Samuel Beckett, author of 'Waiting for Godot,' born 120 years ago

Samuel Beckett, the renowned playwright behind the influential absurdist drama 'Waiting for Godot,' was born 120 years ago. The Irish-born writer, who later became a key figure in 20th-century literature, drew significant inspiration from the turbulent European atmosphere of the late 1930s as the continent moved toward World War II. Beckett's acute sense of the absurd found fertile ground in this period of mounting political tension and uncertainty, shaping his distinctive literary voice that would later revolutionize modern theater through works exploring themes of existential waiting, meaninglessness, and the human condition.