Embers (Masterplots II: Drama, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Samuel Beckett
- First Published: 1959
- Type of Plot: Absurdist
- Time of Work: The twentieth century
- Setting: At the edge of the sea
- Principal Characters: Henry, His dead father, Ada, Addie, Bolton, Holloway
- Genres: Drama, Absurdist literature
- Subjects: Memory, Parents and children, Communication, Fathers, Imagination, Sea or seafaring life, Existentialism, Radio or radio broadcasting, Isolation
The Play
Embers, a radio play, begins not with words but with sounds: the “sea scarcely audible,” followed by footsteps in the sand. Only then does the listener hear a human voice speaking a single word, “on,” followed by the sea again, followed by the voice—louder and more insistent this time, repeating the same word, as it will say, then repeat as a command, the words “stop” and “down.” Each time, Henry obediently yet reluctantly does what the voice (his own) first says, then commands him to do. Thus in a few brief strokes, the dramatic pattern for...
[The entire page is 3189 words long]
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