Beckett and Popper, Or, "What Stink of Artifice": Some Notes on Methodology, Falsifiability, and Criticism in Beckett Studies

Abstract

The following attempts to identify an implicit theoretical divergence already existing in Beckett Studies. Contrasting methodologies, albeit oftentimes implicitly, continue to approach Beckett's writing from markedly different perspectives. One contributing factor to this dilemma is found in Beckett's art and (now archived) supporting materials, which shall also be considered. This article concludes that theorising from a position of empirical accuracy, especially in Beckett Studies, is inherently preferable in demonstrably increasing scholarly knowledge of our shared subject, Samuel Beckett.