Samuel Beckett and moral instruction

Abstract

The plays of Samuel Beckett have long been subject to much lengthy discussion on its content and thematic concerns. The following paper will argue that the aesthetic of the lacunae in Samuel Beckett’s plays can provide moral instruction. The aesthetic of the lacunae in Samuel Beckett’s plays will be explored in these three ways: the use of ambiguity, the presence and absence of haptics, and the presentation of amorality. Each of these three explorations of the aesthetic of the lacunae will be shown to provide a novel form of moral instruction, moving away from familiar forms of moral education.