'Till Nohow On' - The Later Metafiction of Samuel Beckett

Abstract

This paper examines some of Samuel Beckett's late narratives ("Company," "Ill Seen Ill Said," "Worstward Ho" and "Stirrings Still"), with a focus on the evolution of his metafictional techniques, and more specifically the growing importance acquired by the thematization of the compositional process itself, as well as the attention paid to closure. These texts are interpreted here as explorations of the element of reading inherent to writing (implied reception). The paper also analyzes the stylistics of Beckett's prose and discusses its significance.

Keywords: Literature, Experimental Narrative, Samuel Beckett, Metafiction, Stylistics, Closure, Reflexivity