Samuel Beckett's Dramatic Language

SAMUEL BECKETT'S DRAMATIC LANGUAGE* ROMAN INGARDEN1 HAS DISTINGUISHED FOUR FUNCTIONS of the language of drama: statement, expression, communication, and influence of one character upon another. Each of these by itself may be said to represent a single dimension of the action on which they all depend; in combination they form not only the action, but also the presentation of the action to the spectator. In order to underline the significance of a special incident, that incident has to be removed from the context of ordinary happenings. It is language that must delineate the special quality of this incident as well as its significance. Incomplete events, personal self-expression, peculiarities of communication, and reciprocal influence of characters must all be bound together in such a way that the spectator can grasp the total intention that is to be fulfilled by the combination of the separate functions. Thus, within the different dimensions of dramatic language, relationships are constantly being formed between the characters themselves and between the characters and the audience. In the modern theater, this self-evident task of dramatic language is no longer to be taken for granted; for in such drama, dramatic language may lose one or more of its designated dimensions. Thus, the form of expression can be dominated by subjective feelings whose significance remains obscure for the spectator. Or the characters can speak to each other without communicating anything, for the experience has become incommunicable. Similarly, we find little use of language as a means of influence, for the desire to influence another presupposes a definite purpose in the mind of the speaker, and lack of purpose is a vital characteristic of the modern situation. Thus the characters themselves become problematical. In the drama, individuality can only be established through the presentational force of the language, and clearly defined characters can only arise from clearly defined human relationships. In reading Beckett's dramas, one is immediately struck by the extensiveness of the stage directions concerning the actions of the characters. Above all, at the beginning of Endgame and Krapp's Last Tape there is far more stage direction than dialogue, which in itself .This is a slightly abridged version of an article which originally appeared in German in Germanisch-Romanische Monatsschrift. Neue Folge 11 (1961), pp. 451-467. The translation is by Ruby Cohn. 1 Cf. Roman Ingarden, Das literarische Kunstwerk2 (Tiibingen, 1960), pp. 406 ff. 251 252 MODERN DRAMA December indicates that external action is not to be developed through relationships between characters. For this reason, too, the play does not progress beyond its initial framework described in the stage directions , which simultaneously embrace the room and the situation of the characters. Thus the stage directions establish a certain measure of coherence which cannot be further enhanced by anything that might happen in the play. Whatever features seem to guarantee continuity are confined to the stage directions, so that the lack of coherence in the main text, which contains the actual utterances of the characters , is shown to be a purpose in itself. The stage directions are more than ordinary stage directions: they are linked to the situation of the characters. Insofar as the stage directions describe the gestures of the characters, these are an indication of the author's wishes in production. Thus, in a scene like the beginning of Endgame, the stage directions sketch a pantomime. The astonishing thing about that opening tableau lies in the fact that the only character who can still move finds it difficult to link the mechanics of movement with the purpose of his moving. Clov, the servant, wishes to see out of the two windows of the room that bounds the space of the theater action. To do this, he brings a ladder on which he can climb up to the high windows. After climbing up to the left window, he starts towards the right, only to notice after a few steps that he needs the ladder. The same procedure takes place when Clov again approaches the left window. In these movements to and fro, we can see the problem of coordinating intention with action. Although Clov's movements are governed by a definite wish, the experience...