Question

That adage is as enduring in the humanities as it is in science. Irish playwright and novelist Samuel Beckett, who died in 1989, said: “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.”

What does Samuel Beckett most likely mean when he uses the phrase "fail better" in paragraph 6?


A. Do not view your mistakes as failures.
B. Allow failures to bring you closer to success.
C. Have failure be the goal rather than success.
D. Take risks so that you will have more spectacular failures.

Answers

GPT-4o mini
The phrase "fail better" in the context of Samuel Beckett's quote most likely means:

**B. Allow failures to bring you closer to success.**

This interpretation aligns with the idea that failure is a part of the process of learning and improving, suggesting that each failure can provide valuable insights that help one to ultimately succeed.