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Beckettian

Beckettian

1 9.9
A style with very few words, dark humor, and a lonely mood like Samuel Beckett's plays
  • adjective
  • /bɛkˈɛtiən/
  • Literature
: becketiano
  • However, this is not a question he explores in any real depth in the cited text. Malone, one of the rare Beckettian characters of whose death we can be reasonably assured, notably fails to laugh throughout the narrative.

Examples

  • The consciousness that there are no words, no artistic representation of this "ground," and that it nevertheless ought to be hinted at leads to Josipovici's version of a famous Beckettian paradox, namely "a deep desire to express, along with a recognition that it is impossible to express" (92).

    Academic text (2003)

  • The Beckettian individuals who laugh at their own suffering confound the possibility.

    Academic text (2017)

  • Morris's Beckettian construction no doubt opens onto Nauman's, also baffling the notion of founding origin, also tracing the closed circuit of consciousness everywhere to an outside line.

    Academic text (1998)

  • Being "able to laugh in spite of it all" (163-4), he asserts, might signal a liberation, a triumph of sorts, whereas the Beckettian spectator's inability or refusal to laugh indicates "that they cannot cope" with "the human condition" (163).

    Academic text (2017)

  • The play's Beckettian style features absurd situations and bleak humor that highlight the characters' existential struggles.

  • In his novel, the author captures a Beckettian atmosphere with its minimalist dialogue and themes of despair.

  • The film's Beckettian elements, such as its stark setting and darkly comic moments, remind viewers of the futility of existence.

Surface Forms

Beckettian positive

Morphology

Beckettian = Beckett (semi-transparent) = Beckett + ian

Formed regularly from the name 'Beckett' plus the productive suffix '-ian', but understanding the stylistic meaning requires knowledge of Samuel Beckett.

Etymology

Beckettian comes from the name Samuel Beckett and the ending -ian, a bit like Victorian or Shakespearean, where -ian means 'of or relating to'. So Beckettian describes art or writing that feels bleak, very simple, and darkly funny, like Beckett's plays.