"E quindi uscimmo a riveder le stelle" - But there are no stars : Dante in Beckett's Endgame

Abstract

In 1991 I had an extraordinary theatrical experience: I saw twenty-one Beckett plays within thirteen days-nineteen in English, two repeated in French -; and I was struck, forcibly and often, by the presence therein of Dante. I had not gone seeking Dante, but several times words or movements on the stage brought the Commedia to mind. That Dante is a strong factor - a term preferable to influence - which may help us to understand better the elliptic writings of the Irishman, is widely recognized in Beckett scholarship; Dante features in the index of most full length studies of Beckett, and in Knowlson' s rich and meticulous biography there is an unique entry entitled specifically "Dante influence". It is known that Beckett, all his life, had his Dante sotto mano, often carrying a small copy in his pocket.