Plot

Act I
Waiting for Godot follows two days in the lives of a pair of men who divert themselves while they wait expectantly and in
vain for someone named Godot to arrive. They claim him as an acquaintance but in fact hardly know him, admitting that
they would not recognise him were they to see him. To occupy themselves, they eat, sleep, converse, argue, sing, play
games, exercise, swap hats, and contemplate suicide — anything "to hold the terrible silence at bay".

The play opens with the character Estragon struggling to remove his boot from his foot. Estragon eventually gives up,
muttering, "Nothing to be done." His friend Vladimir takes up the thought and muses on it, the implication being that
nothing is a thing that has to be done and this pair is going to have to spend the rest of the play doing it. [5] When Estragon
finally succeeds in removing his boot, he looks and feels inside but finds nothing. Just prior to this, Vladimir peers into his
hat. The motif recurs throughout the play.

The pair discusses repentance, particularly in relation to the two thieves crucified alongside Jesus, and that only one of the
Four Evangelists mentions that one of them was saved. This is the first of numerous Biblical references in the play, which
may be linked to its putative central theme of the search for and reconciliation with God, as well as salvation: "We're
saved!" they cry on more than one occasion when they feel that Godot may be near.

Presently, Vladimir expresses his frustration with Estragon's limited conversational skills: "Come on, Gogo, return the
ball, can't you, once in a while?" Estragon struggles in this regard throughout the play, and Vladimir generally takes the
lead in their dialogue and encounters with others. Vladimir is at times hostile towards his companion, but in general they
are close, frequently embracing and supporting one another.

Estragon peers out into the audience and comments on the bleakness of his surroundings. He wants to depart but is told
that they cannot because they must wait for Godot. The pair cannot agree, however, on whether or not they are in the right
place or that this is the arranged day for their meeting with Godot; indeed, they are not even sure what day it is.
Throughout the play, experienced time is attenuated, fractured or eerily non-existent. [6] The only thing that they are fairly
sure about is that they are to meet at a tree: there is one nearby.

Estragon dozes off, but Vladimir is not interested in hearing about his dream after rousing him. Estragon wants to hear an
old joke about a brothel, which Vladimir starts but cannot finish, as he is suddenly compelled to rush off and urinate. He
does not finish the story when he returns, asking Estragon instead what else they might do to pass the time. Estragon
suggests that they hang themselves, but they quickly abandon the idea when it seems that they might not both die: this
would leave one of them alone, an intolerable notion. They decide to do nothing: "It's safer," explains Estragon, [7] before
asking what Godot is going to do for them when he arrives. For once it is Vladimir who struggles to remember: "Oh ...
nothing very definite," is the best that he can manage. [7]

When Estragon declares that he is hungry, Vladimir provides a carrot, most of which, and without much relish, the former
eats. The diversion ends as it began, Estragon announcing that they still have nothing to do.

Their waiting is interrupted by the passing through of Pozzo and his heavily-laden slave Lucky. "A terrible cry"[8] from the
wings heralds the initial entrance of Lucky, who has a rope tied around his neck. He crosses half the stage before his
master appears holding the other end. Pozzo barks orders at his slave and frequently calls him a "pig", but is civil towards
the other two. They mistake him at first for Godot and clearly do not recognise him for the self-proclaimed personage he
is. This irks him, but, while maintaining that the land that they are on is his, he acknowledges that "the road is free to all".
[9]

Deciding to rest for a while, Pozzo enjoys a pre-packed meal of chicken and wine. Finished, he casts the bones aside, and
Estragon jumps at the chance to ask for them, much to Vladimir's embarrassment, but is told that they belong to the
carrier. He must first, therefore, ask Lucky if he wants them. Estragon tries, but Lucky only hangs his head, refusing to
answer. Taking this as a "no", Estragon claims the bones.

Vladimir takes Pozzo to task regarding his mistreatment of his slave, but his protestations are ignored. When the original
pairing tries to find out why Lucky does not put down his load (at least not unless his master is prevailing on him to do
something else), Pozzo explains that Lucky is attempting to mollify him to prevent him from selling him. At this, Lucky
begins to cry. Pozzo provides a handkerchief, but, when Estragon tries to wipe his tears away, Lucky kicks him in the
shins.
Before he leaves, Pozzo asks if he can do anything for the pair in exchange for the company they have provided him
during his rest. Estragon tries to ask for some money, but Vladimir cuts him short, explaining that they are not beggars.
They nevertheless accept an offer to have Lucky dance and think.

The dance is clumsy and shuffling, and everyone is disappointed. Lucky's "think", induced by Vladimir's putting his hat
on his head, is a lengthy and disjointed verbal stream of consciousness. [10] The soliloquy begins relatively coherently but
quickly dissolves into logorrhoea and only ends when Vladimir rips off Lucky's hat.

Once Lucky has been revived, Pozzo has him pack up his things and, together, they leave. At the end of the act (and its
successor), a boy arrives, purporting to be a messenger sent from Godot, to advise the pair that he will not be coming that
"evening but surely tomorrow."[11] During Vladimir's interrogation of the boy, he asks if he came the day before, making it
apparent that the two men have been waiting for an indefinite period and will likely continue to wait ad infinitum. After
the boy departs, they decide to leave but make no attempt to do so, an action repeated in Act II, as the curtain is drawn.
Act II
Act II opens with Vladimir singing a recursive round about a dog which serves to illustrate the cyclical nature of the play's
universe, and also points toward the play's debt to the carnivalesque, music hall traditions, and vaudeville comedy (this is
only one of a number of canine references and allusions in the play). There is a bit of realisation on Vladimir's part that
the world they are trapped in evinces convoluted progression (or lack thereof) of time. He begins to see that although there
is notional evidence of linear progression, basically he is living the same day over and over. Eugene Webb writes of
Vladimir's song that[12] "Time in the song is not a linear sequence, but an endlessly reiterated moment, the content of
which is only one eternal event: death."[13]

Once again Estragon maintains he spent the night in a ditch and was beaten – by "ten of them" [14] this time – though once
again he shows no sign of injury. Vladimir tries to talk to him about what appears to be a seasonal change in the tree and
the proceedings of the day before, but he has only a vague recollection. Vladimir tries to get Estragon to remember Pozzo
and Lucky but all he can call to mind are the bones and getting kicked. Vladimir realises here an opportunity to produce
tangible evidence of the previous day's events. With some difficulty he gets Estragon to show him his leg. There is a
wound which is beginning to fester. Only then Vladimir notices that Estragon is not wearing any boots.
He discovers the pair of boots, which Estragon insists are not his but nevertheless fit when he tries them on. With no
carrots left, Vladimir offers Estragon the choice between a turnip and a radish. He opts for the radish but it is black and he
hands it back. He decides to try and sleep again and adopts the same fetal position as the previous day. Vladimir sings him
a lullaby.

Vladimir notices Lucky's hat, and he decides to try it on. This leads to a frenetic hat swapping scene. They play at
imitating Pozzo and Lucky, but Estragon can barely remember having met them and simply does what Vladimir asks.
They fire insults at each other and then make up. After that, they attempt some physical jerks which do not work out well,
and even attempt a single yoga position, which fails miserably.
Pozzo and Lucky arrive, with Pozzo now blind and insisting that Lucky is dumb. The rope is now much shorter, and
Lucky – who has acquired a new hat – leads Pozzo, rather than being driven by him. Pozzo has lost all notion of time, and
assures them he cannot remember meeting them the day before, and does not expect to remember the current day's events
when they are over.

They fall in a heap at one point. Estragon sees an opportunity to extort more food or to exact revenge on Lucky for
kicking him. The issue is debated at length. Pozzo offers them money but Vladimir sees more worth in their entertainment
value since they are compelled to wait to see if Godot arrives anyway. Eventually though, they all find their way onto
their feet.

Whereas the Pozzo in Act I is a windbag, he now (as a blind man) appears to have gained some insight. His parting words
– which Vladimir expands upon later – eloquently encapsulate the brevity of human existence: "They give birth astride of
a grave, the light gleams an instant, then it's night once more." [15]
Lucky and Pozzo depart. The same boy returns to inform them not to expect Godot today, but promises he will arrive the
next day. The two again consider suicide but their rope, Estragon's belt, breaks in two when they tug on it. Estragon's
trousers fall down, but he does not notice until Vladimir tells him to pull them up. They resolve to bring a more suitable
piece and hang themselves the next day, if Godot fails to arrive.
Again, they agree to leave but neither of them makes any move to go.