Samuel Beckett, Company

Dirk Van Hulle (University of Antwerp)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.09: English Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary Britain , 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Kerry Myler (Newman University), Jenni Ramone (The Nottingham Trent University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1979

Places

Ireland, Republic of (Eire) (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Poetry (any)

Resources

Company is one of the most fascinating of Samuel Beckett's bilingual texts. He wrote it in English, translated it into French (Compagnie, published by Minuit in 1980), and then adapted the English original again. The writing process of this prose text (or prose-poem) largely coincided with the genesis of the play A Piece of Monologue. Beckett started writing Company in May 1977. In August the actor David Warrilow asked Beckett if he wanted to write a play for him; on the first of October Beckett wrote a letter to Warrilow suggesting a central theme: “My birth was my death,” emphasizing the undeniable fact that each person happens to be born at the very moment his process of dying begins. Although …

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1446 words

Citation: Van Hulle, Dirk. "Company". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 17 September 2004 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=5886, accessed 26 November 2024.]

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