Samuel Beckett's Signature in Years 1929-1938: Reflecting on the Thought Process: Language, the Neutrum and Memory

The study offers new readings of early works, both novels and short stories, of Samuel Beckett in the context of Beckett’s signature. The author analyses the given signature through such terms as language, the neutrum and memory, simultaneously incorporating the mentioned terms in the context of Beckett’s early prose. The first part of the book is theoretical and concentrates on coining the term signature through different philosophical viewpoints (e.g., Lotman, Blanchot, Bergson), whereas the second part analyses Beckett’s early works in the context of the signature (e.g., Proust, More Pricks Than Kicks, Murphy). The book also analyses a posthumously-published short story Echo’s Bones that opens new interpretation paths for twenty-first century Beckettologists.

Rafał Borkowski holds a PhD in English Literature Studies from the University of Gdańsk (Poland). He has published articles on British and Irish literature. His interests pivot around early Samuel Beckett’s works, semiotics and Scandinavian languages.