Decoding Catatonic Dialogues
A Pragmatic Analysis of Conversational Maxims in Samuel Beckett's Selected Plays
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14500/kujhss.v8n2y2025.pp588-603Keywords:
Catatonia, Floating, Inertia, Maxims of Conversation, Non-observanceAbstract
This article explores the depiction of catatonic characters in Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot and Endgame by analyzing the flouting of Grice’s conversational maxims. In particular, it considers the unique ways Beckett utilizes language, or the breakdown thereof, as a representational method for psychological states. The study investigates how the characters’ frequent flouting of the maxims of quality, quantity, relation, and manner reveal their psychological inertia and existential stagnation. This violation of communicative norms not only disrupts the flow of dialogue but also serves as a reflection of their deeper inner turmoil and psychological paralysis. By systematically disrupting conversational norms, the characters reflect a deeper state of catatonia, where their dialogues mirror a paralysis of action and thought. These patterns of communication or lack thereof highlight the stagnation that pervades their existence. Through a detailed analysis of key dialogues, the research demonstrates that Beckett uses this linguistic flouting to highlight the characters’ passive existence and immobility within an absurd and meaningless world. The findings suggest that the characters' resistance to conventional communication further emphasizes Beckett's themes of existential despair and absurdity. This study offers a new perspective on how linguistic dysfunction functions as a dramatic tool in Beckett's work, enhancing the portrayal of catatonic states and deepening the thematic exploration of inertia in his plays.
Downloads
References
Abd Al hussein Hassan, S. (2024). Between the Existential Angst and the Absurdist Quest: Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot and the Search for Meaning. BATARA DIDI: English Language Journal, 3(2), 93–112. https://doi.org/10.56209/badi.v3i2.110
Abdelhamid, M. M. A. (2023). Samuel Beckett’s Dramatic Dialectical Solution to the Contradictory Relationship between Hamm and Clov in Endgame. Egyptian Journal of English Language and Literature Studies, 12(1), 165–206. 10.21608/ejels.2023.340745
Aitchison, J. (2003). Words in the Mind: An Introduction to the Mental Lexicon (3rd Edition). blackwell.
Beckett, S. (1954). Waiting for Godot. Faber and Faber.
Beckett, S. (1958). Endgame. London.
Begam, R. (2007). How to do Nothing with Words, or Waiting for Godot as Performativity. Modern Drama, 50(2), 138–167. https://doi.org/10.3138/md.50.2.138
Cavenaugh, J. (2022). On the anguish of going: An actor’s Endgame. Text and Performance Quarterly, 42(1), 83–95. https://doi.org/10.1080/10462937.2021.1969425
Cruse, A. (2000). Meaning in Language: An Introduction to Semantics and Pragmatics. Oxford University Press.
Dawkins, E., Cruden-Smith, L., Carter, B., Amad, A., Zandi, M. S., Lewis, G., David, A. S., & Rogers, J. B. (2022). Catatonia Psychopathology and Phenomenology in a Large Dataset. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 13, 886662. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.886662
Dilworth, T., & Langlois, C. (2007). The Nietzschean Madman in Beckett’s Endgame. The Explicator, 65(3), 167–171. https://doi.org/10.3200/EXPL.65.3.167-171
Fogarty, M. (2022). A Positive Statement of a Negative Thing”: Nietzschean Eternal Recurrence as Dramatic Form in Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot. Modern Drama, 65(4), 522–546. https://doi.org/10.3138/md-65-4-1182
Finegand, E. 1994. Language; its Structure and Use. USA: Harcourt Brace College Publisher.
Grice, P. (1989). Logic and Conversation. In P. Grice, Studies in the Way of Words (pp. 22–40). Harvard University Press.
Hirjak, D., Wolf, R. C., Landwehrmeyer, G. B., & Northoff, G. (2022). Catatonia: Looking back and moving forward. Brain, 145(9), 2939–2942. https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awac196
Leech, G. (1983). Principles of Pragmatics. Longman Group Limited.
Menouer, B. (2023). Exploring the Self Through Habit and Memory. English Language, Literature & Culture, 8(2), 22–27.
Mey, J. L. (2001). Pragmatics: An Introduction. Blackwell.
Miyanrostaq, M. M., & Mousavi, S. M. (2022). Laughing with Beckett in Waiting for Godot and Endgame. Prague Journal of English Studies, 11(1), 89–105. https://doi.org/10.2478/pjes-2022-0005
Mooney, A. (2004). Co-operation, violations and making sense. 36(5), 899–920. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2003.10.006
Othman, S. M., & Salih, S. M. (2021). Dimensions of Implication: A Review of the Saying-Meaning-Implying Trichotomy. Koya University Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 4(1), 151-162. https://doi.org/10.14500/kujhss.v4n1y2021.pp151-162
Shastri, T. (2023). Outside of here, It’s Death or Hope?!”: Exploring despair and Hope in TS Eliot’s ‘The Waste Land’and Samuel Beckett’s ‘End Game.’ International Journal of English Literature and Social Sciences, 8(1), 286–300.
Shahid, A. (2018). Towards a Deconstructive Text: Beyond Language and the Politics of Absences in Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot. World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology International Journal of Cognitive and Language Sciences, 12(1), 108-113.
Thomas, J. (1995). Meaning in Interaction: An Introduction to Pragmatics. London.
Xu, Y. (2022). Postwar Trauma and Neglected Culture in Samuel Beckett’s Endgame. Asian Journal of Social Science Studies, 7(7), 47.
Yasar, Y. (2020). Humour and Satire in the Plays Endgame by Samuel Beckett, No Exit by JP Sartre and The Birthday Party by Harold Pinter. International Journal of Linguistics, Literature and Translation, 3(3), 19–27.
Zingela, Z., Stroud, L., Cronje, J., Fink, M., & van Wyk, S. (2022). The psychological and subjective experience of catatonia: A qualitative study. BMC Psychology, 10(173), 1–11.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Abdulhameed , Hawzhin H. Azeez
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
