As one of the most enigmatic of Samuel Beckett's texts, and the last of the three works published under the title
Nohow On,
Worstward Ho(1983) seems to express the desire to come to some form of closure. The final words “Said nohow on.” are an answer to the opening words “On. Say on.” As such, they are an illustration of the important maxim from Beckett's
Endgame: “The end is in the beginning and yet you go on.”
Worstward Hois the most radical elaboration of this “and yet”. It is an attempt to reach the worst possible condition, which proves to be an asymptotic journey: like the infinitesimal attempt to reach ‘nothing' with words, the worst cannot be attained with words. For as Shakespeare already wrote in
King Lear: “And worse may I be yet; the worst is not, / So…
1681 words
Citation: Van Hulle, Dirk. "Worstward Ho". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 04 October 2004 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=8883, accessed 13 October 2024.]