사무엘 베켓의 희곡에 내재한 시간구조

Abstract

Kang, Jae-Won. “The Structure of Time in Samuel Beckett’s Plays.” Studies on English Language & Literature. 32.3(2006): 17-38. I think ‘Time’ is essential in Samuel Beckett’s plays. In a sense it is a real existence of life. It continuously passes by and it makes all the living things be changed and brings them to an end. In an instant all will vanish and we’ll be alone again, in the midst of nothingness. Man cannot identify himself because existence inevitably is in time and is changed moment after moment by the flow of time. This kind of specific character of time constitutes the main structure of the hidden plot in his plays. Accordingly I think the audience watching the plays seem to consider characters as an image reflecting themselves living in time in the world. They become aware of the fact that man has to overcome his despair through his own efforts. They don’t sustain a concept of the continuity of their experience by assimilating images of the past. They must invent and improvise it with materials they find in their present situation. Consequently I think Beckett tells us that let us do something, while we have the chance. At this place, at this moment of time let us make the most of it, before it is too late. (Pusan National University)