Hamlett and Krapp

Paper Summary:

The paper shows how "Hamlet" by William Shakespeare and "Krapp's Last Tape" by Samuel Beckett are very different sorts of play, emerging from different theatrical traditions, but they have similar themes within the context of their time and in their own style. The paper discusses one theme which is addressed in both - the theme of order versus disorder. It shows how each play finds the main character facing a state of disorder and the desire to restore order.

From the Paper:

"It may be more difficult to see the conflict in a play like Beckett's Krapp's Last Tape, which has only one character, but conflict can also be developed within one character warring with himself or between the single character and the audience watching him or her. Conflict is inherent in the vocation of attitudes, ideas, characters, and situations, and it is not possible to have a drama without any of these elements and so it is impossible to have a drama without conflict. As noted, there is only one character on stage, though the voice of the same man from many years before might constitute a separate character, heard only on a tape recorder."

More papers on Hamlett and Krapp:

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• Essay # 137800 : " Applying "On the Theater of the Absurd" to "Krapp's Last Tape"

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