Abstract

This essay is a reply to Matthew Feldman's identification and advocacy (in SBT/A 16) of a methodological "partition" in Beckett studies. It argues that the 'critical tribunal' set up by his article may be contested on the grounds that: the advocated paradigm for research makes a contentious journey from science to literature; it dogmatically imposes restrictions on the range of literary critical interventions deemed to be of value; it employs a 'black box' approach to its own argument.