Deborah Weagel (Albuquerque)
Do do do do [...] Do do do do Do do do do Do do do do Do do Samuel Beckett, En attendant Godot
A play’s script is somewhat like a musical score in that it provides information concerning what will be performed and how it will be presented. Reading a play is, therefore, a different experience from seeing/hearing the play performed, just as studying a musical score is different from attending a performance of the musical work. Since the written play, or musical score, often contains instructions on how the work should be executed, the performance of the play or composition is an enactment of the playwright’s or composer’s specifications. The director and/or actors function in a similar way to a conductor and/or musicians who are expected to follow the directions.
Along this line, Samuel Beckett’s plays have not infrequently been associated with music. In an interview with Mary Bryden, Luciano Berio stated: “Beckett’s writing is very musical. But it’s very difficult to describe what this ‘being musical’ means” (189). In recent scholarship, there has been a growing interest in analyzing his work from a musico-literary perspective and seeking to better understand how his work is musical (c.f. Samuel Beckett and Music (1998), edited by Mary Bryden, and Samuel Beckett and the Arts: Music, Visual Arts, and Non-Print Media (1999), edited by Lois Oppenheim). Beckett was a pianist and passionate about music, so it is not surprising to find correlations between musical scores and the play En attendant Godot, both of which include directions for dynamics, expression, and tempo. In this essay, I examine the script, compare it to a musical score, and discuss the relationship between a performance of the play and the performance of a musical composition. I also assert that to better achieve the rendering he envisioned, Beckett’s indications for dynamics, expression, and tempo should be recognized and carefully followed.
In his book The Musicalization of Fiction: A Study in the Theory and History of Intermediality, Werner Wolf points out that one way to determine if a work of fiction, or a play, has genuine analogies to music is to examine documents and evidence “outside the text” (73) that would support a musico-literary analysis[2]. He explains, for example, that if an author has knowledge of music, expresses a certain interest in it, and perhaps even plays an instrument, these are clues that the author might reasonably attempt a musicalization of a text. The fact that Beckett was both a pianist and an aficionado of music helps to justify approaching his work from such a perspective. Guy Debrock writes that Beckett admired Debussy, Satie, Chopin, Schumann, Brahms, Schubert, Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven, and seemed to appreciate musicians such as Berg, Bartok, Webern, and Hindemith. He did not, however, particularly care for the music of such composers as Bach, Mahler, Strauss, and Wagner. In an effort to explain his lack of interest in the latter musicians, Debrock suggests that Beckett may not have supported “Bach’s great emphasis on form”, or approved of “musical works in which music was made subordinate to storytelling or picturing emotions, as he thought was the case in most opera” (69). Interestingly, however, Beckett enjoyed performing music from the works of Gilbert and Sullivan on the piano while improvising his own words in place of the original libretti.
In this play, Beckett seems to implement what Wolf defines as “authorized” or “primary” intermediality, because he is the sole author; i.e. someone else did not take his work without his approval and integrate it with music or musical themes, structures, references, etc., which would involve “unauthorized” or “secondary” intermediality[3]. Wolf points out that musicalized fiction is always considered primary intermediality, because music is not a component that is simply “added to a text (and neither should it be a mere projection of a critic bent on ‘reading’ music or ‘musicalness’ into a novel or short story [or play]), but a phenomenon characteristic of a work of fiction [or drama] from its very conception” (54). Wolf also writes that musicalization of a text does not always occur throughout the work, as in the “Sirens” chapter of James Joyce’s Ulysses where the primary intermediality is only partial[4]. A careful analysis of Godot suggests that Beckett integrates various musical qualities throughout the play in such a way that their removal would compromise the work’s cohesion.
One of the musical threads that Beckett weaves into Godot includes indications for dynamics similar to those found in a musical score. According to Matthias Thiemel, in the entry on “Dynamics” from The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, the term dynamics refers to “the intensity of volume with which notes and sounds are expressed”. He writes that “dynamic variation is so natural to the performance of almost all styles of music that its presence can normally be assumed even when indications for it are mainly or even entirely absent from the notation” (820). This is certainly also true in the performance of a dramatic work that incorporates the natural variations of human speech. Beckett, however, includes specific directions for dynamics in his text. In an interview with Jonathan Kalb, Walter Asmus (who worked as an assistant director to Beckett) says that the playwright had “very precise ideas and concepts” (173) about how his plays should be performed. In addition, Lois Gordon writes: “The most subtle detail—and Beckett’s plays are known for their meticulous stage instructions—contributed to Beckett’s intention and design” (16).
As will be shown in what follows, Beckett’s directions in En attendant Godot include specifications for volume similar to those found in a musical score. Beckett seems exceptionally sensitive to the musical nature of the human voice and of the possibility that words might be treated like notes. Pierre Delattre points out that speech contains a certain rhythmic quality that can be associated with music and explains in Principes de phonétique française: “Dans la parole, la périodicité rythmique n’est jamais vraiment régulière, comme dans la musique, mais il suffit qu’elle s’en approche assez pour être perçue comme telle” (20)[5]. Walter Beckett, a musician and relative who knew the playwright’s work well, describes how Beckett incorporated words as notes in his creative work:
I feel that Sam, with his musical knowledge—he was a competent pianist—conceived and wrote his works in a rhythmical fashion as if they were music. Words to him were notes. They had to be clear to the ear and at the same time create a word picture. The sound was to be carried through from one word to the next in the same way that an accomplished singer carries the sound, on the breath, through from one note to the next. (182)
Beckett accentuates the musical qualities of speech in his play, and, in so doing, includes indications for dynamics in his text that further underscore its musical nature.
Figure 1: Excerpts from Samuel Beckett’s En attendant Godot/Waiting for Godot with directions for dynamics. Emphasis in bold added.
VLADIMIR: Attends. (Il s’approche d’Estragon et se met à chanter d’une voix forte.) Do do do do ESTRAGON: (levant la tête).— Pas si fort. VLADIMIR: (moins fort). Do do do do Do do do do Do do do do Do do (99) VLADIMIR: Wait. (He goes over and sits down beside Estragon and begins to sing in a loud voice.) Bye bye bye bye Bye bye— ESTRAGON: (looking up angrily). Not so loud! VLADIMIR: (softly). Bye bye bye bye Bye bye bye bye Bye bye bye bye Bye bye (45)
VLADIMIR: Attends. (Il s’approche d’Estragon et se met à chanter d’une voix forte.) Do do do do
ESTRAGON: (levant la tête).— Pas si fort.
VLADIMIR: (moins fort). Do do do do Do do do do Do do do do Do do (99)
VLADIMIR: Wait. (He goes over and sits down beside Estragon and begins to sing in a loud voice.) Bye bye bye bye Bye bye—
ESTRAGON: (looking up angrily). Not so loud!
VLADIMIR: (softly). Bye bye bye bye Bye bye bye bye Bye bye bye bye Bye bye (45)
Other passages in the play have directions for volume as well. At the beginning of the second act, Vladimir sings a song “à tue-tête” [loudly]: “Un chien vint dans” [A dog came in] (79/37). Although he needs to start the song over because he started too high and pauses at a certain point to brood momentarily before repeating two important lines, he eventually completes it. Then he begins to repeat the song without any specific instructions to change the volume until he comes to the lines: “Les autres chiens ce voyant / Vite vite l’ensevelirent” [Then all the dogs came running / And dug the dog a tomb]. He sings them once, stops and broods, sings the two lines again, stops to brood again, and finally, Beckett instructs a final repetition of the latter line to be sung “Plus bas” [softly]: “Vite vite l’enseverlirent” [And dug the dog a tomb] (80/37).
Although these passages are to be sung, there are other excerpts in which indications for volume may be found in the dialogue. When Pozzo speaks with Vladimir and Estragon in Act I, he says, “Qu’est-ce que je disais?” [What was I saying?], and then after a pause he repeats the same words according to Beckett’s instructions, “Plus fort” [Louder] (41/20). In the second act, after a long silence Estragon asks Vladimir, “Tu ne vois rien venir?” [Do you see anything coming?]. Vladimir responds: “Comment? [What?] and Estragon repeats “plus fort” [louder]: “Tu ne vois rien venir?” [Do you see anything coming?] (105/48). In the same passage, after a silence, Vladimir states: “Tu as dû te tromper” [You must have had a vision]. Estragon responds, “Comment?” [What?], and Vladimir repeats the same statement “plus fort” [louder] (106/48). In the same act, Estragon says “à tue-tête” [at the top of his voice]: “Dieu aie pitié de moi!” [God have pity on me!] (108/49). It is not uncommon for composers to increase or decrease volume when a phrase is repeated, so it is noteworthy that some of these passages mentioned above also involve repetition.
The inclusion of instructions in the script indicating the manner in which the work should be performed is another similarity worth examination. Although Beckett deals almost exclusively with words (and provides no visual notes whatsoever in Godot), he incorporates similar instructions regarding the character or sentiment of a passage, and, as in a musical score, they inform the performance but are not usually uttered during it. In the first act, Vladimir, according to Beckett’s directions, makes the following statement “Avec vivacité” [Cheerfully]: “D’un autre côté, à quoi bon se décourager à présent, voilà ce que je me dis” [On the other hand what’s the good of losing heart now, that’s what I say] (10/7). This is similar to a composer’s direction in a score to perform a passage in a manner that is “viváce” [lively]. In another part of the play, Estragon exclaims, “Je ne pourrai plus marcher!” [I’ll never walk again!] (44/22). To this Vladimir responds “tendrement” [tenderly], as indicated by Beckett, “Je te porterai” [I’ll carry you]” (44/22). Here again, this is much like the direction given by composers in a musical score to perform “teneraménte” or “tenderly, delicately”. In another example, instructions for sentiment can be found when Vladimir says to Pozzo “avec force” [violently], “Veux-tu te taire, toi, à la fin!” [Will you stop it, you!] (116/53). Such specific indications as provided by Beckett can be affiliated with a composer’s direction to perform a passage with “fortézza” or with “force, power, strength”. See Figures 2a-2c.
Figures 2a-2c: Excerpts from Samuel Beckett’s En attendant Godot/Waiting for Godot with directions for expression. Emphasis added.
Figure 2a VLADIMIR: [ ] (Un temps. Avec vivacité.) D’un autre côté, à quoi bon se décourager à présent, voilà ce que je me dis. (10) VLADIMIR: [ ] (Pause. Cheerfully.) On the other hand what’s the good of losing heart now, that’s what I say. (7) Figure 2b ESTRAGON: [ ] Je ne pourrai plus marcher! VLADIMIR: (tendrement). Je te porterai. (44) ESTRAGON: [ ] I’ll never walk again! VLADIMIR: (tenderly). I’ll carry you. (22) Figure 2c VLADIMIR: (avec force). Veux-tu te taire, toi, à la fin! (116) VLADIMIR: (violently). Will you stop it, you! (53)
Figure 2a
VLADIMIR: [ ] (Un temps. Avec vivacité.) D’un autre côté, à quoi bon se décourager à présent, voilà ce que je me dis. (10)
VLADIMIR: [ ] (Pause. Cheerfully.) On the other hand what’s the good of losing heart now, that’s what I say. (7)
Figure 2b
ESTRAGON: [ ] Je ne pourrai plus marcher!
VLADIMIR: (tendrement). Je te porterai. (44)
ESTRAGON: [ ] I’ll never walk again!
VLADIMIR: (tenderly). I’ll carry you. (22)
Figure 2c
VLADIMIR: (avec force). Veux-tu te taire, toi, à la fin! (116)
VLADIMIR: (violently). Will you stop it, you! (53)
The similarity of Beckett’s stage directions to verbal indications for expression used by composers can be seen in the two lists in Figure 3. Here Beckett’s instructions in Godot are compared with musical terms in Elson’s Music Dictionary. The first column contains passages from the French version of Godot with Beckett’s translations in English, and the second column includes corresponding words that can be found in musical scores, including Italian, French, and German .
Figure 3: Some of Samuel Beckett’s indications for expression in En attendant Godot/Waiting for Godot and similar terms from Elson’s Music Dictionary.
Such expressive instructions in the script, which parallel expressive markings in a musical score, are neither sparse, nor are they limited to a particular passage in the text; rather they are more or less evenly distributed throughout the entire play.
The wide range of emotion expressed in this relatively short work can be associated with a certain musicality. Various sentiments often shift dramatically within a small time frame. Towards the end of the play, Pozzo asks “avec angoisse” [anguished], “Sommes-nous au soir?” [Is it evening?] (120/55). Vladimir eventually responds “rassurant” [reassuring], “C’est le soir, monsieur, nous sommes arrivés au soir” [It’s evening, Sir, it’s evening, night is drawing nigh]. Only a few lines later, when the dialogue focuses on Pozzo’s once excellent sight, Estragon commands “avec irritation” [irritably], “Développez! Développez!” [Expand! Expand!] (121/55). Such a range of emotion can appear within a single movement or section of a particular musical composition. This is particularly true of Beethoven, who was concerned about expressive markings in his scores.
Beckett seemed especially sensitive to the music of Beethoven, and the frequent changes of mood and abrupt transitions in Beckett’s plays can certainly be likened to many of Beethoven’s musical compositions . Miron Grindea, in her article “Beckett’s Involvement with Music”, writes that Beckett “preferred Beethoven to Mozart, because he admired his life of struggle and constant searching, in contrast to Mozart’s natural facility” (183). Beckett’s television play Ghost Trio incorporates the largo movement of Beethoven’s Piano Trio No. 5 in D, Op. 70, No. 1, popularly known as “The Ghost”. Beckett scholar Ruby Cohn recounts that while visiting Beckett in Berlin, the playwright worked through an idea on a “huge sheet of music”. She also recalls that during this session, part of the creative process leading to Ghost Trio, Beckett consulted a musical score (qtd. in Knowlson, Damned to Fame 548).
In addition to directions for dynamics and sentiment, Godot includes indications for tempo in various passages. David Fallows closely links tempo and expression marks; for example, a direction such as tristement can suggest not only a portrayal of sadness in the performance but also a slower speed. However, Fallows points out that “tempo and expression marks may be the most consistently ignored components of a musical score” because for many performers “only the notes are objective facts” (271). As a result, conductors and performers often impose their personal interpretations on what is written in the score. Similarly, it could be argued that words are the only objective facts in a play, and actors should impose their personal interpretations on what is written in the script. However, when Beckett provides instructions such as “lentement” [slowly] (81/37) or “Plus vite!” [Faster!] (66/31), the words and/or the actions should be performed at the appropriate tempo relative to the general pace of the play.
There is a continual ebb and flow in a play’s tempo. For example, Act One of Godot begins with Estragon seated and trying to take off his boot. Vladimir enters “à petits pas raides, les jambes écartées” [with short, stiff strides, legs wide apart] (9/7) at a fairly slow pace. The tempo then alternates between slower and faster tempos throughout the act until it concludes with the following conversation between Vladimir and Estragon. Vladimir states: “Ce n’est pas sûr” [It’s not certain], to which Estragon replies: “Non, rien n’est sûr” [No, nothing is certain] (75/35). In the French text, the conversation continues, but Beckett provides the following instructions in the English translation: “Vladimir slowly crosses the stage and sits down beside Estragon” (35). Vladimir then says, “On peut toujours se quitter, si tu crois que ça vaut mieux” [We can still part, if you think it would be better] (75/35). Here, the tempo slows, and after a few snippets of dialogue, interrupted by two silences, the conversation ends and the script reads: “Ils ne bougent pas” [They do not move] (Godot 75/35), and the actors freeze. It is as though Beckett has employed a musical ritardándo leading gradually to a fermata . See Figure 4a.
Figure 4a: Excerpts from Samuel Beckett’s En attendant Godot/Waiting for Godot with directions for tempo. Emphasis added.
VLADIMIR: (sans se fâcher). Ce n’est pas sûr. ESTRAGON: Non, rien n’est sûr. [Note the absence of the stage directions here in the French text.] VLADIMIR: On peut toujours se quitter, si tu crois que ça vaut mieux. ESTRAGON: Maintenant ce n’est plus la peine. Silence. VLADIMIR: C’est vrai, mainenant ce n’est plus la peine. Silence. ESTRAGON: Alors, on y va? VLADIMIR: Allons-y. Ils ne bougent pas. (75) VLADIMIR: (without anger). It’s not certain. ESTRAGON: No, nothing is certain. Vladimir slowly crosses the stage and sits down beside Estragon. VLADIMIR: We can still part, if you think it would be better. ESTRAGON: It’s not worth while now. Silence. VLADIMIR: No, it’s not worth while now. Silence. ESTRAGON: Well, shall we go? VLADIMIR: Yes, let’s go. They do not move. (35)
VLADIMIR: (sans se fâcher). Ce n’est pas sûr.
ESTRAGON: Non, rien n’est sûr. [Note the absence of the stage directions here in the French text.]
VLADIMIR: On peut toujours se quitter, si tu crois que ça vaut mieux.
ESTRAGON: Maintenant ce n’est plus la peine. Silence.
VLADIMIR: C’est vrai, mainenant ce n’est plus la peine. Silence.
ESTRAGON: Alors, on y va?
VLADIMIR: Allons-y. Ils ne bougent pas. (75)
VLADIMIR: (without anger). It’s not certain.
ESTRAGON: No, nothing is certain. Vladimir slowly crosses the stage and sits down beside Estragon.
VLADIMIR: We can still part, if you think it would be better.
ESTRAGON: It’s not worth while now. Silence.
VLADIMIR: No, it’s not worth while now. Silence.
ESTRAGON: Well, shall we go?
VLADIMIR: Yes, let’s go. They do not move. (35)
It is interesting to note that when Beckett translated the play from French to English he added more performance instructions to the English version, as can be seen above. Dierdre Bair, in her Samuel Beckett: A Biography, writes that in order to make the English version available sooner, Beckett was offered help with the translation. However, he refused the assistance and translated the play himself, thus taking the time he needed until he was satisfied with the manuscript (437-438). It may be that because Beckett was concerned with the details and nuances that contribute to the musicality of the play, he was not willing to entrust the translation to someone else who might not understand his particular approach.
At the beginning of the second act, Vladimir enters “vivement” [agitatedly], stops, and then “brusquement il se met à arpenter vivement la scène dans tous les sens” [suddenly begins to move feverishly about the stage]. He becomes feverish and quickens his pace, stops, then alternates between moving and not moving until he finally “s’arrête” [halts] (79/37) and starts to sing. After Vladimir’s song Estragon enters, “traverse lentement la scène” [slowly crosses the stage] (81/37), and a slow conversation ensues. Like the conclusion of Act One, this act also winds down until the actors “ne bougent pas” [do not move] (134/60). See Figure 4b.
Figure 4b: Excerpts from Samuel Beckett’s En attendant Godot/Waiting for Godot with directions for tempo. Emphasis added.
[ ] Estragon entre par la coulisse gauche, pieds nus, tête basse, et traverse lentement la scène. Vladimir se retourne et le voit. VLADIMIR: Encore toi! (Estragon s’arrête mais ne lève pas la tête. Vladimir va vers lui.) Viens que je t’embrasse! ESTRAGON: Ne me touche pas! Vladimir suspend son vol, peiné. (81) [ ] Enter Estragon right, barefoot, head bowed. He slowly crosses the stage. Vladimir turns and sees him. VLADIMIR: You again! (Estragon halts but does not raise his head. Vladimir goes towards him.) Come here till I embrace you. ESTRAGON: Don’t touch me! Vladimir holds back, pained. (37)
[ ] Estragon entre par la coulisse gauche, pieds nus, tête basse, et traverse lentement la scène. Vladimir se retourne et le voit.
VLADIMIR: Encore toi! (Estragon s’arrête mais ne lève pas la tête. Vladimir va vers lui.) Viens que je t’embrasse!
ESTRAGON: Ne me touche pas! Vladimir suspend son vol, peiné. (81)
[ ] Enter Estragon right, barefoot, head bowed. He slowly crosses the stage. Vladimir turns and sees him.
VLADIMIR: You again! (Estragon halts but does not raise his head. Vladimir goes towards him.) Come here till I embrace you.
ESTRAGON: Don’t touch me! Vladimir holds back, pained. (37)
There are additional examples in the play of contrasting tempos. In the first act, Vladimir “se dirige vers la coulisse” [hastens towards the wings] (48/23) and exits. When he reenters, he is “sombre” [somber], and then he “va et vient avec agitation” [comes and goes agitatedly] (49/24). He eventually stops and calms down. Later in this act, when Pozzo and Lucky are in the process of leaving Vladimir and Estragon, Pozzo commands Lucky: “Plus vite! [...] Plus vite! Plus vite! [...] En avant! Adieu! Plus vite! Porc! Hue! Adieu!” [Faster! [...] On! On! [...] Faster! On! Adieu! Pig! Yip! Adieu!] (66/31). See Figure 4c.
Figure 4c: Excerpts from Samuel Beckett’s En attendant Godot/Waiting for Godot with directions for tempo. Emphasis added.
POZZO: “Plus vite! [...] Plus vite! Plus vite! [...] En avant! Adieu! Plus vite! Porc! Hue! Adieu!” (66) POZZO: Faster! [ ] On! On! [...] Faster! On! Adieu! Pig! Yip! Adieu! (31)
POZZO: “Plus vite! [...] Plus vite! Plus vite! [...] En avant! Adieu! Plus vite! Porc! Hue! Adieu!” (66)
POZZO: Faster! [ ] On! On! [...] Faster! On! Adieu! Pig! Yip! Adieu! (31)
This intense moment, in which Pozzo insists that Lucky move faster and faster, is followed by silence and a comparatively more calm and slow conversation between Vladimir and Estragon. Also in the second act, Vladimir commands Estragon: “Danse, porc!” [Dance, hog!], and Vladimir “se met à arpenter la scène presque en courant” [moves wildly about the stage], and then Estragon enters and “court vers Vladimir” [hastens towards Vladimir] (103/47). When the passage continues, Vladimir “court” [runs] in one direction, and then Estragon “court vers Vladimir” [hastens towards Vladimir] (104/47). Running and moving about the stage, juxtaposed with silences and moments of calm, continue until the entire play finally winds down to a long silence.
One important way in which the written text of Godot differs from many musical scores is that there are no specific pitches or notes with time values, and there are no specific time signatures. Although in many ways Beckett is successful in using words like notes, his words are not literally notes. They do not have strict time values and are not subject to the demands of meter frequently found in traditional Western music, although Beckett was known to bring a metronome to rehearsals (Gordon, 137).
In conclusion, indications for dynamics, expression, and tempo in Beckett’s Godot can be correlated with music and musical performance. Since these directions are interlaced throughout the text suggesting total primary intermediality, Beckett’s inclusion of such instructions are not simply an afterthought but are woven into the entire fabric of the play. They illustrate the control Beckett wishes to exert on the details of performance and reveal his skill in portraying a vast array of emotions and sentiments like those in a musical performance . Without Beckett’s careful guidance and verbal instructions, passages like those in the epigraph are vulnerable to subjective interpretation. However, the detailed directions such as those found in Figure 1, the scene of the epigraph, make Beckett’s vision of the play more clear. David Richard Jones, who has directed Godot on several occasions, remarked in an interview I conducted with him that unlike Shakespeare, who “never scored his speech [ ], modern playwrights have learned different ways to score the speech of their characters.” Like a composer, Beckett appears to “score” his words in Godot. Thus, it is imperative that a performance of the play include an awareness of and attention to these indications. As directors and actors respond with more sensitivity to these instructions, Beckett’s words acquire even greater musicality.
1. This essay was presented at a conference for the International Association for Word and Music Studies in Edinburgh, Scotland, in August 2007. I thank Walter Bernhart, Werner Wolf, Simon Williams, David Mosley, and others for insightful comments and suggestions in regard to its revision. Return to the article
2. Although Wolf’s book focuses on fiction, he writes that certain theoretical ideas presented there “can be applied, to a large extent, to musicalized poetry and drama as well” (52). Return to the article
3. Another type of primary intermediality includes the collaboration of two or more people, such as when Hans-Werner Henze, W.H. Auden, and Chester Kallman worked together on the opera Elegie für junge Liebende (Wolf, 54). Return to the article
4. This is also true of Albert Camus’ novel L’étranger. For further discussion on some portions of the text which are musicalized, see my article “Musical Counterpoint in Albert Camus’ L’étranger”. Return to the article
5. “In speech, the rhythmic periodicity is not ever truly regular as in music, but it is sufficiently enough like music to be perceived as such.” (my translation) For further discussion on the spoken word and music, see my article “Musical and Verbal Counterpoint in Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould”. See also Essays on Music and the Spoken Word and on Surveying the Field, edited by Suzanne M. Lodato and David Francis Urrows. Return to the article
6. Beckett wrote the play first in French and titled it En attendant Godot, and then he translated it into English as Waiting for Godot. All English translations of the play in this essay are from Beckett’s Waiting for Godot. Return to the article
7. While Beckett provides his instructions for expression in French or English (in accordance with the particular edition), many words associated with expression in music are in Italian. David Fallows writes that both Italian music and culture were so prevalent in Europe during 1600-1750, “the years in which tempo and expression marks were not only introduced but developed into a system, that the international vocabulary for these words inevitably became Italian” (272). Return to the article
8. For more information on this play, see James Knowlson’s “Ghost Trio/Geister Trio” and Michael Maier’s “Geistertrio: Beethoven’s Music in Samuel Beckett’s Ghost Trio.” Return to the article
9. Although some directions regarding tempo apply more directly to actions, they also influence the pace at which the words are spoken. Return to the article
10. See my article “Silence in John Cage and Samuel Beckett: 4’33” and Waiting for Godot” for a comparison of the use of silence and the sense of control (or the lack thereof) utilized by these two masters of the twentieth century. The essay discusses the extensive use of rests and pauses in Godot that can also be associated with music. Return to the article
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___________. “Silence in John Cage and Samuel Beckett: 4’33” and Waiting for Godot”. Marius Buning, Matthijs Engelberts, and Sjef Houppermans, eds. Pastiches, Parodies and Other Imitations/Pastiches, Parodies et Autres Imitations. Samuel Beckett Today/Aujourdi’hui 12. Amsterdam: Rodopi, 2002. 249-262.
___________. “Musical and Verbal Counterpoint in Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould”. Lodato and Urrows, eds. 181-196.
___________. Interview with David Richard Jones. 20 November 2007.
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