No modern play in the western dramatic tradition has provoked as much controversy or generated as much diversity of opinion as Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot. Since its initial production in 1953, it has revolutionized the stage through its ostensibly plotless form. It continues to be performed and is widely studied by school students, undergraduates, and scholars. This guide conveniently introduces the play and synthesizes the vast body of critical reactions to it. The initial chapters summarize the play and discuss its origins and editions. The guide then looks at the cultural, historical, and intellectual contexts surrounding Beckett's work. It then analyses Beckett's dramatic art and gives full coverage of the play's performance history. A concluding bibliographical essay surveys the growing body of scholarship on this important work.