Samuel Becketts Life - Essay Example

Samuel Beckett Today Samuel Beckett is regarded as one of the 20th century’s most renowned Born in April 1906, Beckett was a 20th century modernist writer who explored a variety of experimental genres and articulated a number of powerful existential themes. His writing reached such prominence and esteem that in 1969 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature. This essay considers biographical elements related to Samuel Beckett, including his achievements and legacy. Samuel Beckett’s family had a long history within Ireland. They were stringently religious and members of the Church of Ireland. Beckett’s family was generally considered affluent and they owned a sizeable estate in the Dublin town of Cooldrinagh. The surrounding area of this Dublin town, including Leopardstown Racecourse and even more notably the Harcourt Street station all figure prominently in Beckett’s fictional work. Beckett’s father was named William Frank Beckett and he was a quantity survey Engineer (Knowlson 1997). His mother was named May Barclay and she was a nurse. Born in 1906 Beckett’s family was already financially established and as such he received a quality education. In these regards, he attended the prestigious Ealsfort House School outside of Harcourt Street. Later Beckett would attend the equally prestigious Portora Royal School in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh. Beckett was an outstanding athlete and is well noted for his participation in cricket at Dublin University. At Trinity College, Dublin Beckett would begin an intellectual journey that would result in outstanding literary production. At this institute Beckett would study a variety of languages, notably French and Italian, and begin his exploration of English literature (Knowlson 1997). After graduating from Trinity College, Dublin Beckett would go on to pursue a teaching profession. In these regards, he worked for a period at Campbell College in Belfast. During his time here Beckett increasingly became interested in much of the modernist literature that had become en vogue at the time. He also began correspondence with a number of notable authors of the period, most notably the seminal Irish modernist James Joyce. After his tenure at Campbell College Beckett would pursue his interest in this literature by accepting a post as a lecturer at the prestigious Ecole Normale Superieure in Paris, France. This was a major turning point in Beckett’s life as it placed him in the central of the bohemian and blossoming Parisian art and literary scene. One of the major relationships that Beckett developed upon moving to Paris, France was with James Joyce. The modernist writer is today regarded as perhaps the most influential writer of the 20th century had a profound impact on Beckett, with elements of Joyce emerging in much of Beckett’s literature. It’s also been indicated that Beckett aided Joyce in the editing of his magnum opus Finnegan’s Wake. While 1920s Paris was renowned for its literary production, Samuel Beckett did not publish his first work until 1929. The essay was titled ‘Dante…Bruno. Vico.. Joyce’. The essay was a review of various literary figures and is today most recognized for its defense of Beckett’s mentor James Joyce (Ackerley and Gontarski, 2004). Beckett would next publish his first short story ‘Assumption’ and a poem named ‘Whoroscope’. In addition to gaining a moderate amount of literary recognition this period is notable for Beckett’s relationship with James Joyce’s daughter Lucia. The relationship would eventually sour and the subsequent fallout would hold ramifications for Beckett’s relationship with James Joyce. In 1930 Beckett left his post at the Ecole Normale Superieur and returned to Ireland. Upon returning to Ireland Beckett would return to Trinity College, this time as a lecturer. This period is notable in Beckett’s life as he increasingly rejected academia and its various tenants. His cynicism grew to great limits until he ultimately left the University a year later. After leaving the university Beckett would travel throughout Europe. A number of notable events occurred during this period of Beckett’s life. In terms of literary production Beckett published the short story collection ‘More Pricks Than Kicks’. During this period he also published his seminal study on French author Marcel Proust, and a variety of other works of literary criticism on writers such as T.S. Eliot and Ezra Pound. Notably, during this period Beckett would see one of psychoanalysts Carl Jung’s lectures, an event that would later have a profound influence on the writer (Murray 2009). After leaving Europe Beckett would travel to Russia in 1935. During this period Beckett would publish his first poetry collection ‘Echo’s Bones and Other Precipitates’. He also began work on his first novel ‘Murphy’. Beckett would depart for Germany in 1936, Ireland in 1937, and finally returned to Paris in 1938. During this period Beckett would continue work on ‘Murphy’ before finally publishing it upon his return to Paris. Upon Beckett’s return to Paris he would resume his friendship with James Joyce that had been estranged for many years. Beckett would also become a prominent figure of the Paris literary and artistic establishment. During this period Beckett would face a near death experience after being stabbed by a Parisian robber. He would also meet Suzanne Dechevaux-Dumesnil and develop a lifelong romance. The onset of World War II would understandably have a tremendous impact on Beckett and along with fellow writer and philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre, Beckett would join the French Resistance. Beckett performed various duties for the French Resistance and at the conclusion of the war would receive a medal for his contributions. After the conclusion of the war Beckett would increasingly focus his attention on his literary production. During this period Beckett’s work took a profound turn away from a strict stylistic reliance on Joyce onto more experimental and absurdist themes (Casanova 2007). Beckett’s post-World War II work is generally recognized as the writer’s most renowned literary production (Casanova 2007). Beckett would increasingly turn to playwriting during this period, producing ‘End Game’ in 1957, ‘Krapp’s Last Trapp’ in 1958 and ‘Waiting for Godot’ in 1953 (Esslin 1969). Today ‘Waiting for Godot’ is perhaps recognized as Beckett’s most seminal work. The play is an absurdist drama that explores symbolic and existential aspects of existence (Ackerley and Gontarski, 2004). In addition to Beckett’s substantial output of plays he would produce a trilogy of novels that would become some of the most renowned of the 20th century for their dark exploration of contemporary existence. This trilogy includes Beckett’s ‘Molloy’, ‘Mallone Dies’ and ‘The Unnameable’. Beckett’s literary production would greatly slow down in the 1960s (Murray 2009). During this period Beckett would become married and oversee the production of many of the plays he wrote during the 1950s. In 1969 Beckett would be awarded the Nobel Prize for literature. Beckett would live a relatively quiet existence for the remainder of his life, before dying in Paris in 1989. Today Samuel Beckett enjoys a much-esteemed legacy for his plays, novels, and literary criticism. In terms of literary history, critics consider Beckett’s early writings as greatly being influenced by James Joyce. While these works still hold esteem among academics and writers they are generally held in less esteem than Beckett’s post World War II production. In these regards, Beckett is perhaps most renowned for the absurdist and minimal style he foregrounded in such plays as ‘Waiting for Godot’ and ‘Endgame’ – both works that continue to be performed in a variety of environments (Esslin 1969). In addition, Beckett’s trilogy of novels, while perhaps slightly less renowned than his plays, have also held considerable esteem among literary critics. Ultimately, Samuel Beckett left a profound literary legacy through his 20th century output. Beckett is now recognized, along with Albert Camus and Jean-Paul Sartre, as the most renowned existential writer of this last century. References Ackerley, C. J. and S. E. Gontarski, ed. (2004). The Grove Companion to Samuel Beckett. New York: Grove Press Casanova, Pascale (2007). Beckett. Anatomy of a Literary Revolution. Introduction by Terry Eagleton. Londres / New York : Verso Books Esslin, Martin (1969). The Theatre of the Absurd. Garden City, NY: Anchor Books Knowlson, James (1997). Damned to Fame: The Life of Samuel Beckett. New York: Grove Press Murray, Christopher, ed. (2009). Samuel Beckett: Playwright & Poet. New York: Pegasus Books Read More