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DOI: POSTMODERN INTERPRETATIONS OF SAMUEL BECKETT'S WAITING FOR GODOT: JEAN-FRANÇOIS LYOTARD'S POSTMODERN CONDITION WITH REFERENCES
Mahmood Shakir Sabbar , Thi Qar University, Department of Cultural Affairs, IraqAbstract
Using Jean-François Lyotard's ideas from The Postmodern Condition as a starting point, this study examines the postmodern elements in Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot. The themes and structure of Beckett's work are consistent with Lyotard's rejection of big narratives and postmodern knowledge's decentralized, fragmented character. An embodiment of Lyotard's skepticism and celebration of the "incredulity towards metanarratives" is waiting for Godot, with its circular narrative, enigmatic characters, and existential reflections. This research shows how Beckett's portrayal of waiting, uncertainty, and the quest for meaning resounds with the postmodern state by looking at the play's artistic choices and thematic aspects. The character's words and deeds or lack thereof reflect the play's postmodernist alignment with meaning instability and the deconstruction of conventional storytelling. Viewed through this prism, Lyotard's Waiting for Godot becomes the prototypical postmodern work, summarising his theoretical claims.
Keywords
Skepticism and celebration, Postmodern Condition, postmodern elements
References
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Copyright (c) 2024 Mahmood Shakir Sabbar
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