How we cite our quotes: (Act.Line) Every time a character talks counts as one line, even if what they say turns into a long monologue.
Quote #13
VLADIMIR
Look at it.
They look at the tree.
ESTRAGON
I see nothing.
VLADIMIR
But yesterday evening it was all black and bare. And now it's covered with leaves.
ESTRAGON
Leaves?
VLADIMIR
In a single night.
ESTRAGON
It must be the Spring.
VLADIMIR
But in a single night! (2.197-203)
Time passes in an absurdly inconsistent manner in Waiting for Godot; while the characters decay (Pozzo goes blind, Lucky loses the ability to speak), the tree goes in the other direction—blossoming in a single night.
Quote #14
ESTRAGON
We came too soon.
VLADIMIR
It's always at nightfall.
ESTRAGON
But night doesn't fall.
VLADIMIR
It'll fall all of a sudden, like yesterday.
ESTRAGON
Then it'll be night.
VLADIMIR
And we can go.
ESTRAGON
Then it'll be day again. (Pause. Despairing.) What'll we do, what'll we do! (2.334-40)
Estragon seems to catch only glimpses of the horrible stagnancy in which he and Vladimir are stuck. At this brief moment of realization he despairs, only to be distracted once again by Vladimir or by some inane element of their surroundings.
Quote #15
We are waiting for Godot to come—
ESTRAGON
Ah!
POZZO
Help!
VLADIMIR
Or for night to fall. (Pause.) (2.526-9)
Vladimir’s notion of time is tied up with the concept of waiting for Godot. The fact is, waiting for Godot is as repetitive, predictable, and never-ending as waiting on a daily basis for night to come. The end result is always the same, and the process always begins anew the next day, with no end in sight.