Tears and laughter: Samuel Beckett and Irish comic fiction

We will begin with Murphy (1938), a surreal romp around 1930s London and through the ‘little world’ of the human mind that weaves together reflections on madness, astrology, and ginger biscuits with a Swiftian satirical fervour. Next, we will read Watt: a fantastical send-up of the search for knowledge and illumination that Beckett wrote while on the run from the Gestapo in Nazi-occupied France.

As well as attending closely to key passages in both these books, the course will also show how both Beckett owes debts to previous Irish and Anglo-Irish comic authors such as James Joyce, Jonathan Swift, and Lawrence Sterne.

Learning outcomes

1. Discuss literary texts in an analytical and reflective manner;
2. Identify trends in Irish comic writing and explore links between the style and approach of various authors;
3. Discern and analyse literary comic techniques, including satire, pastiche, absurdism and the grotesque.