Waiting for Godot Literary Devices

Definition of Irony

Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different from how they actually are. If this seems like a loose definition... read full definition

Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different from how they actually are. If this... read full definition

Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different from how... read full definition

Explanation and Analysis—They Do Not Move:

Several times in the play, the stage directions contradict statements made by the characters in their dialogue. This often has to do with movement—a character will declare the intention to move or leave, but the stage directions will underline that they stay put. Creating a discrepancy between what the audience expects to see and what the audience actually sees, these stage directions give rise to irony. The playful dryness of the stage directions makes it feel as though Beckett himself is delivering them, as something of a jab at the inert, helpless characters.

Again and again, the restless but forgetful Estragon tells Vladimir "Let's go." Each time, Vladimir responds "We can't." Estragon, in turn, asks "Why not?" Vladimir reminds him "We're waiting for Godot." This exchange usually makes Estragon emit a despairing "Ah!" The audience finds this repeated routine both endearing and daunting, and as it increasingly seems as though Godot will never come—perhaps even that he doesn't exist—their waiting assumes a layer of irony. Are they passing the time as they wait for Godot, or is waiting for Godot just a way to make the endless time pass?

Beckett imbues many of his stage directions with this same irony, as they blatantly describe the silliness and immobility of the men's behavior. Even if Vladimir repeatedly reminds Estragon that they can't go because they're waiting for Godot, Estragon states on three separate occasions over the course of the play that he is going or that they should go. The first time occurs early in the first act.

ESTRAGON: I’m going.

He does not move.

The first act ends with a similar sequence, in which the men agree to go, but the stage directions underline that they stay put.

ESTRAGON: Well, shall we go?

VLADIMIR: Yes, let’s go.

They do not move.

Aside from a reversal of who says what, this is also how the play as a whole ends.

VLADIMIR: Well? Shall we go?

ESTRAGON: Yes, let’s go.

They do not move.

Curtain.

The decisive tone of Estragon's declarations of departure feels bold when measured against the stagnancy of their movements and ambitions. Each time, however, Estragon's bold decisiveness is promptly undermined by the stage directions, which repeatedly reveal his inability to act on his intention. The simple, dry diction of the stage directions almost makes them seem aimed at teasing the two men for their inertia.

Explanation and Analysis—Charming Spot:

Throughout the play, Estragon often appears more confused and less satisfied than Vladimir. He finds Vladimir's explanations and pondering tedious, and he feels eager to leave. A few times, Estragon expresses this discontentment and agitation through verbal irony.

For example, when Vladimir brings up the discrepancies in the accounts of the Four Evangelists, Estragon is unwilling to participate in the discussion. Vladimir metaphorically begs him to "return the ball," but Estragon merely comments on the conversation with caustic sarcasm:

ESTRAGON: (with exaggerated enthusiasm). I find this really most extraordinarily interesting.

This verbal irony emphasizes Estragon's dissatisfaction. At this point, just after the play's exposition, the audience may still struggle to distinguish between the two men. As a result, this early instance of divergence provides important characterization. The more cerebral and engaged Vladimir wants to discuss intellectual and religious topics, while the confused and disgruntled Estragon wants to escape such discussions.

After Estragon brings the conversation about the Gospels to an end, the two men seem to be at a loss for what to do next. In his restlessness, Estragon once again expresses his dissatisfaction using verbal irony:

ESTRAGON: Charming spot. (He turns, advances to front, halts facing auditorium.) Inspiring prospects. (He turns to Vladimir.) Let’s go.

In the earlier instance of verbal irony, the stage directions clearly indicate that Estragon is being sarcastic. Here, the stage directions focus on the movement of his body rather than his tone of voice. Nonetheless, it's clear that he doesn't literally find the spot charming or their prospects inspiring. The set is drab, and Estragon has already expressed enough disgruntlement for the audience to know that he's saying the opposite of what he means. Besides, his "Let's go" reinforces that he feels neither charmed nor inspired.

It also seems as though Beckett wants the audience to wonder whether Estragon is critiquing the people watching him. When he says "inspiring prospects" just after turning to face the auditorium, the ironic comment can be interpreted as direct criticism of the people sitting in front of him. In other instances in the play, the characters express some awareness of the fact that they are standing on a stage.

Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

Explanation and Analysis—Hang Ourselves:

A handful of times, Vladimir and Estragon nonchalantly discuss suicide as a potential way to escape their endless, tedious waiting. Their discussions of suicide are tinged with irony, which accentuates the already absurd mood.

The first time they contemplate suicide is early in the first act:

VLADIMIR: [...] What do we do now?

ESTRAGON: Wait.

VLADIMIR: Yes, but while waiting.

ESTRAGON: What about hanging ourselves?

The idea of committing suicide "while waiting" is ironic. Rather than making the time pass, death would make the act of waiting obsolete. This irony raises the possibility of symbolically reading Godot as death—and that the two men are standing around trying to make the time pass as they wait for death. Unless one believes in an afterlife, the wait for death seems to be the ultimate wait. By mingling the idea of waiting with the idea of death, Beckett seems interested in exploring whether existence merely comes down to waiting for existence to end. The men's straightforward discussions of suicide and death—rendered humorous through irony and absurdism—highlights the play's existential themes.

The men decide against hanging themselves this time around. They reach the decision not because they find a will to live, but—rather touchingly—because they can't be sure that they would both succeed in hanging themselves. This indicates that they find the idea of solitary existence far more frightening than the idea of death. They conclude this discussion about suicide on yet another ironic note.

VLADIMIR: Well? What do we do?

ESTRAGON: Don’t let’s do anything. It’s safer.

VLADIMIR: Let’s wait and see what he says.

In these lines, Estragon claims that "it's safer" to do nothing than to commit suicide. The understatement and irony in this claim reinforces the play's absurdism. One moment the two men consider the mechanics of hanging themselves from a tree, the next moment they bring up the issue of safety.

Vladimir's line is also ironic. The last time either of them asked "What do we do now?" they brought up the possibility of hanging themselves as something to do "while waiting." This time, Vladimir's response to the "What do we do now?" question is simply to "wait and see what [Godot] says." While they originally contemplated suicide as something to do while waiting, waiting has now become the something to do. As becomes a trend in the play, the men seem more interested in talking about what to do than actually doing anything at all. When they continue to offhandedly bring up the possibility of committing suicide over the course of the two acts, the audience increasingly understands that they will not act on this idea.

Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

Explanation and Analysis—Keep My Seat:

At a few points during the play, Vladimir and Estragon exhibit brief awareness of the audience or the stage, allowing them to make a sort of meta-commentary on their situation as actors in a play. These moments bring about a sense of irony, as the characters lift the curtain on their own performance and make the audience wonder which layer of reality is being staged. This reinforces the postmodern undertones of Beckett's style.

While Pozzo and Lucky are present in the first act, Vladimir briefly leaves the stage to use the bathroom. Just before he exits, he and Estragon share a playful exchange that revolves around the context and conventions of the theater.

VLADIMIR: I’ll be back.

He hastens towards the wings.

ESTRAGON: End of the corridor, on the left.

VLADIMIR: Keep my seat.

Exit Vladimir.

Up until this point, the audience has been led to believe that the play takes place outdoors, in a bare landscape. Although the audience is sitting inside a theater, looking at a stage, the set has been designed to depict a country road in the evening. Most staged performances require the audience to use their imagination—as well as to suspend their disbelief—since the supposed setting very rarely corresponds exactly with what the audience sees in front of and around them. When Estragon directs Vladimir to the bathroom, at "the end of the corridor, on the left," Beckett forces the audience to see their surroundings for what they are: a theater and a stage, rather than an actual country road. This postmodern move adds to the play's absurdism, casting doubt on the events of the play. Is the audience supposed to see Estragon and Vladimir as characters or as actors who are playing characters?

When Vladimir tells Estragon to keep his seat, the audience is once more led to question the interplay between performance and reality. On the one hand, their exchange may simply boil down to playful banter in which they pretend they're in a theater. In this scenario, Estragon may tells Vladimir that the bathroom is down the corridor and Vladimir tells Estragon to keep his seat just for the fun of it. On the other hand, the exchange can be seen as an instance of the actors leaving their characters and inviting the audience behind their performed characters.

Moreover, their banter casts doubt on who is performing for who. By requesting that Estragon keep his seat, Vladimir makes himself out to be an audience member more than an actor. A few times in the play, the stage directions indicate that the men look directly at the audience. Here, Beckett seems to be suggesting that the actors are the audience's audience. This irony brings about absurd humor as well as unease. All of a sudden, the audience has to grapple with the eerie feeling of being watched.

Unlock with LitCharts A⁺