Krapp's Last Tape as Tragicomedy

Abstract

FIRST THINGS FIRST: the title, followed by the subtitle. Virtually every word of both is a pun: Krapp's Last Tape: A Play in One Act. As numerous critics have observed, Krapp is both the man's name and excrement; man is therefore symbolized by and reduced to excrement. As Ruby Cohn points out, Tape may refer both to the recording device and to an alcoholic beverage. A Play, a work for the stage, also describes how one records and how one listens to a recording device; and such meanings of the word as amusement, game, or diversionary activity (as distinguished from meaningful employment) are apposite. Perhaps more important in the context of tragicomedy are the remaining words. Last may mean final or it may mean the most recent. Descriptive of the theatre piece, One Act at the same time suggests that all of Krapp's tape recording sessions are ultimately the same, are essentially one act. Thus, Krapp's final and/or his most recent tape is essentially the same as the others.