Waiting for godot and Beowulf: Fate

Reading a work of literature often makes a reader experience certain feelings.
These feeling differ with the content of the work, and are usually needed to
perceive the author's ideas in the work. For example, Samuel Beckett augments a
reader's understanding of Waiting For Godot by conveying a mood, (one which the
characters in the play experience), to the reader. Similarly, a dominant mood is
thrust upon a reader in Beowulf. These moods which are conveyed aid the author
in conveying ideas to a reader.

In Waiting for Godot, Beckett uses many pauses, silences, and ellipses (three
dots (...) used to create a break in speech) to express a feeling of waiting and
unsureness. There is a twofold purpose behind this technique. For one, it shows
that Vladimir and Estragon, the two main characters who are waiting for Godot,
are unsure of why they are waiting for him. This also foreshadows that they will
be waiting a very long time.

In some cases in literature, an idea can only be conveyed properly if those on
the receiving end of the idea are able to experience the feelings that a
character is experiencing in the work. For example, in order for a reader to
feel how and understand why Vladimir and Estragon feel as though they do while
they wait, it is essential for that reader to either understand or experience
the same feelings that Vladimir and Estragon are experiencing. Vladimir and
Estragon are waiting; waiting for Godot, to be exact; and Beckett wants the
reader to feel as if he or she were waiting also. Along with the feeling of
waiting that a reader may experience, he or she might also understand how
Vladimir and Estragon feel at times: Unsure, not very anxious to move on, and
constantly having to wait. A feeling of timelessness is even evoked, allowing
almost anyone from nearly any time to understand Vladimir and Estragon's
predicament.

Many times people may feel overwhelmed by a higher force unalterable to them.
This force may... [continues]

Read full essay

Cite This Essay

APA

(1999, 10). Waiting for Godot and Beowulf: Fate. StudyMode.com. Retrieved 10, 1999, from http://www.studymode.com/essays/Waiting-Godot-Beowulf-Fate-4555.html

MLA

"Waiting for Godot and Beowulf: Fate" StudyMode.com. 10 1999. 10 1999 <http://www.studymode.com/essays/Waiting-Godot-Beowulf-Fate-4555.html>.

CHICAGO

"Waiting for Godot and Beowulf: Fate." StudyMode.com. 10, 1999. Accessed 10, 1999. http://www.studymode.com/essays/Waiting-Godot-Beowulf-Fate-4555.html.