Human Wishes (c. 1936–1937, fragment) by Samuel Beckett (Type of Work)

 

Human Wishes (c. 1936–1937, fragment)

by Samuel Beckett

(Type of Work) 

Type of Work – Human Wishes (c. 1936–1937, fragment) by Samuel Beckett

Human Wishes is best understood as an unfinished historical verse drama with strong philosophical and proto-absurdist elements. Although written early in Beckett’s career—long before his major dramatic works such as Waiting for Godot—the fragment reveals his evolving dramatic sensibility and thematic concerns.

At its core, the piece is a dramatic portrayal of a historical figure, centering on the 18th-century writer Samuel Johnson during the composition of his poem The Vanity of Human Wishes. Because it dramatizes real individuals within a documented historical moment, the work belongs to the tradition of historical drama. However, unlike conventional historical plays that focus on political action or public spectacle, Beckett’s treatment is intensely interior and psychological. The emphasis lies not on events but on consciousness—on doubt, frustration, ambition, and mortality.

Formally, the play is written in verse, reflecting Johnson’s own poetic voice and intellectual milieu. This choice aligns the work with poetic drama, recalling earlier traditions in English theatre where heightened language shapes character and theme. Yet Beckett’s verse does not simply imitate 18th-century style; instead, it creates a reflective, sometimes ironic distance between the characters and their desires.

Philosophically, Human Wishes foreshadows Beckett’s later exploration of futility, limitation, and the inadequacy of human striving. While not yet fully aligned with what would later be termed the Theatre of the Absurd, the fragment reveals early signs of Beckett’s characteristic concerns: the tension between aspiration and failure, the burden of consciousness, and the inevitability of decline. The dramatic action is minimal, and the emotional intensity arises from internal conflict rather than external events.

Thus, the work may be described as:

An unfinished verse drama

A historical-biographical play

A philosophical character study

An early precursor to Beckett’s later existential theatre

In essence, Human Wishes occupies a transitional space in Beckett’s development. It bridges traditional literary drama and the stripped-down, existential stagecraft that would later define his career. Even in fragmentary form, it demonstrates how Beckett was already moving away from conventional plot-driven drama toward a theatre concerned with the fragile, often tragic nature of human longing.