Publication details
Circularity in Samuel Beckett's Writing
| Basic information |
|---|
| Original title: | Circularity in Samuel Beckett's Writing |
| Author: | Vital Voranau |
| Further information |
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| Citation: | VORANAU, Vital. Circularity in Samuel Beckett's Writing. In
"The Same Anew?": Ireland in Cycles. 2012.Export BibTeX @proceedings{983334,
author = {Voranau, Vital},
booktitle = {"The Same Anew?": Ireland in Cycles},
keywords = {Samuel Beckett, James Joyce, circularity, Ireland},
language = {eng},
title = {Circularity in Samuel Beckett's Writing},
year = {2012}
} |
| Original language: | English |
| Type: | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
| Keywords: | Samuel Beckett, James Joyce, circularity, Ireland |
The overall structure of Beckett’s oeuvre has a circular shape; circularity revolves not only within single acts but also from act one to act two, from one play to another, from one form and medium to a different one; hence it affirms in the circle a sort of closure, rather than the absurdity and futility usually ascribed to Beckett. The names of the heroes, main motifs, sceneries, concepts and central ideas keep coming back again and again. Influenced by his literary patron James Joyce, whose two last major works Ulysses and Finnegan’s Wake were based upon the principle of a circle, Samuel Beckett was also keen in previous contributions, by Dante and Vico. This paper analyses binary oppositions in Samuel Beckett’s writing, such as, dark and light, silence and speech, time and timelessness, in order to show that these binary couples are arranged to work in a circular manner. The essential part of it is based on the study of particular works of Samuel Beckett, with a special focus on his prose and drama, applying an analysis of philosophical, historical, literary and cultural influences within the conceptual frame of Beckett’s reiterative elements. This is done in order to undermine some inveterate associations in Beckettian studies but also against some newer assertions, like the one presented by Steven Connor in “Samuel Beckett: Repetition, Theory, and Text”.
