Happy Days : a Comparison of Written Text and the Play.

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Happy Days Happy Days is one of Samuel Beckett’s most remarkable plays, completed in 1961 and influenced by his wife, it revolves around Winnie, a middle aged woman, embedded up to her bosom in a mound of earth, and her husband Willie, who is present yet invisible to the audience. Many directors attempted to produce the play that is Happy Days, even Beckett himself. As a great avant garde novelist, Beckett filled the play with symbolism and themes of life. It would be interesting to examine the intricate symbolism in this play, the role of Winnie as the major character of the play and the necessity of presenting a play on stage, hence, the transition from text to play. The play begins with Winnie, embedded up to her “big bosom” in a mound of earth, in a spread of dried grass. An interesting thing to point out is Beckett’s discussion regarding the inspiration behind the play in which he says: “Well I thought that the most dreadful thing that could happen to anybody, would be not to be allowed to sleep so that just as you’re dropping off there’d be a ‘Dong’ and you’d have to keep awake; you’re sinking into the ground alive and it’s full of ants; and the sun is shining endlessly day and night and there is not a tree… there’s no shade, nothing, and that bell wakes you up all the time and all you’ve got is a little parcel of things to see you through life… And I thought: who would cope with that and go down singing? Only a woman.” We come to realize later on that she had not always been buried, this way. Winnie seeks to fill the hours by reminiscing, laughing, grumbling and talking to Willie, her partner. She constantly assures herself that this is one of her happy days, when in fact she is on the verge of tears. As the second act follows, Winnie has sunk into the mound almost completely, so that only her head is now seen, and she is unable to

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