Vivian Mercier

Vivian Mercier

Vivian Mercier (1919 - 1989) was an Irish literary critic. He was born in Clara, County Offaly, Ireland and educated first at Portora Royal School, Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh, and then at Trinity College, Dublin. He is perhaps best known for his famous summation of the plot of Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot: "nothing happens, twice." Ironically, despite what may sound like a somewhat disparaging criticism, Mercier was in actuality one of the foremost Beckett scholars of his day, and wrote extensively about Godot. He also wrote a critically acclaimed study of Beckett's work as a whole, Beckett/Beckett.

1989, the year of his death, was also the year of Beckett's death. Mercier's last marriage (1974-1989) had been to the Irish novelist and children's writer Eilis Dillon, who edited his posthumous book, Modern Irish Literature: Sources and Founders (Oxford, 1994). He is buried beside his wife in his hometown of Clara.

External links

• A very brief bio

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