Krapp at the Hawk's Well: Beckett, Yeats, and Joyce

Starting from the recognized problematic of choice as dramatic determinant in Krapp's Last Tape (1958), this study scrutinizes the thematic affinity and resemblances in figuration between the Beckett play and another piece about an old man reviewing his life, W.B. Yeats's Noh-inspired At the Hawk's Well (1917), which Beckett is known to have admired. In light of the acknowledged (though disputed) autobiographical significance of Krapp's life-changing "vision," the linkage between this play and Beckett's relation to his mentor and greatest influence, James Joyce, is considered. It is argued that the Yeats play acts as a thematic model and artistic buffer that provides vital imaginative space for Beckett in his creative agon with Joyce as precursor.