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Allegory
Definition of Allusion
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to other literary works, famous individuals, historical events, or philosophical ideas... read full definition
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to other literary works, famous individuals... read full definition
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to... read full definition
Act 1
Explanation and Analysis—Pale for Weariness:
At the end of the first act, Estragon quotes a poem by the English Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, "Art thou pale for weariness." This allusion makes the mood pensive as night falls and the act comes to an end. In addition, Estragon's impromptu reference to Shelley complicates his characterization.
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Explanation and Analysis—Biblical Allusions:
Waiting for Godot contains a number of biblical allusions, and both Vladimir and Estragon make references to Christ over the course of the play. These allusions indicate that there's a connection between the play's absurd, rather bare setting and the real world beyond the play's fictional frame. They also bolster the existential mood that Beckett evokes otherwise in the dialogue, as the characters look to religious texts and figures for a sense of meaning.
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Act 2
Explanation and Analysis—A Dog Came in the Kitchen:
The second act opens with Vladimir entering the stage on his own. The audience may expect a soliloquy from him, but instead he begins to sing a song about a dog. This song is an allusion to the German folk song Ein Mops kam in die Küche and symbolizes the characters' daily wait for Godot as well as the cyclical nature of life. By including this song at the very beginning of the second act, Beckett foreshadows that nothing substantial will happen and that the loop will merely continue until the play ends.
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Explanation and Analysis—That Is the Question:
Over the course of the second act, Vladimir has several moments of comical verboseness. One such moment comes when he and Estragon struggle to make up their minds about whether to help Pozzo. After declaring "Let us not waste time in idle discourse!" Vladimir sets out on a long-winded speech about taking action. At the end of this speech, he makes an allusion to Shakespeare's Hamlet.
Unlock with LitCharts A+But that is not the question. What are we doing here, that is the question. And we are blessed in this, that we happen to know the answer. Yes, in this immense confusion one thing alone is clear. We are waiting for Godot to come—
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Explanation and Analysis—Pozzo's Blindness:
Overnight, between the first and second acts, Pozzo somehow becomes blind. Pozzo's blindness becomes a motif in the second act, as the characters use allusions and similes to meditate on his lost eyesight. Through the motif, Beckett explores the challenges caused by taking people's statements at face value as well as the discomfort of living life without witnesses.
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Explanation and Analysis—Night Is Drawing Nigh:
Throughout the play, the characters repeatedly comment on the light conditions and deliberate over the time of day. At one point, Vladimir describes nightfall with an allusion to a hymn. The motif of night largely takes on a positive connotation in the play. As the characters seem stuck in endless loops of waiting, the falling darkness becomes a way for them to confirm that time is passing.
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