who carries a message from Godot. Although the same boy appears in both the scenes, he insists that he never saw Vladimir or Estragon before. This further heightens the uncertain nature of his identity.

The dialogues in this play are extremely incoherent, bordering on meaningless. The conversations between the characters do not follow any logical sequence. They begin with one topic and drift off to another without realizing. There is the use of a lot of repetitions giving the impression that they come back to the same point where they began, only to drift off towards another topic. This reflects the uncertainty in their state of being. They are unsure if they are doing the right thing or not, whether they should continue to wait or leave. But at the same time they are unable to leave as they are constantly reminded of the fact that they have to wait for Godot.

Finally, the theme of uncertainty is seen in the representation of time in the play. Vladimir and estragon do not know when and how long they are supposed to wait.

Vladimir:- He said Saturday. I think.

Estragon:- You think.

Vladimir :- I must have made a note of it.

Estragon:- But what Saturday? And is it Saturday? It is not rather Sunday? Or Monday? Or Friday?

The continuity of time is also uncertain in the play. In the second act, Vladimir insists that it is the next day. But the tree has four or five leaves indicating a change of season. Therefore, how much time has actually passed between the two acts remains unclear.

Thus it is seen that the theme of uncertainty runs throughout the play and is manifested through the setting and plot, the characters and their actions, the language of the play and the time. The uncertain nature of the play has successfully captured the absurdity of human life that Beckett has endeavoured to portray in Waiting for Godot.

Social mobility in Hardy’s Mayor of Casterbridge

England in the later part of the eighteenth century underwent the social effects of the industrial revolution. The industrial revolution opened up several possibilities to the lower classes of society to earn money in the form of technical or clerical jobs that required education and training thus enabling them to rise in social standing. This resulted in a surge of upward mobility in the society as the middle and upper middle classes rose to power mostly through education and occupation.  Family lineage was no longer a requirement to belong to the genteel class and along with this the necessity of strong moral character in a gentleman became questionable. Thomas Hardy’s Mayor of Casterbridge is set in such a time. The events in the novel take place in a small town called Casterbridge in the Wessex region of England. The town is chiefly agricultural but is slowly beginning to show the signs of industrialization such as the use of machinery and scientific methods. As such it provides prospects of upward social mobility in the form of business and administration. The novel is a poignant account of the tragic life of Michael Henchard. The concept of social mobility is constantly intertwined with the tragic events of Henchard’s life. Apart from Henchard several other characters in the novel also display the desire or aptitude to move up the social ladder either through money, skill, or education.

The Mayor of Casterbridge is the highest social position that is accessible to the characters in the novel and we see two characters- Michael Henchard and Thomas Farfrae rise to the post through different means and circumstances. The novel begins with twenty one year old hay trusser Michael Henchard walking along a dusty road with his tool basket in his arm and his wife Susan and baby daughter Elizabeth Jane walking alongside him. They go to a fair where in a drunken state Henchard ends up selling his wife and daughter to a Sailor named Newson for a sum of five guineas. The next morning he realizes his mistake and swears never to drink alcohol for twenty one years. He then goes to the town of Casterbridge in search of a job. He takes up a corn dealing business which gradually grows into a successful one and along with this his respect and position in society also move upwards. He becomes a member of the town council and eventually rises to the position of the Mayor. Henchard used “his one talent of energy to create a position of affluence out of absolutely nothing”. As a Mayor he is very aware of his position and the respect he commands. All through these years he has carefully kept the incidents of his past life a secret so that it does not interfere with his present rise in situation. He is also very conscious of the mannerisms of the people he is associated with. After he remarries Susan, he realizes that Elizabeth Jane, having been brought up in a seaside cottage, is not up to date with the kind of genteel behavior expected from the daughter of a Mayor.  He reproaches her in anger and she leaves the house. The downfall of Henchard begins when he starts growing jealous of his more talented and educated manager Thomas Farfrae. His jealousy mounts to such an extent that he fires Farfrae. Farfrae then starts his own business and the rivalry intensifies. Henchard’s term as Mayor being over he still held the position of a magistrate in the town council. But his endeavors to beat Farfrae in business leave him bankrupt. His business and property is auctioned and Farfrae buys it and employs Henchard as a laborer in his business.  Meanwhile his past sins are also revealed. Thus Henchard loses not only his higher social status but also the dignity and respect associated with it or with his personality itself. Henchard’s journey beginning from a hay trusser, rising to a Mayor and falling to a common laborer is captured by Hardy in the following words. “Then he had worn clean, suitable clothes, light and cheerful in hue; leggings yellow as marigolds, corduroys immaculate as new flax, and a neckerchief like a flower-garden. Now he wore the remains of an old blue cloth suit of his gentlemanly times, a rusty silk hat, and a once black satin stock, soiled and shabby.” “And thus the once flourishing merchant and Mayor and what not stood as a day laborer in the barns and granaries he formerly had owned.” In the end of the novel Henchard leaves Casterbridge and takes up the profession of a hay trusser once again, thus going back to the point where he began.

Donald Farfrae’s journey reflects upward social mobility through education, skill and hard work. In the beginning of the novel he is an enthusiastic young man educated and trained in the latest scientific developments and on his way to America to try his fortune. He meets Henchard in Casterbridge who is impressed by the young man’s talent and employs him as the manager of his business which at that point of time was going through a difficult phase. With his advanced knowledge he implements newer scientific methods and recover’s Henchard’s business. His management skills and charming personality soon make him the talk of the town. After Henchard fires him he starts his own business and succeeds tremendously. For all of Henchard’s jealously Farfrae never bears any ill will towards him and always treats him with the respect he deserves. Eventually his respect in society increases and he becomes a member of the town council. Finally he is appointed the Mayor of Casterbridge, a position that he truly deserves. Thus Farfrae climbs the social ladder with the help of skill and maintains his position with his strong moral character.

In case of women, social mobility solely depends on inheritance of money or higher position in society acquired through marriage. However in order to be married to ‘gentlemen’ they must also belong to a certain level of gentility. This is seen in the three important female characters in Mayor of Casterbrige- Susan Henchard, Elizabeth Jane and Luccetta Templeman. After Susan Henchard comes back to Casterbridge she takes up lodging in The Three Mariners inn which is the most that she can afford. But after meeting Henchard and deciding to marry, he sets her up in a cottage to give her the image of a gentlewoman before he can actually proceed to marry her. Meanwhile he pays off his erstwhile mistress Luccetta. But after Susan’s death Luccetta arrives in Casterbridge as a gentlewoman. She has inherited a sum of money from a dead aunt, and now calls herself Miss Templeman, and takes up residence in High Place Hall. She also conceals her past social position and her relationship with Henchard. Her newly acquired inheritance is the sole factor that makes her an interesting prospect for marriage with attracts not only Henchard but also Farfrae lending another cause to their already existing rivalry. Eventually Luccetta marries Farfrae and rises to the genteel position of the Mayor’s wife. However her past relationship with Henchard is exposed in a public display of effigies and she dies of shock.

Elizabeth Jane is the only character in the novel who displays a conscious effort to gain better social standing through education and by refining her manners. As her newly achieved position as the step daughter of the Mayor she is aware of her expectations. She tries to increase her knowledge by reading lots of books on various subjects and improve her appearance by wearing clothes of the latest style. However she cannot help but utter colloquial language in her conversations which irritates Henchard. She is also not capable of writing in a long hand as is expected of genteel ladies. That is why she leaves her house to stay with Miss Templeman in hopes of better exposure to a genteel lifestyle. Initially she is courted by Farfrae but Henchard forbids it. Farfrae’s subsequent rise in fortune and the arrival of Miss Templeman completely negates this prospect from Elizabeth. Elizabeth’s prospects for a genteel marriage are also negated by the declined social position of Henchard. However after Mrs. Farfrae’s death Elizabeth does end up marrying Farfrae and thus rises to her well deserved position as the wife of the Mayor of Casterbridge.

This novel highlights the fact that social mobility in case of the lower and middle classes comes with its associated expectations. The aristocracy commands respect regardless of its skills or morals. The lower and middle classes on the other hand have to earn this respect through perseverance or rise to a respectable status by earning or inheriting large sums of money. Through Mayor of Casterbridge Hardy shows that social mobility for the progressive classes is ephemeral. It is very difficult to climb the social ladder but at the same time it is also very easy to slide down the ladder at the slightest misfortune.

Thematic Comparison | Frost at Midnight and Dejection: An Ode | S.T. Coleridge

The poem “Frost at Midnight” was written in the year 1798 while “Dejection: an Ode” was written in 1802. These two poems by S.T. Coleridge portray two different states of the poet’s mind and reflect different experiences he had at different stages of his life.

“Frost at Midnight” speaks about Coleridge’s newfound passion in the natural world and his longing for his son Hartley to grow up in a natural environment. The poem presents a beautiful image of the poet’s mind in the form of a chain of thoughts. The poem is set in the midst of a frosty night when the poet is sitting silently in his cottage musing upon his relentless thoughts.

While the frost quietly spreads over the landscape the occasional screeching of the owl is the only sound disturbing the silence of the night. Every person living in the poet’s cottage is asleep, so are all the villagers. The hills, woods and the sea are silent and still. The poet is sitting beside his infant son Hartley sleeping peacefully in his cradle. The poet finds the silence and the stillness of the night nearly disturbing until he discovers the low blue flame flickering in the fireplace, the only other moving thing besides him. The poet finds companionship in the flame and slowly his thoughts begin to wander.

“Frost at Midnight was written when Coleridge described his life at Christ Hospital Grammar School to his friend Thomas Poole. The poet remembers his childhood and his days in school. He used to look outside through the bars of the window to gaze upon a ‘fluttering stranger’ a bird, a butterfly or any such winged creature which captures a child’s attention. Then with this fluttering stranger his mind would fly to the fair and he could hear the tolling of the church bell, a sound which reminds him of things to come. Coleridge’s remembrance of the past presents before the readers a beautiful image of a child’s mind which wanders away from his book and his daydreams gradually make him sleepy allowing him to continue with his reverie. The poet uses the word ‘swimming’ to show the child losing interest, attention and focus over his textbook such that it appears to be floating before his eyes. Coleridge remembers himself gazing out of the door hoping to see a familiar face- a townsman, an aunt or his sister to pass by.

The later part of the poem reflects Coleridge’s newfound interest in the beauty of nature which is a result of the detailed description of the Lake District presented to him by William Wordsworth. Coleridge addresses Hartley his son who is asleep and whose gentle breathing can be heard in the quiet of the night. Coleridge laments that he did not have the opportunity to grow up amidst nature.  He says that growing up amongst the dim cloisters of London the only beautiful things he saw are the sky and the stars. But he wants his son to grow up in the lap of nature. Coleridge views nature as a ‘great universal teacher’. He feels awed and inspired amidst nature. He wants his son to grow up in a nature environment away from the city and learn new and different things. This poem strongly emphasizes on Coleridge’s belief in nature as a teaching, healing and inspiring power.

“Dejection: An Ode” presents a contrast to Coleridge’s belief in nature’s power of inspiration as he shows in “Frost at Midnight”. This poem was written by Coleridge when he was suffering from a deep emotional depression and lack of imaginative and creative inspiration. The poem mainly deals with the theme of death of imagination and reflects Coleridge’s new philosophy about nature and its ability to inspire.

“Dejection: An Ode” describes the poet’s inability to find inspiration in nature. In this poem he addresses Sarah Hutchinson, the lady whom he loved but could not marry. Coleridge begins the poem by referring to the “Ballad of Sir Patrick Spence”. The poet of the ballad predicts a storm observing the new moon in the sky which has appeared along with the outline of the old moon visible around it. Coleridge says that he sees a similar moon in the sky and predicts a storm. But even as the rain starts pouring and the wind starts to blow, the poet fails to find it awe inspiring as he did before. Instead he only feels a dull pain in his heart. This shows that the poet can still derive knowledge from natural phenomena but he fails to find any kind of inspiration from them. The poet describes his inability to imagine as “grief without pang” which is like a “void”. The dull pain which he feels is constant and he cannot find any means of relieving himself of his emotions. He addresses his lady and says that no matter how much he looks into nature he fails to feel its beauty.

However Coleridge finally comes to a realization. He says – “I may not hope from outward forms to win/ The passions of life whose fountains are within”. These lines mark Coleridge’s new philosophy. He realizes that inspiration lies not in nature but in the human mind. If the mind is capable of seeing nature as an inspiration only then nature can inspire. It depends completely upon the imaginative capacity of the individual. Nature remains unchanging regardless of human life. It is an open book for the mind to interpret. For this reason nature has different effects on different people. It deeply affects certain minds while fails to touch others.

Coleridge finds that it is joy within his heart that allows him to find joy in nature. Nature returns to us only what we give to it. A sad heart will thus only gain sorrow from nature. Coleridge reminisces of the time when his heart was full of joy and it helped him to fight distress. But with growing depression his power of imagination has diminished. Coleridge refers to his negative thoughts as “viper” to emphasize the poisonous nature of their impact upon his life. The depression in his mind leads him to see violence and sorrow in nature. He feels that the wind blowing outside is carrying tragic sounds and groans of pain. He is unable to sleep. But he wishes that sleep may visit his lady with “wings of healing”. Although he cannot feel any joy within himself he wishes his lady all the joy in the world.

The two poems show certain similarities. They are both conversation poems – the first addressing his son Hartley and the second addressing his lady love Sarah Hutchinson. Coleridge’s attitude towards these people is also quite similar. He wishes his son to grow up amidst nature as he understands the importance of nature in a person’s life which he was deprived of. Similarly he wishes Sarah all the joy the world can provide while he himself could not find it.

The major difference between “Frost at Midnight” and “Dejection: An Ode” is Coleridge’s attitude towards nature. “Frost at Midnight” shows his complete faith upon nature as a teacher, healer and inspirer. But after facing a deep mental depression he realizes that it is the power of imagination that allows nature to heal and inspire. “Frost at Midnight” shows a reflection of the Romantic ideals about nature whereas “Dejection: An ode” shows a break from the tradition where Coleridge finds his new philosophy which differs completely from the established Romantic notions.  

The Lake Isle of Innisfree | W.B. Yeats | Summary and Analysis

The Lake Isle of Innisfree is a poem by W.B. Yeats. The poem depicts the longing of the poet to escape his life in the city and find peace and solace in the lap of nature. The poet wants to go to Innisfree which is an uninhibited island in Ireland where the poet spent his childhood. He wants to build a small cabin for himself in the island and grow beans and raise honeybees. He wants a quiet and tranquil life which is contrary to the busy life of the cities. The poem is set in the countryside. The poet makes use of imagery to express his feelings and emotions. The images in the poem are both visual and auditory.

In the first stanza, the poet states his resolution that he would go to Innisfree and lead a solitary life in the island. He would make a small cabin for himself and plant beans and raise honeybees. He wants an escape from the busy life in the city. In the second stanza, the poet describes the natural beauty of Innisfree. He describes the morning mist or fog to be a veil where peace would come dropping like dew drops. The veil of the morning also presents an image of the unspoiled beauty of a bride. The poet describes the midnights of Innisfree as glimmering, which implies a golden glowing starlit sky. The noon is described by the poet to have a purple glow. These images present a contrast of colours which aptly describe the unspoiled natural beauty of Innisfree. In the third stanza the poet repeats his resolution to go to Innisfree. He seems to have woken up from a daydream and suddenly realizes the reality of his surroundings. The poet says that he can hear the sounds of the lapping waters of the lake against the shore of Innisfree even while standing on the grey pavements of the city. The memories of the free life that he lived in Ireland are deeply ingrained in his heart. Therefore the poet desires to leave behind the restrictive life of the city and go back to Innisfree and life his life in peace.

The themes that we come across in the poem include a longing for an ideal pastoral island, escape from city life, trying to go back to the past and the idea of individuality and independence. The rhyme scheme of the poem is abab. The poet also makes use of alliteration and assonance in the poem. The tone of the poem is serene, thoughtful and reflective. The poem depicts the balance and harmony of nature.