The Beckettian Chronotopes

In his stage plays Waiting For Godot, Endgame, Krapp’s Last Tape and Happy Days, Beckett depicts the offstage space and psychological space in addition to the stage space in his stage plays. These spaces provide perfect backdrop for advancing the plot. The Beckettian plots and characters in turns add artistic traits to these spaces. Bakhitin develops his concept of chronotope as the time and space continuum, in which he argues the inseparability of time and space. It is said that time exists as the fourth dimension of space. There exists discreet chronotopes in literay works, and these chronotopes interact with one another to create artistic effects. On the Beckettian stages, the grotesque characters come in and out the stage space figuratively. Beckett uses these forms of play to interrogate the essence of human existence on earth. The literary chronotope can be used to get a multi-facet understanding of the Beckettian stage plays.The thesis is composed of the introduction, the body and the conclusion. The introduction part contains a brief introduction to Samuel Beckett, the literary review of the Beckett and an introduction about Bakhitin’s chronotope theory. The three theatrical spaces of Beckettian plays are explained in relation to Bakhtin’s chronotope theory. The body part is divided into three chapters. The first chapter focuses on the space on the stage. The stage props play a vital role Beckett’s minimalist plays. The use of the props is an effective way to materialize time in space. The abstraction of the setting provides space for the expression of time. On the stage space, time is repetitious and the space is stationary. Beckett uses this imagery to reflect the dullness of human daily existence. The second chapter studies the offstage space. The offstage space unfolds as the Beckettian characters constantly narrate. They try to establish a coherent identity from their past memories. Given the uncertainties of the time and space in their narratives, they loss in their narratives because their futile efforts. The last chapter accounts for the discussion of psychological space. The relationship between characters and their surroundings is alienation. They fail to recognize their dilemmas. The time and space determine the inseparability of the existential form. Beckett usually groups his characters into pairs. In conclusion, based on the above analysis through the lens of the Bakhtin’s literary chronotope, a multi-facet understanding of the Beckettian existential interpretation can be reached.