In the plays Waiting for Godot and The House of Bernarda Alba, life and death are significant concepts. Life is meaningless in Godot as he simply waits until death, while Bernarda Alba describes the futility of life without passion, love or freedom. Bernarda Alba's house, through Adela's rebellious spirit, means living a passionate life, while in Waiting for Godot Beckett seems to imply that life is meaningless. While Waiting for Godot focuses more on the metaphorical aspect of death, The House of Bernarda Alba deals with literal death through Adela's suicide. As playwrights, Lorca and Beckett convey their views on life and death through their works. Beckett portrays a cyclical and boring existence in Waiting for Godot, while dramatic action is explicitly evident in Lorca's The House of Bernarda Alba. Just as their views on life are contrasting, the two playwrights also have different views on death. This is caused by the great cultural differences between the two playwrights. Lorca's work is set in the Spanish culture and social repression of the Civil War, while the views expressed in Beckett's absurdist work are significantly influenced by the existentialism of the Second World War. Both Beckett and Lorca agree that death is an inevitable event, however they have different opinions on its meaning. Through the characterization of their main characters, playwrights highlight their contrasting views on life and death. By describing significant events in the lives of their main characters, Lorca and Beckett convey their contrasting views on life. Waiting for Godot indicates no purpose to our actions and existence. Reiterating the futility of life, the character's lives are a repetitive cycle of meaningless conversations and... in the middle of a sheet of paper... kett conveys his belief that life is simply a period of waiting for one's death, in The House of Bernarda Alba, Lorca through the fiery spirit of Adele, shows a passionate life. Thus, through the lives of Vladimir, Estragon and Adela, the two playwrights' respective visions of life were represented. The playwrights' view of death, however, is similar, as they both see death as a source of change and an insignificant event in society. Life and death is a significant theme explored in both Waiting for Godot and The House of Bernarda Alba, and through these plays, audiences inevitably gain new perceptions of life and death. Works Cited Beckett, Samuel. Waiting for Godot. 3rd ed. Np: CPI Group, 2006. Print. vol. 1 by Samuel Beckett: the complete dramatic works. 4 volsLorca, Federico Garcia. La Casa de Bernarda Alba, Manchester University Press, 1984. Print