Translating Waiting: An Analysis and Annotated Translation of Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot

Abstract

This thesis focuses on the difficulties of translating Waiting for Godot, firstly by analysing the difficulties of translating drama, secondly by exploring the genre of the Theatre of the Absurd, and lastly by throroughly analysing the textual and contextual aspects of Waiting for Godot. It also provides an annotated translation of the second act of Waiting for Godot (to Dutch), and an annotated translation of Lucky's 'Think', to show how the theoretical aspects manifest themselves in the text and how they affect the practical process and strategy of the translator.