Lucky’s speech from Waiting for Godot:
LUCKY: Given the existence as uttered forth in the public works of Puncher and Wattmann of a personal God quaquaquaqua with white beard quaquaquaqua outside time without extension who from the heights of divine apathia divine athambia divine aphasia loves us dearly with some exceptions for reasons unknown but time will tell and suffers like the divine Miranda with those who for reasons unknown but time will tell are plunged in torment plunged in fire whose fire flames if that continues and who can doubt it will fire the firmament that is to say blast hell to heaven so blue still and calm so calm with a calm which even though intermittent is better than nothing but not so fast and considering what is more that as a result of the labors left unfinished crowned by the Acacacacademy of Anthropopopometry of Essy-in-Possy of Testew and Cunard it is established beyond all doubt all other doubt than that which clings to the labors of men that as a result of the labors unfinished of Testew and Cunnard it is established as hereinafter but not so fast for reasons unknown that as a result of the public works of Puncher and Wattmann it is established beyond all doubt that in view of the labors of Fartov and Belcher left unfinished for reasons unknown of Testew and Cunard left unfinished it is established what many deny that man in Possy of Testew and Cunard that man in Essy that man in short that man in brief in spite of the strides of alimentation and defecation wastes and pines wastes and pines and concurrently simultaneously what is more for reasons unknown in spite of the strides of physical culture the practice of sports such as tennis football running cycling swimming flying floating riding gliding conating camogie skating tennis of all kinds dying flying sports of all sorts autumn summer winter winter tennis of all kinds hockey of all sorts penicillin and succedanea in a word I resume flying gliding golf over nine and eighteen holes tennis of all sorts in a word for reasons unknown in Feckham Peckham Fulham Clapham namely concurrently simultaneously what is more for reasons unknown but time will tell fades away I resume Fulham Clapham in a word the dead loss per head since the death of Bishop Berkeley being to the tune of one inch four ounce per head approximately by and large more or less to the nearest decimal good measure round figures stark naked in the stockinged feet in Connemara in a word for reasons unknown no matter what matter the facts are there and considering what is more much more grave that in the light of the labors lost of Steinweg and Peterman it appears what is more much more grave that in the light the light the light of the labors lost of Steinweg and Peterman that in the plains in the mountains by the seas by the rivers running water running fire the air is the same and then the earth namely the air and then the earth in the great cold the great dark the air and the earth abode of stones in the great cold alas alas in the year of their Lord six hundred and something the air the earth the sea the earth abode of stones in the great deeps the great cold on sea on land and in the air I resume for reasons unknown in spite of the tennis the facts are there but time will tell I resume alas alas on on in short in fine on on abode of stones who can doubt it I resume but not so fast I resume the skull fading fading fading and concurrently simultaneously what is more for reasons unknown in spite of the tennis on on the beard the flames the tears the stones so blue so calm alas alas on on the skull the skull the skull the skull in Connemara in spite of the tennis the labors abandoned left unfinished graver still abode of stones in a word I resume alas alas abandoned unfinished the skull the skull in Connemara in spite of the tennis the skull alas the stones Cunard (mêlée, final vociferations)
. . . tennis . . . the stones . . . so calm . . . Cunard . . . unfinished . . .POZZO: His hat!
Vladimir seizes Lucky’s hat. Silence of Lucky. He falls. Silence. Panting of the victors.
James suggests removing all the side-notes and distractions, leaving the raw heart of the monologue exposed
Given the existence
as uttered forth in the public works of Puncher and Wattmannof a personal Godquaquaquaqua with white beard quaquaquaqua outside time without extension who from the heights of divine apathia divine athambia divine aphasia loves us dearly with some exceptions for reasons unknown but time will tell and suffers like the divine Miranda with those who for reasons unknown but time will tell are plunged in torment plunged in fire whose fire flames if that continues and who can doubt it will fire the firmament that is to say blast hell to heaven so blue still and calm so calm with a calm which even though intermittent is better than nothing but not so fast and considering what is more that as a result of the labors left unfinished crowned by the Acacacacademy of Anthropopopometry of Essy-in-Possy of Testew and Cunard it is established beyond all doubt all other doubt than that which clings to the labors of men that as a result of the labors unfinished of Testew and Cunnard it is established as hereinafter but not so fast for reasons unknown that as a result of the public works of Puncher and Wattmann it is established beyond all doubt that in view of the labors of Fartov and Belcher left unfinished for reasons unknown of Testew and Cunard left unfinished it is established what many deny that man in Possy of Testew and Cunard that man in Essy that man in short thatmanin brief in spite of the strides of alimentation and defecationwastes and pineswastes and pines and concurrently simultaneously what is more for reasons unknown in spite of the strides of physical culture the practice of sports such as tennis football running cycling swimming flying floating riding gliding conating camogie skating tennis of all kinds dying flying sports of all sorts autumn summer winter winter tennis of all kinds hockey of all sorts penicillin and succedanea in a word I resume flying gliding golf over nine and eighteen holes tennis of all sorts in a word for reasons unknown in Feckham Peckham Fulham Clapham namely concurrently simultaneously what is more for reasons unknown but time will tell fades away I resume Fulham Clapham in a word the dead loss per head since the death of Bishop Berkeley being to the tune of one inch four ounce per head approximately by and large more or less to the nearest decimal good measure round figures stark naked in the stockinged feet in Connemara in a word for reasons unknown no matter what matter the facts are there and considering what is more much more grave that in the light of the labors lost of Steinweg and Peterman it appears what is more much more grave that in the light the light the light of the labors lost of Steinweg and Peterman that in the plains in the mountains by the seas by the rivers running water running fire the air is the same and then the earth namely the air and then the earth in the great cold the great dark the air and the earth abode of stones in the great cold alas alas in the year of their Lord six hundred and something the air the earth the sea the earth abode of stones in the great deeps the great cold on sea on land and in the air I resume for reasons unknownin spite of the tennisthe facts are there but time will tell I resume alas alas on on in short in fine on on abode of stones who can doubt it I resume but not so fast I resume the skull fading fading fading and concurrently simultaneously what is more for reasons unknown in spite of the tennis on on the beard the flames the tears the stones so blue so calm alas alas on on the skull the skull the skull the skull in Connemara in spite of the tennis the labors abandoned left unfinished graver still abode of stones in a word I resume alas alas abandoned unfinished the skull the skull in Connemara in spite of the tennis the skull alas the stones Cunard (mêlée, final vociferations)
. . . tennis . . . the stones . . . so calm . . . Cunard . . . unfinished . . .
8 replies on “in spite of the tennis”
Doesn’t this read, quite clearly really?:
“Given God, nothing is established. What man wastes is reasons to matter.”
Isn’t the meaning of Lucky’s speech supposed to be nonexistent. I thought it was supposed to reflect man’s purpose in the world. Humanity’s purpose in life is to find meaning in the meaninglessness of their life. This is one of the main foundations of existentialism which in turn is the big theme in “Waiting for Godot.”
Was always my understanding that there were two main talking points to the speech:
1) If God exists he must be arbitrary to say the least.
2) Humans run around doing things but entropy takes its toll anyway. I find “In spite of the tennis” to be a very significant phrase…in a tragicomic way and in a philosophical way. First of all, “in spite of the tennis” sounds awesome. Hence why you picked it as the header, right? But I read this meaning into it–tennis represents all of our endeavours, esp. our frivolous, quotidian ones. And in spite of those endeavours, shit degrades.
A widely accepted reading divides the speech into FOUR points:
1) The nature of God
2) The assertion that man “wastes and pines”
3) The assertion that the Earth is degenerating
4) The assertion that man will diminish in a world that does not nurture him
Given the existence of a personal God who loves us dearly with some exceptions
and suffers with those
who for reasons unknown are plunged in torment
it is established what many deny
that man
in spite of the strides of physical culture
fades away
the facts are there
and considering what is much more grave
the air is the same
and then the earth
in the great cold the great dark
abode of stones in the great cold
in spite of the tennis
the facts are there
who can doubt it
I resume fading
in spite of the tennis
labors abandoned left unfinished
abode of stones
sorry the first bit should be:
Given the existence
of a personal God
who loves us dearly
with some exceptions
and suffers with those who
for reasons unknown
are plunged in torment
as a result of the labors left unfinished
it is established what many deny….
That’s more what I meant.
I do think James’ cut is pretty dead on though.
There is some small chance that Waiting for Godot is a metaphor for sport, in particular for the lacunae and sudden intensities of cricket (Beckett played it to quite a high level). I think it is in one of his novels where a character circulates stones around his person which is what the umpire in cricket does to count the ‘overs’.
“Wastes and pines” is a great combination of double entendre and silly metaphor that summarizes the whole speech. God as endless is a metaphor of endless (pines, evergreens) repetition (waiting for someone who shows up and then waiting again) but unreal, for which humanity pines, and the time we spend trying to build ourselves up to (strides, labors left unfinished) the fantasized perfect, we waste away, waste time, release waste and obsess over it (alimentation and defecation, acacacademy of anthropopopometry, fartov and belcher), trying endlessly to convince ourselves that we’re moving toward a perfection, which in itself is intangible (divine apathia, divine athambia, divine aphasia, or in other words, the inability to sense, understand, or express), while the only meaningful discovery, although meaningless, is the truth of mortality (the skull in Connemara, abode of stones).