Quote 43
VLADIMIR
A dog came in the kitchen
And stole a crust of bread.
Then cook up with a ladle
And beat him till he was dead.
Then all the dogs came running
And dug the dog a tomb–
He stops, broods, resumes:
Then all the dogs came running
And dug the dog a tomb
And wrote upon the tombstone
For the eyes of dogs to come:
A dog came in the kitchen
And stole a crust of bread.
Then cook up with a ladle
And beat him till he was dead.
Then all the dogs came running
And dug the dog a tomb– (2.1)
Vladimir’s song reflects the cyclic nature of time in Waiting for Godot.
VLADIMIR
Look at it.
They look at the tree.
ESTRAGON
I see nothing.
VLADIMIR
But yesterday evening it was all black and bare. And now it's covered with leaves.
ESTRAGON
Leaves?
VLADIMIR
In a single night.
ESTRAGON
It must be the Spring.
VLADIMIR
But in a single night! (2.197-203)
Time passes in an absurdly inconsistent manner in Waiting for Godot; while the characters decay (Pozzo goes blind, Lucky loses the ability to speak), the tree goes in the other direction—blossoming in a single night.
We are waiting for Godot to come—
ESTRAGON
Ah!
POZZO
Help!
VLADIMIR
Or for night to fall. (Pause.) (2.526-9)
Vladimir’s notion of time is tied up with the concept of waiting for Godot. The fact is, waiting for Godot is as repetitive, predictable, and never-ending as waiting on a daily basis for night to come. The end result is always the same, and the process always begins anew the next day, with no end in sight.