Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Samuel Beckett was one of the most influential writers of the 20th century. He won a Nobel Prize in Literature and his most famous work is the play Waiting for Godot. He was also a deep pessimist and an antinatalist.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~INFO~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
📧 | Contact Me: lawrenceant@protonmail.com
🔥 | Support my work with a one-off donation or monthly support for added perks: ko-fi.com/lawrenceanton
My projects:
🗯️ | Antinatalist Handbook –rebutting common natalist arguments: antinatalisthandbook.org
✅ | Antinatalist Advocacy – increasing your impact as an antinatalist: antinatalistadvocacy.org
Get your favourite antinatalist merch:
👕 | Get your favourite antinatalist merch: voidmerchandise.myshopify.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~TIMESTAMPS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
00:00 – Intro
01:21 – Pessimism in Beckett's Plays (Waiting for Godot & All That Fall)
06:07 – Pessimism in Beckett's Early Life (Proust)
08:38 – Pessimism in Beckett's Personal Life (Vogue & Cioran)
09:58 – Antinatalism in Beckett's Work
15:00 – A Personal Anecdote of Pessimism + Outro
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~LINKS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Anti-Natalism: Rejectionist Philosophy from Buddhism to Benatar (Ken Coates): amazon.co.uk/Anti-Natalism-Rejectionist-Philosophy-Buddhism-Benatar/dp/1506902405
Waiting for Godot
• Play: youtube.com/watch?v=izX5dIzI2RE
• Script: resources.saylor.org/wwwresources/archived/site/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Waiting-for-Godot.pdf
All That Fall
• Play: youtube.com/watch?v=ABM1i9rhswA&t=3990s
• Script: irp.cdn-website.com/b5cf95f0/files/uploaded/All%20That%20Fall%20Script_eMxUqS0IQvSg9q7msu3i.pdf
Proust (Samuel Beckett): faber.co.uk/product/9780571399994-proust
• Wiki: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proust_(essay)
• Studies in Pessimism (Arthur Schopenhauer): gutenberg.org/files/10732/10732-h/10732-h.htm
• Life Is a Dream (Pedro Calderon de la Barca): gutenberg.org/files/2587/2587-h/2587-h.htm
Vogue Interview (Ctrl + F and search for 'Beckett'): archive.vogue.com/issue/19691201/print
Beckett and Cioran (Steven Matthews): amazon.co.uk/Beckett-Cioran-Elements-Studies/dp/1009351559
Molloy (Samuel Beckett): amazon.co.uk/Molloy-Samuel-Beckett/dp/0571243711
• Wiki: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molloy_(novel)
Samuel Beckett – The Last Modernist (Anthony Cronin): amazon.co.uk/Samuel-Buckett-Modernist-Anthony-Cronin/dp/0007330049
Outro Music // The Last Time - Kayou. // Provided by @LofiGirl
Samuel Beckett was one of the most influential writers of the 20th century. He won a Nobel Prize in Literature and his most famous work is the play Waiting for Godot. He was also a deep pessimist and an antinatalist.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~INFO~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
📧 | Contact Me: lawrenceant@protonmail.com
🔥 | Support my work with a one-off donation or monthly support for added perks: ko-fi.com/lawrenceanton
My projects:
🗯️ | Antinatalist Handbook –rebutting common natalist arguments: antinatalisthandbook.org
✅ | Antinatalist Advocacy – increasing your impact as an antinatalist: antinatalistadvocacy.org
Get your favourite antinatalist merch:
👕 | Get your favourite antinatalist merch: voidmerchandise.myshopify.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~TIMESTAMPS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
00:00 – Intro
01:21 – Pessimism in Beckett's Plays (Waiting for Godot & All That Fall)
06:07 – Pessimism in Beckett's Early Life (Proust)
08:38 – Pessimism in Beckett's Personal Life (Vogue & Cioran)
09:58 – Antinatalism in Beckett's Work
15:00 – A Personal Anecdote of Pessimism + Outro
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~LINKS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Anti-Natalism: Rejectionist Philosophy from Buddhism to Benatar (Ken Coates): amazon.co.uk/Anti-Natalism-Rejectionist-Philosophy-Buddhism-Benatar/dp/1506902405
Waiting for Godot
• Play: youtube.com/watch?v=izX5dIzI2RE
• Script: resources.saylor.org/wwwresources/archived/site/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Waiting-for-Godot.pdf
All That Fall
• Play: youtube.com/watch?v=ABM1i9rhswA&t=3990s
• Script: irp.cdn-website.com/b5cf95f0/files/uploaded/All%20That%20Fall%20Script_eMxUqS0IQvSg9q7msu3i.pdf
Proust (Samuel Beckett): faber.co.uk/product/9780571399994-proust
• Wiki: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proust_(essay)
• Studies in Pessimism (Arthur Schopenhauer): gutenberg.org/files/10732/10732-h/10732-h.htm
• Life Is a Dream (Pedro Calderon de la Barca): gutenberg.org/files/2587/2587-h/2587-h.htm
Vogue Interview (Ctrl + F and search for 'Beckett'): archive.vogue.com/issue/19691201/print
Beckett and Cioran (Steven Matthews): amazon.co.uk/Beckett-Cioran-Elements-Studies/dp/1009351559
Molloy (Samuel Beckett): amazon.co.uk/Molloy-Samuel-Beckett/dp/0571243711
• Wiki: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molloy_(novel)
Samuel Beckett – The Last Modernist (Anthony Cronin): amazon.co.uk/Samuel-Buckett-Modernist-Anthony-Cronin/dp/0007330049
Outro Music // The Last Time - Kayou. // Provided by @LofiGirl
