Key Quotations

Act 1

"Nothing to be done."

• These are the first lines of the play, setting a desolate tone.
• This quote can be interpreted in multiple ways: Estragon's immediate struggle to remove his boot, the general lack of action in the play, and a nihilistic perspective on human agency. The boot becomes a symbol of life's fruitlessness.
• Key themes: Hopelessness, inaction, despair.

"I'm glad to see you back. I thought you were gone forever."

• Vladimir says this to Estragon, expressing relief at his return.
• This line highlights the theme of dependence between the characters, emphasizing their need for companionship to endure their existential wait.
• Key themes: Companionship, existentialism, dependence.

"We always find something, eh Didi, to give us the impression we exist?"

• Estragon comments on their need to find distractions to feel alive.
• This quote reflects the characters' struggle for purpose and identity. It underscores the existential theme of searching for meaning in a seemingly meaningless world.
• Key themes: Existence, meaning, distraction.

"Let's go." / "We can't." / "Why not?" / "We're waiting for Godot."

• This exchange encapsulates the central action of the play: waiting for Godot.
• The dialogue illustrates the cyclical nature of their situation and their inability to take decisive action. It emphasizes the futility and paralysis inherent in their condition.
• Key themes: Futility, paralysis, waiting.

"He didn't say for sure he'd come."

• Estragon doubts Godot's arrival, questioning the certainty of their wait.
• This quote highlights the uncertainty and ambiguity that pervades the play. It reflects the characters' tenuous grasp on hope and the precarious nature of their expectations.
• Key themes: Uncertainty, hope, expectation.

"We're not tied?" / "I don't hear a word you're saying."

• Estragon questions their attachment to Godot, and Vladimir evades the question.
• This interaction underscores their confusion and lack of understanding about their situation. It points to the ambiguity of their relationship with Godot and their existential condition.
• Key themes: Ambiguity, confusion, attachment.

"I can't go on like this." / "That's what you think."

• Estragon expresses despair, and Vladimir's response is dismissive.
• This exchange reflects the characters' constant oscillation between despair and a bleak form of endurance. It highlights the resilience required to persist in their waiting.
• Key themes: Despair, endurance, persistence.

"What do we do now, now that we are happy?" / "Wait for Godot."

• The characters question their purpose even when they claim to be happy.
• This quote underscores the futility of their situation, where even happiness does not alter their fundamental condition of waiting. It highlights the absurdity of their existence.
• Key themes: Absurdity, futility, happiness.

"I remember the maps of the Holy Land. Colored they were. Very pretty."

• Estragon reminisces about biblical maps, contrasting with their current desolate environment.
• This line introduces biblical allusions and reflects the characters' longing for a sense of place and history. It also highlights the contrast between past beauty and present bleakness.
• Key themes: Memory, biblical allusion, contrast.

"Hope deferred maketh the something sick, who said that?"

• Vladimir misquotes Proverbs 13:12, reflecting their prolonged waiting.
• This quote highlights the theme of hope and its effects on the human spirit. It shows how the characters' endless waiting impacts their mental and emotional state.
• Key themes: Hope, waiting, biblical reference.

Act 2

"They give birth astride of a grave, the light gleams an instant, then it's night once more."

• Pozzo reflects on the brevity and futility of life.
• This line uses vivid imagery to convey the existential theme of life's fleeting nature and inevitable end. It encapsulates the bleak outlook of the play.
• Key themes: Life and death, existentialism, brevity.

"Was I sleeping, while the others suffered?"

• Vladimir questions his inaction in the face of others' suffering.
• This quote highlights the theme of guilt and the moral implications of passivity. It reflects Vladimir's self-awareness and existential introspection.
• Key themes: Guilt, passivity, introspection.

"Let's go." / "We can't." / "Why not?" / "We're waiting for Godot."

• This repeated exchange emphasizes the cyclical nature of the play.
• The repetition of this dialogue underscores the characters' entrapment in a never-ending cycle of waiting. It reinforces the theme of futility and paralysis.
• Key themes: Futility, paralysis, repetition.

"We are happy." / "What do we do now, now that we are happy?" / "Wait for Godot."

• The characters' assertion of happiness contrasts with their continued waiting.
• This interaction highlights the absurdity of their situation, where even claimed happiness does not change their condition. It underscores the theme of existential absurdity.
• Key themes: Absurdity, happiness, waiting.

"You're sure you saw me, you won't come and tell me tomorrow that you never saw me!"

• Vladimir seeks affirmation of his existence from the boy.
• This quote highlights Vladimir's desperation for validation and his fear of being forgotten. It reflects the existential anxiety of being seen and remembered.
• Key themes: Validation, existence, anxiety.

"All my lousy life I've crawled about in the mud!"

• Estragon laments his life's hardships and struggles.
• This line uses vivid imagery to convey Estragon's sense of degradation and suffering. It underscores the play's exploration of human misery and endurance.
• Key themes: Suffering, degradation, endurance.

"I can't go on like this." / "That's what you think."

• This repeated exchange emphasizes the characters' despair and resilience.
• The repetition of this dialogue highlights the tension between despair and the compulsion to persist. It underscores the theme of endurance in the face of hopelessness.
• Key themes: Despair, resilience, persistence.

"What are we doing here, that is the question."

• Vladimir questions the purpose of their waiting.
• This quote reflects the existential theme of searching for meaning. It encapsulates the characters' ongoing struggle to understand their purpose and the absurdity of their situation.
• Key themes: Meaning, purpose, existentialism.

"There's man all over for you, blaming on his boots the faults of his feet."

• Vladimir comments on human nature and the tendency to avoid responsibility.
• This line uses metaphor to illustrate the human tendency to externalize blame rather than accept personal faults. It reflects the play's exploration of human behaviour and accountability.
• Key themes: Responsibility, human nature, blame.

"Let's go." / "We can't." / "Why not?" / "We're waiting for Godot."

• This final repetition reinforces the play's cyclical and stagnant nature.
• The recurring dialogue at the play's end emphasizes the characters' perpetual entrapment in their waiting. It reinforces the themes of futility, paralysis, and existential absurdity.
• Key themes: Futility, paralysis, existentialism.