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Work #654 · Mid

Waiting for Godot (En attendant Godot)

Samuel Beckett
1948-49 (composed); 1952 (French publication); 1953 (premiere) · French (later self-translated to English)
Absurdist drama · Theater of the Absurd

Beckett's 1952 foundational text of the Theater of the Absurd — "Nothing to be done"

Attribute Fingerprint

Rows where works disagree are highlighted in gold. The full ontology grid is shown.

Attribute Waiting for Godot (En attendant Godot) (Mid)
Time · Extent Infinite
Time · Ontological Status Substantival
Time · Grain Continuous
Time · Freedom Non-Deterministic
Time · Traversability Linear
Time · Dimensionality One
Time · Direction Uni-directional
Space · Extent Finite
Space · Ontological Status Substantival
Space · Curvature Flat
Space · Dimensionality Three
Space · Locality Local
Matter · Extent Finite
Matter · Ontological Status Substantival
Matter · Conservation Conserved
Matter · Dimensionality Three
Matter · Locality Local
Observer · Time Instance Single
Observer · Space Instance Single
Observer · Knowledge Extent Partial
Observer · Knowledge Retainment Total
Observer · Physicality Embodied
Observer · Agency Both
Observer · Number Plural
Observer · Metaphysical Agency None
Observer · Moral Authority Experience
Observer · Theological Method
Energy · Extent Infinite
Energy · Ontological Status Substantival
Energy · Conservation Conserved
Energy · Dispersibility Irreversible
Information · Ontological Status Substantival
Information · Cosmic Conservation Conserved
Information · Personal Conservation Conserved
Information · Granularity Continuous

Dimension-by-Dimension Evidence

What each work's passages reveal about its stance on each of the six dimensions.

Time

Waiting for Godot (En attendant Godot)

Central — the empty time of waiting.

Space

Waiting for Godot (En attendant Godot)

The empty stage with a tree.

Matter

Waiting for Godot (En attendant Godot)

The embodied Vladimir and Estragon.

Observer

Waiting for Godot (En attendant Godot)

Vladimir and Estragon waiting.

Energy

Waiting for Godot (En attendant Godot)

Energies of empty waiting.

Information

Waiting for Godot (En attendant Godot)

Foundational absurdist-dramatic framework.

Internal Tensions

Where each work's argument pulls against itself.

Waiting for Godot (En attendant Godot)

Waiting for Godot is the foundational text of the Theater of the Absurd.