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Date of Birth
Samuel Barclay Beckett was born in Foxrock, County Dublin, Ireland. Born to William and Mary Beckett. He had one brother Frank Edward Beckett. -
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Portora Royal School
He attended Portora Royal School at the age of 14. -
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Trinity College
He attended Trinity College in Dublin. After graduating he was granted a teaching assistant at École Normale Supérieure in Paris, France. He received his bachelor’s degree. -
École Normale Supérieure
He became a lecture assistant in English at École Normale Supérieure in Paris, France. -
Back at Trinity College
Beckett earned a Master of Arts degree back at Trinity College. -
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Back at Trinity College
He came back to teach French and got his Masters in the same year. -
Settled in Paris, France
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World War II
He joined an underground resistant group while he was living in Paris. Some of the other members of the group got arrested so Beckett went into hiding. He moved to an unoccupied place in France where he worked as a farmer. -
Beckett Going Home
He went back to Ireland to help with giving aid after the war. He volunteered as an interpreter in Saint-Lô, Normandy. He later returned to Paris where he was awarded the Croix de Guerre for his help. -
Waiting for Godot
Vladimir and Estragon are waiting by this tree for a person named Godot. Pozo and Lucky pass by and help pass the time while they are waiting. After that, a boy comes by with a message from Godot that he isn’t coming tonight but will come tomorrow. Pozo and Lucky come back “the next day” and the four of them end up taking a nap. The boy comes back and they have the same conversation again. Vladimir and Estragon are still waiting for Godot. -
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Plays Written
Beckett has written 35 plays in his lifetime many in English or translated to English from another language. -
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Obie Award for Best Foreign Play
He won this award in the years 1958 for Endgame, 1962 for Happy Days, and 1973 for Not I. -
Mrs. Beckett
He married Suzanne Dechevaux-Dumesnil. Their marriage ended when Beckett died. They did not have any children. -
Happy Days
"Winnie, a woman in her 50s, is buried waist-deep in a mound of scorched earth, with just a large, black shopping bag and a collapsed parasol(Sparknotes)". She goes about her days reminiscing about before they got trapped. -
Play
This is a one-act play about three people trapped in these urn things that cover everything below the neck. The three characters are in a love triangle. It shows the pain that happens in a love triangle but now they are trapped. They are forced to talk until the light shines off of them. They end up talking about their love triangle. -
Breath
Breath is a very abstract piece in which the whole play is about a page long. It is trying to show life in a short piece. Lights go up on a pile of rubbish with a gradual cry of a baby and then the lights go down. -
Nobel Prize
Beckett won a Nobel Prize for Literature. -
Obie Awards for Playwriting
Beckett won 4 different awards for the plays Ohio Impromptu, What Where, Catastrophe, and Samuel BeckettPocket. -
Suzanne Dechevaux-Dumesnil Death
Suzanne died in Paris with her husband Samuel Beckett. -
Death of Samuel Beckett
He died in Paris, France at the age of 83. He has been diagnosed with emphysema and possibly Parkinson's disease.