Quotes from Waiting for Godot: A Tragicomedy in Two Acts

“The tears of the world are a constant quantity. For each one who begins to weep somewhere else another stops. The same is true of the laugh.”
― Samuel Beckett, quote from Waiting for Godot: A Tragicomedy in Two Acts

“Estragon: We always find something, eh Didi, to give us the impression we exist?

Vladimir: Yes, yes, we're magicians.”
― Samuel Beckett, quote from Waiting for Godot: A Tragicomedy in Two Acts

“Je suis comme ça. Ou j'oublie tout de suite ou je n'oublie jamais."

Samuel BECKETT, En attendant Godot

I'm like that. Either I forget right away or I never forget. ”
― Samuel Beckett, quote from Waiting for Godot: A Tragicomedy in Two Acts

“Vladimir: Did I ever leave you?
Estragon: You let me go.”
― Samuel Beckett, quote from Waiting for Godot: A Tragicomedy in Two Acts

“Nothing happens. Nobody comes, nobody goes. It's awful.”
― Samuel Beckett, quote from Waiting for Godot: A Tragicomedy in Two Acts

“Let's go." "We can't." "Why not?" "We're waiting for Godot.”
― Samuel Beckett, quote from Waiting for Godot: A Tragicomedy in Two Acts

“There’s man all over for you, blaming on his boots the faults of his feet.”
― Samuel Beckett, quote from Waiting for Godot: A Tragicomedy in Two Acts

“Let us do something, while we have the chance! It is not every day that we are needed. Not indeed that we personally are needed. Others would meet the case equally well, if not better. To all mankind they were addressed, those cries for help still ringing in our ears! But at this place, at this moment of time, all mankind is us, whether we like it or not. Let us make the most of it, before it is too late! Let us represent worthily for one the foul brood to which a cruel fate consigned us! What do you say? It is true that when with folded arms we weigh the pros and cons we are no less a credit to our species. The tiger bounds to the help of his congeners without the least reflexion, or else he slinks away into the depths of the thickets. But that is not the question. What are we doing here, that is the question. And we are blessed in this, that we happen to know the answer. Yes, in the immense confusion one thing alone is clear. We are waiting for Godot to come -- ”
― Samuel Beckett, quote from Waiting for Godot: A Tragicomedy in Two Acts

“ESTRAGON: I can't go on like this.
VLADIMIR: That's what you think.”
― Samuel Beckett, quote from Waiting for Godot: A Tragicomedy in Two Acts

“Estragon: I'm like that. Either I forget right away or I never forget.”
― Samuel Beckett, quote from Waiting for Godot: A Tragicomedy in Two Acts

“VLADIMIR: What do they say?
ESTRAGON: They talk about their lives.
VLADIMIR: To have lived is not enough for them.
ESTRAGON: They have to talk about it.”
― Samuel Beckett, quote from Waiting for Godot: A Tragicomedy in Two Acts

“Have you not done tormenting me with your accursed time! It's abominable! When! When! One day, is that not enough for you, one day he went dumb, one day I went blind, one day we'll go deaf, one day we were born, one day we shall die, the same day, the same second, is that not enough for you? They give birth astride of a grave, the light gleams an instant, then it's night once more.”
― Samuel Beckett, quote from Waiting for Godot: A Tragicomedy in Two Acts

“Estragon: People are bloody ignorant apes.”
― Samuel Beckett, quote from Waiting for Godot: A Tragicomedy in Two Acts

“ESTRAGON: Don't touch me! Don't question me! Don't speak to me! Stay with me!
VLADIMIR: Did I ever leave you?
ESTRAGON: You let me go.”
― Samuel Beckett, quote from Waiting for Godot: A Tragicomedy in Two Acts

“Vladimir: I don't understand.
Estragon: Use your intelligence, can't you?
Vladimir uses his intelligence.
Vladimir: (finally) I remain in the dark.”
― Samuel Beckett, quote from Waiting for Godot: A Tragicomedy in Two Acts

“That's how it is on this bitch of an earth.”
― Samuel Beckett, quote from Waiting for Godot: A Tragicomedy in Two Acts

“POZZO:
I am blind.
(Silence.)
ESTRAGON:
Perhaps he can see into the future.”
― Samuel Beckett, quote from Waiting for Godot: A Tragicomedy in Two Acts

“The tears of the world are a constant quantity. For each one who begins to weep somewhere else another stops. The same is true of the laugh. Let us not then speak ill of our generation, it is not any unhappier than its predecessors.”
― Samuel Beckett, quote from Waiting for Godot: A Tragicomedy in Two Acts

“Estragon: What about hanging ourselves?
Vladimir: Hmm. It'd give us an erection.”
― Samuel Beckett, quote from Waiting for Godot: A Tragicomedy in Two Acts

“There is man in his entirety, blaming his shoe when his foot is guilty.”
― Samuel Beckett, quote from Waiting for Godot: A Tragicomedy in Two Acts

“We always find something, eh Didi, to let us think we exist?”
― Samuel Beckett, quote from Waiting for Godot: A Tragicomedy in Two Acts

“I’m like that. Either I forget right away or I never forget.”
― Samuel Beckett, quote from Waiting for Godot: A Tragicomedy in Two Acts

“We wait. We are bored. (He throws up his hand.) No, don't protest, we are bored to death, there's no denying it. Good. A diversion comes along and what do we do? We let it go to waste. Come, let's get to work! (He advances towards the heap, stops in his stride.) In an instant all will vanish and we'll be alone more, in the midst of nothingness!”
― Samuel Beckett, quote from Waiting for Godot: A Tragicomedy in Two Acts

“Was I sleeping, while the others suffered? Am I sleeping now? Tomorrow, when I wake, or think I do, what shall I say of today? That with Estragon my friend, at this place, until the fall of night, I waited for Godot?”
― Samuel Beckett, quote from Waiting for Godot: A Tragicomedy in Two Acts

“We have time to grow old. The air is full of our cries. But habit is a great deadener.”
― Samuel Beckett, quote from Waiting for Godot: A Tragicomedy in Two Acts

About the author

Popular quotes

“The males (of the Hutchinson family that included both religious dissenter Anne and immensely wealthy and politically connected Thomas) were merchants who sought salvation through commerce.”
― H.W. Brands, quote from The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin

“Here are some other people I don’t trust as far as I can throw a truckload of pianos.”
― James Patterson, quote from Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life

“إن الحياة "في الحقيقة" ليس لها في نظم ما بعد الشمولية فقط بعد وجودي (عودة الإنسان إلى نفسه), وفكري (كشف الحقيقة كما هي), وأخلاقي (ليصبح نموذدجاً), لكن لها فضلا عن ذلك بعد سياسي.
فلو أن الدعامة الرئيسية للنظام هي الحياة "في الكذب", فليس مستغرباً أن الحياة "في الحقيقة" تصبح تهديدا كبيرا له. لذلك يجب ملاحقته أكثر من أي شيء آخر.”
― Václav Havel, quote from The Power of the Powerless

“A good basic guideline for our speech (in relation to Ethical Conduct) is to reflect whether what we are saying is both true and useful. There may be times when we are honest in what we say, but our words are too brutal or harsh. And there may be other times when we are deliberately being kind with the words we choose, but what we are saying is not totally true.”
― Noah Levine, quote from Against the Stream: A Buddhist Manual for Spiritual Revolutionaries

“We now operate in a world in which we can assume neither competence nor good faith from the authorities, and the consequences of this simple, devastating realization is the defining feature of American life at the end of this low, dishonest decade.”
― Christopher L. Hayes, quote from Twilight of the Elites: America After Meritocracy

Interesting books

About BookQuoters

BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.

We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.

Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.