“To Have Done Again”

Abstract

This essay is a genetic manuscript study of Beckett’s self-translation process. This study will examine how Beckett preserved the still-life attributes of Still in self-translation, and how he maintained the tension between motion and stillness in his translation of Pour finir encore. In Still, readers realise that the figure is not entirely still because of the rise and fall of its chest and the slow movement of its hand. Neither can Beckett impose stillness upon his world in Pour finir encore. By examining manuscripts, patterns of translation will emerge, giving readers a better understanding of the creative processes of self-translation.