This is an eloquent and accessible introduction to one of the
most important writers of the twentieth century. This book provides
biographical and contextual information, but more fundamentally, it
also considers how we might think about an enduringly difficult and
experimental novelist and playwright who often challenges the very
concepts of meaning and interpretation. It deals with his life,
intellectual and cultural background, plays, prose, and critical
response and relates Beckett''s work and vision to the culture and
context from which he wrote. McDonald provides a sustained analysis
of the major plays, including Waiting for Godot, Endgame, and Happy
Days and his major prose works including Murphy, Watt and his
famous ''trilogy'' of novels Molloy, Malone Dies, The Unnamable.
This introduction concludes by mapping the huge terrain of
criticism Beckett''s work has prompted, and it explains the turn in
recent years to understanding Beckett within his historical
context.
目錄:
Acknowledgements page
Note on editions
Introduction
Chapter 1 Beckett''s life
Chapter 2 Cultural and intellectual contexts
Chapter 3 Plays
Waiting for Godot
Endgame
Radio plays: All That Fall and Embers
Krapp''s Last Tape
Happy Days
Chapter 4 Prose works
More Pricks than Kicks
Murphy
Watt
The Trilogy: Molloy, Malone Dies, The Unnamable
How It Is
Chapter 5 Beckett criticism
Notes
Guide to further reading
Index