While reading Harold Pinters Old Times and Samuel Becketts Waiting for Godot, I noticed that both

playwrights include detailed and specific stage directions in their play texts. While I was aware that Pinter and Beckett were providing directions for the performance of their plays, I remained curious about the aims of their stage directions and the effects these directions have on the play. What do stage directions add to the play? How do Pinter and Beckett utilize them? In the beginning of Old Times, Anna speaks, partially to herself and partially to Kate and Deeley. After a pause in her speech, the stage direction reads: ANNA stands, walks to the window (Pinter 22). Here, Anna maintains her separation from the married couple, seeking to remain aloof so as to increase her allure to Kate. Towards the end of Waiting for Godot, after the departure of Pozzo and Lucky, Vladimir wakes Estragon: Vladimir goes towards Estragon, contemplates him for a moment, then shakes him awake (Beckett 103). Here the dependent relationship between the two men is evident, as Vladimir is immediately lonely without Estragon awake to keep him company (Beckett 103). In these two instances, the two playwrights use stage directions to different but related ends. Pinter and Beckett use stage directions to induce movement that helps to emphasize the emotion a character is displaying and to develop relationships between characters. Movement can accomplish this by enhancing the dialogue or replacing it altogether. Pinter uses stage directions and movement in Old Times to develop the relationships between and heighten the emotions of his characters. The characters movements help to convey their emotions while their physical relation to one another helps to express the emotional nature of their relationships. In the middle of Act One, both of these effects are exemplified in a brief, silent exchange between the three

characters: DEELEY stands, goes to cigarette box, picks it up, smiles at KATE. KATE looks at him, watches him light a cigarette, takes the box from him, crosses to ANNA, offers her a cigarette. ANNA takes one (Pinter 35). In these small gestures, there is a tremendous shift in power in the struggle between Anna and Deeley for Kates attention and affection. Deeley, Kates husband, smiles at her, a gesture that she seemingly ignores. Instead, she favors Anna, going out of her way to make sure Anna gets a cigarette. In taking the cigarette box from Deeley and giving it to Anna, Kate is transferring some of her affection from Deeley to Anna. This slight gesture is charged, altering the dynamic between the three characters. By calling for movement and action with stage directions, Pinter changes and conveys the emotional relationships of his characters in a scene devoid of dialogue. Gay Gibson Cima argues that Pinters use of movement and physical presence in Old Times helps to emphasize and develop the emotional relationships of the three characters. She argues that each movement is vital, and must be as precise as the text itself (Cima 150). Further, Cima argues that Pinters stage directions drastically alter the play text (144). While the dialogue may say or indicate one thing, the movement of a character might indicate something very different. This can be seen in Act One, when Kate repositions herself before delivering the line, You talk of me as if I were dead (Pinter 34). Kate moves from a sitting position to a position standing over Anna, looking down at her, and in the process, Cima notes, establishes a position of authority to deliver a seemingly defensive line (Cima 144; Pinter 34). With this change in position, Kate alters the dynamic between Anna and herself. Tired of being objectified by Anna and Deeley, Kate establishes herself as more than a passive character. Here Pinter uses stage

directions to modify the relationships between characters and uses movement to alter the meaning of the dialogue. While Pinter sometimes uses stage directions and movements to alter the meaning of the play text, at other times he uses them to reinforce the dialogue or emotions of his characters. This is particularly evident towards the end of Act 2, as Kate emerges from her bath. Following a conversation in which Deeley and Anna discuss Kates bathing habits and how to dry her off, Pinter sets a scene in which the two are captivated by Kate: She smiles at DEELEY and ANNA [] She walks to the window and looks out into the night. DEELEY and ANNA watch her (57). Following this, Deeley and Anna sing to Kate (Pinter 57). Here, the stage directions supplement the dialogue that immediately precedes and follows this scene. After a scene in which Deeley and Anna argue competitively about Kate, the two characters watch her closely as she moves. She is the object of their attention, and they seem to vie for her affection through song. The stage directions call for Kate to move and for Deeley and Anna to pay close attention, which heightens the emotional tension between the three characters, and makes clear the desire both Anna and Deeley have for Kate. Pinter uses stage directions to set a scene that emphasizes the emotional relationships between his characters by complementing and emphasizing the dialogue. Robert Skloot discusses Pinters use of stage directions in Old Times, arguing that Pinter directs movement that stresses the emotions of the characters, particularly those related to their existential struggles. At several points in the play, argues Skloot, the stage directions help to set a scene that displays the characters helplessness in what he calls a dead-end world (266). Beyond the struggle that Deeley and Anna are locked

into over Kate, all three characters are in a struggle to find meaning in their lives. This is best evidenced by the final scene of the play, in which the characters move, with intermittent pauses, to their final resting places: ANNA stands, walks towards the door, stops, her back to them. [] DEELEY starts to sob, very quietly. ANNA stands still. ANNA turns, switches off the lamps, sits on the divan, and lies down. [] DEELEY stands. He walks a few paces, looks at both divans. He goes to ANNAs divan, looks down at her. She is still. [] DEELEY moves towards the door, stops, his back to them. [] DEELEY turns. He goes towards KATEs divan. He sits on her divan, lies across her lap. [] DEELEY very slowly sits up. He gets off the divan. He walks slowly to the armchair. He sits, slumped. (Pinter 73-74). The play ends with the characters in these positions, as neither Anna nor Deeley is able to make it out the door. Their indecision is apparent in their movement, and is indicative not only of their devotion to Kate but also of their uncertainty about their place in the world. All three characters feel their lack of importance and power, particularly Anna and Deeley at the close of their power struggle. In the end, neither of them have the upper hand, a fact that is apparent in the resignation and sadness of their final movements. With his final scene, Pinter accentuates the existential struggles apparent throughout the play, directing his characters sorrowful movements. Martin Esslin argues that the plays of Pinter are essentially a complex pattern of poetic images (4). One way that Pinter presents these images is through the movement and motion of their characters. He uses movement to convey poetic images to the reader

and enhance or replace the characters dialogue. The technique of replacing dialogue is particularly evident in the silent scenes that end both Acts of Old Times. For example, the closing scene of Act One, in which Deeley and Anna stand staring at one another as the lights fade, can be seen as a poetic image itself (Pinter 46). Further, it serves as a poignant image of the tension and struggle that is evident in their relationship throughout the play. This image, with the two competitors for Kates attention juxtaposed, reminds the reader of the actions of Act One and sets the stage for Act Two. Esslin argues that both suspense and dramatic tension result from the setting of a scene such as the one that ends Act One, as the reader wonders how the relationships will develop in Act Two (5). Cima has her own take on this scene, suggesting that Kate and Deeley stare at each other as if the very act of looking might allow them to overpower or perhaps possess the other (148). Like Esslin, Cima identifies the emotionally charged relationship between the two that Pinter displays in this image. In scenes such at this one, Pinter uses stage directions to form images that emphasize the emotional tension and develop the relationship between Anna and Deeley. Esslin argues that, in Waiting for Godot, Beckett effects tension and suspense similar to Pinters through the creation of poetic images. In order to convey poetic images, Beckett also makes use of movement, through stage directions, that emphasizes the emotions of his characters (Esslin 5). One example of this is late in Act Two, when Vladimir and Estragon rush frantically around the stage, believing something, perhaps Godot, is coming after them (Beckett 93-94). Here Beckett directs frantic movement that makes their terror and excitement more vivid. They hide behind one another, grasp one another, run across the stage and back, and gaze off into the distance (Beckett 93-94). In

these actions, there is a tense fear of what may be coming and a suspense until that something arrives. All of these actions serve to supplement the dialogue and emphasize the dramatic emotions of the two characters. Beckett, like Pinter, sets scenes at the end of both acts that supplement the dialogue and present a silent scene that is both poignant and suspenseful. Act Two of Waiting for Godot ends just as Act One did, with Estragon saying, as Vladimir did to end Act One, Yes, lets go (Beckett 109). This line is followed by the direction, They do not move (Beckett 109). This stage direction, which contradicts the preceding line, has two effects. As Esslin suggests, it lends a considerable degree of suspense, as the reader wants to know what will happen next, and if Godot will ever come. Also, with the two men standing together, alone, their lack of movement emphasizes the emotion of their existential struggle and their perpetual state of waiting. They are stuck in limbo, and the juxtaposition of their desire to move with their lack of movement displays their despair and the futility of their waiting game. Beckett uses stage directions and a lack of movement to achieve suspense and a portrayal of the two protagonists struggle. In Waiting for Godot, Beckett uses stage directions to call for dramatic movements that indicate large swings in emotion. The stage directions convey the emotions of and relationship between Vladimir and Estragon in Act One: Exit Vladimir hurriedly. Estragon gets up and follows him as far as the limit of the stage. Gestures of Estragon like those of a spectator encouraging a pugilist. Enter Vladimir. He brushes past Estragon, crosses the stage with bowed head. Estragon takes a step towards him, halts. (Beckett 11)

Here, in the absence of dialogue, Beckett displays the complicated and dramatic relationship between the two comrades. Vladimir exits because Estragon is pestering him, and returns because he has nowhere else to go. For a time after, they continue to fight, but eventually make up. Despite their differences, they cannot live without one another, as Beckett conveys by having Vladimir return. Estragons step towards Vladimir shows a desire to make amends, as they inevitably will. The emotion of the entire scene is contained in the stage directions. Beckett clearly displays the nature of Vladimir and Estragons relationship, volatile yet persistent, in the brief physical exchange between the two characters. Beckett uses stage directions and movement to display the emotional exchanges between the two characters and develop their relationship. Like Pinter, Beckett uses stage directions to portray the existential struggles of his characters. While existential concerns are more explicitly stated in Becketts dialogue, the stage directions emphasize the characters struggles. For example, to open Act Two, Vladimir paces about frantically, looking for something: Comes and goes. Halts extreme right and gazes into distance off [] begins to move feverishly about the stage (Beckett 62-63). He continues this process for a while, without ever finding or revealing what hes looking for. After the disappointment of the previous day, when Godot failed to come, Vladimir is anxious. He paces and searches as if his life depends on it. As far as the reader knows, the entire of existence of Vladimir and Estragon does hinge on Godots arrival. With movement, Beckett demonstrates the emotional struggles of his characters as they contemplate and fight for their existence.

Edith Kern has a different take on Becketts stage directions, arguing that the movement that results from the stage directions robs the characters of all meaning and renders their emotions irrelevant instead of emphasizing them. Kern argues that the characters movements, and thus the characters themselves, lose their relevancy and importance with repetition (44). The most striking example of this is Vladimir playing with his hat: He takes off his hat, peers inside it, shakes it, puts it on again (Beckett 4). This scene recurs several times throughout the play, and Kern would argue that as a result, the action loses its meaning and any emotions associated with it become irrelevant. Since he is constantly repeating this routine with his hat, it ceases to have meaning in the context of the play and his life. However, each instance of this routine has singular meaning and emotional significance in the context of the scene. For example, the very first time he does it, quoted above, it emphasizes his dialogue. Vladimir is searching for a word, and he searches his hat as if this word is inside. While repeated actions in Waiting for Godot might lose their importance in grand scheme of the play, they retain significance in the particular context they occur in. In Waiting for Godot and Old Times, stage directions play an important role, enriching the plays by altering or reinforcing the meaning of the events that take place within. Ive found that Beckett and Pinter use stage directions to move their characters in such a way as to convey two elements to the reader: the emotions of the characters and the relationships between those characters. Stage directions enhance the emotions displayed in the dialogue and reveal the physical and emotional relationships between characters by supplementing the dialogue or replacing it altogether. In this way, the stage directions add a significant element to the plays, going beyond the dialogue to achieve

certain effects. Although the interpretation of the stage directions, and thus the performance of these plays, is ultimately up to the discretion of the director and actors, Beckett and Pinter provide explicit instructions about how the plays should be performed. The stage directions they provide lend significant insight into the characters and their relationships, and make the images they present much clearer and more emotional as a result.