Beckett the Playwright

This book, first published in 1985, stresses Beckett's success as an innovator in the theatre through a close reading and analysis of his plays. The differing backgrounds of the two authors enables them to approach Beckett's drama in a particularly fruitful way: 'Their analysis is clever yet level-headed, readable but does not shirk complexities.' (Times Educational Supplement). 'Brilliant collection of essays on Beckett and his works.' (Irish Times)

John Fletcher and John Spurling

1. Introduction 2. The One That Got Away: Eleuthéria 3. Bailing Out the Silence: Waiting for Godot 4. Son of Oedipus: Endgame 5. Love and Doom in an Irish Suburb: All That Fall 6. Death and the Maiden: Krapp's Last Tape 7. Hectoring Voices in the Head: Embers, Eh Joe, Words and Music, Cascando, Ghost Trio, ... but the clouds..., Rough for Radio 8. Blaze of Hellish Light: Happy Days 9. The Net Closes: Play 10. Into Action: Acts Without Words, Film, Come and Go, Breath 11. Last Ditch: Not I, That Time, Footfalls 12. Performance and Response 13. Still Struggling: Human Wishes, A Piece of Monologue, Rockaby, Ohio Impromptu, Quad, Catastrophe, Nacht und Träume, What Where