--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But what matter whether I was born or…" description: "\"“But what matter whether I was born or not, have lived or not, am dead or merely dying, I shall go on doing as I have always done, not knowing what it ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7d/samuel-beckett-365_dying_but-what-matter-whether-i-was-born-or-no_1925158.png" --- # But what matter whether I was born or not, have lived or… ![“But what matter whether I was born or not, have lived or not, am dead or merely dying, I shall go on doing as I have always done, not knowing what it is I do, nor who I am, nor where I am, nor if I am. Yes, a little creature, I shall try and make a little creature, to hold in my arms, a little…” quote by Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7d/samuel-beckett-365_dying_but-what-matter-whether-i-was-born-or-no_1925158.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7d/samuel-beckett-365_dying_but-what-matter-whether-i-was-born-or-no_1925158.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7d/samuel-beckett-365_dying_but-what-matter-whether-i-was-born-or-no_1925158.png) > ““But what matter whether I was born or not, have lived or not, am dead or merely dying, I shall go on doing as I have always done, not knowing what it is I do, nor who I am, nor where I am, nor if I am. Yes, a little creature, I shall try and make a little creature, to hold in my arms, a little creature in my image, no matter what I say. And seeing what a poor thing I have made, or how like myself, I shall eat it. Then be alone a long time, unhappy, not knowing what my prayer should be nor to whom.”” [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker reflects existential uncertainty, creating and confronting a flawed self‑image, leading to isolation and longing for meaning. **In simple terms:** A person creates a version of themselves, feels lost, and ends up alone. Key Takeaway Recognize and question the patterns that trap you. Themes existentialism identity loneliness Mood melancholic contemplative Type literary existential When to use this quote - personal crisis - artistic creation - psychological introspection Key Concepts self‑creation absurdity reflection Questions to Reflect On - What aspects of yourself do you replicate unknowingly? - How can you find purpose amid uncertainty? A Different Perspective The narrative may overemphasize despair, neglecting hope or agency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Creature Shall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creature-shall-387478/) [Dying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dying/) [Dying Shall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dying-shall-1696447/) [Knowing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowing/) [Long time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-time/) [Merely Dying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/merely-dying-1138315/) [Prayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prayer/) ## Related quotes > [But what matter whether I was born or not, have lived or not, am dead or merely dying. I shall go on doing as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/but-what-matter-whether-i-was-born-or-not-have-lived-or-not-am-dead-2/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [And if thy heart be straight with God then every creature shall be to thee a mirror of life and a book of holy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-kempis/and-if-thy-heart-be-straight-with-god-then-every-creature-shall-be-to/) [Thomas a Kempis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-kempis/) > [“I'm merely dying to be remembered for simply writing about my living memories”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-biondi/i-m-merely-dying-to-be-remembered-for-simply-writing-about-my-living/) [Michael Biondi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-biondi/) > [“If he would see me again, I would die happy. In the meantime, I was merely dying.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslea-tash/if-he-would-see-me-again-i-would-die-happy-in-the-meantime-i-was/) [Leslea Tash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslea-tash/) > [“I don't want to be a star, merely dying.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/i-don-t-want-to-be-a-star-merely-dying/) [Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/) > [I am still in the land of the dying; I shall be in the land of the living soon. (his last words)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-newton/i-am-still-in-the-land-of-the-dying-i-shall-be-in-the-land-of-the/) [John Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-newton/) > [“The wretch, concentred all in self, Living, shall forfeit fair renown, And, doubly dying, shall go down To the vile dust from whence he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-scott/the-wretch-concentred-all-in-self-living-shall-forfeit-fair-renown-2/) [Walter Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-scott/) > [Despite those titles, power, and pelf, The wretch, concentred all in self, Living, shall forfeit fair renown, And, doubly dying, shall go down To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-scott/despite-those-titles-power-and-pelf-the-wretch-concentred-all-in-self/) [Walter Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-scott/) > [Breathes there the man, with soul so dead, Who never to himself hath said, This is my own, my native land! Whose heart hath…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-scott/breathes-there-the-man-with-soul-so-dead-who-never-to-himself-hath/) [Walter Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-scott/) > [“Pestis eram vivus ... moriens tua mors ero - "Living, I was your plague ... dying, I shall be your death.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/pestis-eram-vivus-moriens-tua-mors-ero-living-i-was-your-plague-dying/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [Severn - I - lift me up - I am dying - I shall die easy; don't be frightened - be firm, and thank…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/severn-i-lift-me-up-i-am-dying-i-shall-die-easy-don-t-be-frightened/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [“I died as mineral and became a plant, I died as plant and rose to animal, I died as animal and I was human,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/i-died-as-mineral-and-became-a-plant-i-died-as-plant-and-rose-to/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [Love lent me wings; my path was like a stair; A lamp unto my feet, that sun was given; And death was safety and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelangelo/love-lent-me-wings-my-path-was-like-a-stair-a-lamp-unto-my-feet-that/) [Michelangelo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelangelo/) > [Faith is a great thing, and really religious people would like us to believe that faith and knowing are the same thing, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/faith-is-a-great-thing-and-really-religious-people-would-like-us-to/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [As a Buddhist, I view death as a normal process, a reality that I accept will occur as long as I remain in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/as-a-buddhist-i-view-death-as-a-normal-process-a-reality-that-i/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) ## More by Samuel Beckett > [“It was December, I had never felt so cold, the eel soup lay heavy on my stomach, I was afraid I'd die, I turned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/it-was-december-i-had-never-felt-so-cold-the-eel-soup-lay-heavy-on-my/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [“To be always what I am - and so changed from what I was.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/to-be-always-what-i-am-and-so-changed-from-what-i-was/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [To what will love not stoop!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/to-what-will-love-not-stoop/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [With all this darkness round me I feel less alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/with-all-this-darkness-round-me-i-feel-less-alone/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [“You may say it is all in my head, and indeed sometimes it seems to me I am in a head and that these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/you-may-say-it-is-all-in-my-head-and-indeed-sometimes-it-seems-to-me/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [“Here he stood. Here he sat. Here he knelt. Here he lay. Here he moved, to and fro, from the door to the window,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/here-he-stood-here-he-sat-here-he-knelt-here-he-lay-here-he-moved-to/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [What are we doing here, that is the question. And we are blessed in this, that we happen to know the answer. Yes, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/what-are-we-doing-here-that-is-the-question-and-we-are-blessed-in/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [I shall state silences more competently than ever a better man spangled the butterflies of vertigo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/i-shall-state-silences-more-competently-than-ever-a-better-man/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [It is useless not to seek, not to want, for when you cease to seek you start to find, and when you cease to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/it-is-useless-not-to-seek-not-to-want-for-when-you-cease-to-seek-you/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [We are not saints, but we have kept our appointment. How many people can boast as much?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/we-are-not-saints-but-we-have-kept-our-appointment-how-many-people/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [The new light above my table is a great improvement. With all this darkness around me I feel less alone. (Pause.) In a way.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/the-new-light-above-my-table-is-a-great-improvement-with-all-this/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [I lay down across her with my face in her breasts and my hand on her. We lay there without moving. But under us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/i-lay-down-across-her-with-my-face-in-her-breasts-and-my-hand-on-her/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [Women are all the bloody sameyou can't love for five minutes without wanting it abolished in brats and house bloody wifery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/women-are-all-the-bloody-sameyou-can-t-love-for-five-minutes-without/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [“ESTRAGON: Do you think God sees me? VLADIMIR: You must close your eyes. Estragon closes his eyes, staggers worse. ESTRAGON: (stopping, brandishing his fists,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/estragon-do-you-think-god-sees-me-vladimir-you-must-close-your-eyes/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [Deplorable mania, when something happens, to inquire what.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/deplorable-mania-when-something-happens-to-inquire-what/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) [Explore all 609 Samuel Beckett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) ## More Dying quotes > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [Just living my life till I die...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willie-mixer/just-living-my-life-till-i-die/) [Willie Mixer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willie-mixer/) > [I am not a depressive person at all, but I reflect a lot on my life, and life in general, from the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/i-am-not-a-depressive-person-at-all-but-i-reflect-a-lot-on-my-life/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [I think when you’re dying you start looking for important things in the corners. You can’t let anything that seems even semi-important pass, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-crutcher/i-think-when-you-re-dying-you-start-looking-for-important-things-in/) [Chris Crutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-crutcher/) > [The world's history is a divine poem, of which the history of every nation is a canto, and every man a word. Its strains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/the-world-s-history-is-a-divine-poem-of-which-the-history-of-every/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [I don't want to just die a normal death, I wanna be killed twice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eminem/i-don-t-want-to-just-die-a-normal-death-i-wanna-be-killed-twice/) [Eminem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eminem/) > [Poor David Hume is dying fast, but with more real cheerfulness and good humor and with more real resignation to the necessary course of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/poor-david-hume-is-dying-fast-but-with-more-real-cheerfulness-and/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [Got to say, dying would really wreck my best day. Been there, done that, and now that I think about it, Artemis forgot to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/got-to-say-dying-would-really-wreck-my-best-day-been-there-done-that/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [“There is more to living than not dying.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/there-is-more-to-living-than-not-dying/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [I want people to think they can't die until they see me play.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricky-williams/i-want-people-to-think-they-can-t-die-until-they-see-me-play/) [Ricky Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricky-williams/) > [... there are far, far worse things in the living world than dying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling-2/there-are-far-far-worse-things-in-the-living-world-than-dying/) [J. K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling-2/) > [Life has no guarantees, though. What good is living if all you think about is dying?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracey-garvis-graves/life-has-no-guarantees-though-what-good-is-living-if-all-you-think/) [Tracey Garvis-Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracey-garvis-graves/) > [“And if you can’t say yes, answer anyway. Because I’d rather live with the answer than die with the question.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ellis/and-if-you-can-t-say-yes-answer-anyway-because-i-d-rather-live-with/) [Jon Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-ellis/) > [If you feel like you want to die, it's time to sit down and make a list of all the things you haven't done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deacon-jones/if-you-feel-like-you-want-to-die-it-s-time-to-sit-down-and-make-a/) [Deacon Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deacon-jones/) > [Lord, send Your life throughout the entire church. Visit Your church; restore sound doctrine and holy, earnest living. Take away from professing Christians their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/lord-send-your-life-throughout-the-entire-church-visit-your-church/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) [Browse all 6,374 Dying quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dying/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“But what matter whether I was born or not, have lived or not, am dead or merely dying, I shall go on doing as I have always done, not knowing what it is I do, nor who I am, nor where I am, nor if I am. Yes, a little creature, I shall try and make a little creature, to hold in my arms, a little creature in my image, no matter what I say. And seeing what a poor thing I have made, or how like myself, I shall eat it. 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