Quad
(Quadrat 1 + 2, 1981)
by
Samuel Beckett
(Key Facts)
Key
Facts: Quad (Quadrat 1 + 2, 1981)
Full
Title:
Quad
(Quadrat 1 + 2)
Author:
Samuel
Beckett
Type
of Work:
Experimental
television play / movement-based performance piece
Genre:
Theatre
of the Absurd
Minimalist
drama
Postmodern
/ Avant-garde performance
Non-verbal
dance-drama
Language:
No
spoken language (entirely non-verbal)
Time
and Place Written:
Late
1970s–early 1980s; written
primarily in France (Beckett’s residence at the time)
Date
of First Publication / Broadcast:
1981
Publisher
/ Broadcaster:
Written
for and first broadcast by Süddeutscher Rundfunk (German Television)
Tone:
Abstract,
mechanical, bleak, impersonal, existential, ritualistic, progressively
exhausted
Setting
(Time):
Timeless;
outside historical or chronological time
Setting
(Place):
A
bare square performance space with an implied forbidden center (No identifiable
geographical location)
Protagonist:
There
is no single protagonist.
Collectively,
the Four Figures (Performers) function as a shared or symbolic protagonist
representing humanity.
Major
Conflict:
The
conflict between compulsory movement and forbidden stillness, symbolized by the
figures’ constant motion and their absolute avoidance of the center.
Rising
Action:
The
gradual increase in complexity as figures enter one by one, intensifying
movement patterns and spatial tension.
Climax:
The
square fully occupied by all four figures moving simultaneously at peak
intensity in Quadrat 1.
Falling
Action:
The
disappearance of figures and the transition to Quadrat 2, where movement slows and
energy fades.
Resolution:
No
traditional resolution; movement ends without explanation, leaving the system
and the center unchanged.
Themes:
Existential
absurdity
Repetition
and habit
Avoidance
of ultimate truth
Exhaustion
and decline
Loss
of individuality
Endurance
without purpose
Continuity
without meaning
Motifs:
Repetitive
movement patterns
Circular
and diagonal paths
Entrances
and exits
Avoidance
behavior
Mechanical
rhythm and silence
Symbols:
The
Square: Closed system / confined existence
The
Forbidden Center: Death, truth, God, nothingness, or existential void
The
Four Figures: Humanity reduced to routine
Color
(Quadrat 1): Vitality and illusion of purpose
Grey
(Quadrat 2): Exhaustion and decay
Percussive
Sound: Time, compulsion, external authority
Silence:
Emptiness after meaning collapses
Foreshadowing:
The
strict avoidance of the center foreshadows inevitable exhaustion and
disappearance.
The
mechanical precision of movement anticipates the emotional and existential
emptiness of Quadrat 2.
The
unchanging system foreshadows the lack of resolution or escape.
Concluding
Note
Quad
replaces conventional narrative with structure and symbolism. Its “facts”
function less as story elements and more as components of a philosophical
system, reflecting Beckett’s late-stage vision of human existence as patterned
motion sustained by habit rather than meaning.
 by Samuel Beckett (Key Facts)){kind=link}
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