Written in the context of the late 1970s, Samuel Beckett’s mirlitonnades poems evoke the possible return of the old ghosts of the past, which, if one is not careful, will once again affect and infect the present and com‐ promise the future. Samuel Beckett’s quest for the worst has historical sources – to be found in the Second World War – as well as literary sources, namely Shakespeare’s King Lear, a play in which the destiny of Edgar both interested and moved him. According to philosopher Herbert Marcuse, to whom one of the poems of mirlitonnades is dedicated, certain outsiders and artists are bearers of ‘‘human qualities" that are "contrary to social requirements". Thus they may be able to prevent the worst from happening again.
JavaScript is turned off in your web browser. Turn it on to take full advantage of this site, then refresh the page.