Dec 22, 2009

Krapp's Last Tape | Critical Overview

Like many of Beckett’s plays, Krapp’s Last Tape was both praised and disparaged when it was first shown to British and American audiences. Writing in the New Republic, Robert Brustein stated that the ‘‘haunting and harrowing’’ play was Beckett’s best and that it offered its viewers ‘‘the perfect realization of Beckett’s idea of human isolation.’’ To Brustein, the play’s greatness lay in Beckett’s ability to ‘‘sound those chords of compassion which have always vibrated quietly in his...