Samuel Beckett
Born 13 April 1906 · Died 22 December 1989
From Foxrock, Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Ireland · Nationality: Ireland · Writes fiction
Samuel Barclay Beckett was an Irish avant-garde writer, dramatist and poet, writing in English and French. Beckett's work offers a bleak outlook on human culture and both formally and philosophically became increasingly minimalist in his later career.
As a student, assistant, and friend of James Joyce, Beckett is considered one of the last modernists; as an inspiration to many later writers, he is sometimes considered one of the first postmodernists. He is also considered one of the key writers in what Martin Esslin called "Theatre of the Absurd." As such, he is widely regarded as one of the most influential writers of the 20th century.
Beckett was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1969 for his "writing, which—in new forms for the novel and drama—in the destitution of modern man acquires its elevation". Beckett was elected Saoi of Aosdána in 1984. He died in Paris of respiratory problems.
Quotes
“The sun shone, having no alternative, on the nothing new.”
Murphy, Part I “Where now? Who now? When now? Unquestioning. I, say I. Unbelieving. Questions, hypotheses, call them that. Keep going, going on, call that going, call that on.”
The Unnamable “The fact is, it seems, that the most you can hope is to be a little less, in the end, the creature you were in the beginning, and the middle.”
Molloy “Not to want to say, not to know what you want to say, not to be able to say what you think you want to say, and never to stop saying, or hardly ever, that is the thing to keep in mind, even in the heat of composition.”
Molloy “To know nothing is nothing, not to want to know anything likewise, but to be beyond knowing anything, to know you are beyond knowing anything, that is when peace enters in, to the soul of the incurious seeker.”
Molloy
Quotes from Wikiquote (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Books by Samuel Beckett in order
Books by Samuel Beckett in the order they were published, from Proust (1931) to The Complete Dramatic Works (1986).
- 1Proust
Proust1931 - 2More Pricks Than Kicks
More Pricks Than Kicks1934 - 3Mercier and Camier
Mercier and Camier1946 - 4Malone Dies
Malone Dies1947 - 5Murphy
Murphy1947 - 6Molloy
Molloy1951 - 7Waiting for Godot
Waiting for Godot1952 - 8Watt
Watt1953 - 9Endgame
Endgame1957 - 10The Unnamable
The Unnamable1958 - 11Three Novels by Samuel Beckett
Three Novels by Samuel Beckett1958 - 12La Dernière Bande, Suivi De Cendres
La Dernière Bande, Suivi De Cendres1959 - 13Happy Days
Happy Days1961 - 14How It Is
How It Is1961 - 15Poems in English
Poems in English1961 - 16Stories & Texts for Nothing
Stories & Texts for Nothing1967 - 17Film
Film1968 - 18Endgame, a Play in One Act
Endgame, a Play in One Act1970 - 19Ill Seen Ill Said
Ill Seen Ill Said1981 - 20Worstward Ho
Worstward Ho1983 - 21The Complete Dramatic Works
The Complete Dramatic Works1986 - 22Dream of Fair to Middling Women
Dream of Fair to Middling Women - 23Endgame and Act Without Words
Endgame and Act Without Words - 24Molloy, Malone Dies, The Unnamable
Molloy, Malone Dies, The Unnamable