Interpretation Challenge: Breath: The Shortest Play by Samuel Beckett

Hello Readers,

This blog is part of my classroom learning process it's in form of challenge. Challenge because it is - A Thirty Second play by Samuel Beckett and the challenge is given by Dr. Dilip Barad. Click here to see the challenge.


# Breath (play) by Samuel Beckett

Samuel Beckett was an Irish poet, playwriter, novelist and literary translator.he was able to write in English and French both. His work mostly includes black comedy as well as tragic comedy and humor on Human existence, he falls under the key figure of "Theatre of The Absurd".

Here I'm going to interpret his one of the mysterious play called "Breath"-A Thirty Second play(1969); the shortest play was ever written. It seems unbelievable. The play has no characters, no dialogues. You can put this full play in your WhatsApp status also.😆


CLICK HERE TO SEE SCRIPT OF PLAY.


Curtain.

[1. Faint light on the stage littered with miscellaneous rubbish. Hold for about five seconds.

2. Faint brief cry and immediately inspiration and slow increase of light together reaching maximum together in about ten seconds. Silence and hold about five seconds.

3. Expiration and slow decrease of light together reaching minimum together (light as in I) in about ten seconds and immediately cry as before. Silence and hold for about five seconds.]


This play is not like other ordinary plays, it seems different from other because first of all it's modern play and also it tries to introduce nothingness or absurdity. It tries to reveal the sense of senselessness. The question of existence and meaninglessness of human life. HOW?

You can read above that there are only three things happening in the entire play.

1] Brief Cry 
2] Breath 
3] Cry

Here the playwright used some words like-

~ The stage littered with miscellaneous rubbish
~ Inspiration
~ Expiration too.

The message is very clear, there is only a breath between two cries. 

First, let me check the nearest and easiest possibilities of interpretations. At the first reading of the play, we might think about some situations like given below, 

1] It seems the scene of a few minutes before the rape/murder- a cry of a victim to save his/her life- breathing sound from his fearful heart- again cry of a victim for help. Here miscellaneous rubbish can be the place where a victim was kept. Inspiration and expiration are connected with the hope of a victim.

2] Patient of depression- We know that the patient of depression, they suddenly start crying then stop to breath and again cry- with/without any reason. Here miscellaneous rubbish can be the mind of a patient which is full of garbage and unuseful things. Inspiration and Expiration can be described as a flaw and the quality of thoughts. 

3] Sobbings of the earth because of pollution.

4] It's just a scene of someone's birth- The first cry of a mother because of labor pain - she gave birth to child and doctor takes a breath of success and the first cry of the child.

But, it is not as simplest or as easiest as it seems. There is deep philosophical meaning behind it. It sounds like the life circle of human beings.

The first scene is miscellaneous rubbish which might suggest our belief, disbelief, thoughts, ideas, religions, fake identities, money, power, position, so on and so far, all mortal wishes. this all things are universal it always remains on earth before the birth of mine and yours and it will remain after the death of mine and yours. This first cry is life, it's birth, it's a sign of beginning, ring of the bell- ultimately starting point of a voyage. Inspiration and expiration are the part of this journey it symbolizes hesitances of life or it can interpret as sun and moon. Breath symbolizes the period of human life how short and how inane it is; And the last cry is the death.

At last in a few words, it is the futility of life from womb to tomb in a half minute.
(30 seconds)


CLICK HERE TO WATCH SOME MORE ADOPTION OF THIS PLAY.

THANK YOU.