BECKETT/BECKETT

by Vivian Mercier ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1977

Professor Mercier is out to demonstrate that Beckett ""has not descended from another planet,"" that the Anglo-Irish-French Nobel winner is indeed working in some recognizable traditions and is drawing on some recognizable human beings for his dramatis personae. Setting up an irritatingly dialectical format (""Gentleman/Tramp,"" ""Eye/Ear,"" ""Woman/Man""), Mercier stresses the side of each dichotomy that's been neglected in mainstream Beckett criticism. His most original, arresting image comes with ""Classicism/Absurdism"": Beckett as a follower of Racine, strictly cleaving to the classical unifies, discovering the power inherent in ""nothing"" happening, shaping Play as a parallel to Berenice. Important and helpful. The insights into expatriate Beckett's Irishness and courtliness are somewhat less provocative or fresh, but at least they do not fall into the familiar pedantry of the remaining chapters--cataloguing ""the dimensions of Beckett's knowledge of the fine arts and music,"" scanning poetry and Lucky's Godot aria, surveying Beckett's women, analyzing the ""visual impact of verbs,"" exploring being and nonbeing. Mercier introduces his work with some autobiography (he shares Beckett's origins), and the text is dotted with personal bits of both author and subject: Mercier ""turned away in disgust"" after seeing Endgame; Beckett was a Gilbert & Sullivan aficionado. But, despite a comprehensive up-to-date scope, strong unjargoned prose, and that stimulating injection of Racine into Beckettiana, this remains an overview with most of the limitations of academia.

Pub Date: April 1, 1977

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Oxford Univ. Press

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1977

Categories: NONFICTION