Time and Modernism in Samuel Beckett's 'Waiting for Godot'

Essay from the year 2013 in the subject Didactics - English - Discussion and Essays, grade: 73, University of Strathclyde, course: English Literature, language: English, abstract: At the turn of the 20th century, a crisis in Enlightenment humanism had began to emerge; from the ashes of a dying romantic era, a cultural revolution known as the modernist movement arose as 'a progressive force promising to liberate humankind from ignorance and irrationality' (Taket and White, p. 869). Weary from the weak, unchanging patterns of Victorian writing, a collection of writers sought to break away from pre-existing 'dead-end' methods of creating literature by exploring new styles which were expressed in their prose and poetic works. Placing a greater emphasis upon experimentation, modernist writers took a great interest in purposely disorientating their readership with fragmentation and elements of the absurd. A conscious experimentation with language to express both its powers and limitations became apparent components in a vast body of modern literature. Whilst the previous era embodied a strong connection to nature in the belief this relationship was crucial for man's development as an individual, modern writers displayed little interest towards the natural world. Instead, an established vein of modern thought developed that progress as an individual was dependent upon directing the eye inward.