Samuel Beckett is one of the greatest Irish writers of the 20th century. An excellent playwright and winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1969, Samuel Beckett has always been regarded as a writer with a pessimistic view of Man and his condition.
Samuel Beckett was born on April 13, 1906, in a wealthy Dublin suburb. He began his studies at Earlsford House School, then continued at Portora Royal School in Enniskillen. A brilliant student, Beckett was then admitted to Trinity College from 1923 to 1927, where he undertook literary and linguistic studies, mainly in English literature, but also in French and Italian.
He then turned to teaching, and taught a few courses at Campbell College, Belfast. But Beckett wanted to travel, and to get to know Paris, a place of immersion where many writers freely indulge their passion.
It was in the late 1920s that he found a position at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, and met James Joyce, a leading figure in Irish literature. Their friendship enabled the 2 men to exchange many opinions and points of view on writing, and Beckett did not hesitate to help Joyce with his research when writing Finnegans Wake. Despite their good understanding, their relationship gradually deteriorates when Beckett refuses the advances of Joyce’s daughter… The latter then takes offense, and will never forgive his friend’s refusal.
Samuel Beckett took the plunge in 1929 with his first work, “Dante… Bruno. Vico… Joyce”. The purpose of this essay is to defend Joyce’s style, then considered obscure. This was followed by a short story entitled “Assumption”, published in a specialized Parisian journal.
After a few publications here and there, Beckett returned to Ireland to Trinity College. It was at this point that he began to feel a strong distaste for the smugness of academic literary circles. He sharply criticized them in a poem entitled “Gnome” in 1934, which eventually closed the doors of Irish universities to him.
Weary, and no longer thriving in the Irish academic milieu, he chose to travel, visiting mainly Europe. But his love for Paris eventually brought him back to the French capital, where he decided to settle permanently. Beckett seemed much more at home in France, and more easily integrated into the literary milieu of the time.
It was during this period that he wrote his first novel, “Murphy”.
The Second World War broke out, and Beckett preferred to stay in France, declaring that he preferred“France at war to Ireland at peace “. From this time onwards, he took part in numerous actions in cooperation with the French Resistance, fighting against the German occupation. But the Nazis soon became interested in him, and wanted to capture him. Faced with this risk, he took refuge with Nathalie Sarraute, then settled in the South of France from 42 to 45. At the end of the conflict, Beckett said he had been profoundly changed by the war.
In 1961, the writer married, and published a succession of highly successful plays. He then began to discover the world of television and radio, and took part in the production of a film and a few columns.
1969 was the year of his crowning achievement: Samuel Beckett was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. However, he is not thrilled with the appointment, deploring the risk of his works being “institutionalized” in universities.
After the death of his wife in 1989, Beckett suffered from Parkinson’s disease and severe respiratory problems. He moved into a retirement home, and died 6 months after his wife, on December 22, 1989. Because of his attachment to Paris, he is buried in the Montparnasse cemetery.
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