Estragon (affectionately Gogo; he tells Pozzo his name is Adam) is one of the two main characters from Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot. His name is the French word for tarragon.

Personality[link]

The impulsive misanthrope[link]

Estragon represents the impulsive, simplistic side of the two main characters, much in contrast to his companion Vladimir's careful intellectualism and verbosity. He cares little for appearances, and is mostly concerned with eating and sleeping (much to Vladimir's chagrin). Due to his pessimistic outlook on life, he has abandoned all hope of any alleviation from their suffering, and regards "Godot" suspiciously.

This is perhaps because Estragon has far more to worry about. Of the two, Estragon suffers the most physically. He is kicked by Lucky, takes numerous pratfalls, and is beaten by a gang of thugs every night. He also has great difficulty with his boots. In the first act, they do not fit and cause him pain. At the end of the act, he leaves them on the side of the road in disgust. In the second act, he finds them in the same place, now mysteriously fitting him. This boot focus (in terms of the character being foot centred) may be interpreted as being representative of his lower status (see Vladimir's hat) and his "earthy" nature (e.g. his love of carrots, radishes, etc.).

Estragon has a misanthropic view of humanity: he considers people to be "ignorant apes" and seems to want them to leave him alone. However, he is very attached to Vladimir (despite occasionally bickering with him): he needs protection, and Vladimir provides it. Estragon is often seen as the child to Vladimir's adult, and as such looks for parental security in him.

The poet[link]

Estragon should not, however, be written off as merely a childish simpleton. He easily matches Vladimir in verbal melee (he delivers the ultimate insult in calling Vladimir a "Critic!"). He also shows an artistic side, and even claims to have once been a poet. His brief, but evocative, monologue about the "maps of the Holy Land" is very poetic in nature. He can even quote Shelley (with a slight alteration):

Excerpt from Shelley's poem:

"Art thou pale for weariness/Of climbing heaven and gazing on the earth..."

Estragon's play on it:

"Pale for weariness...Of climbing heaven and gazing on the likes of us."

Appearance[link]

Estragon is given perhaps the most minimal description in the play. He is only described as wearing "rags", walking with a limp (that eventually wears off) and being lighter than Vladimir. Because of his rather gluttonous nature, however, he is often played as being short and slightly fat (in comparison to the often tall and lanky Vladimir). His clothes are usually a bit dirtier than Vladimir's as well, and seem to be in far worse condition. This interpretation is best attributed to his total lack of restraint and inhibitions (diving for food, sleeping in ditches, etc.).

Many famous actors have taken on the role (especially those of the aforementioned body type), notably Bert Lahr, Sir Ian McKellen and Robin Williams (with Steve Martin as Vladimir). Beckett is even said to have wanted Marlon Brando in one production (with Buster Keaton as Vladimir).

Relatives[link]

In Tom Stoppard's Godot pastiche, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead, the character Rosencrantz closely resembles Estragon.

Quotations[link]

Estragon: (giving up again). Nothing to be done.

Estragon: I remember the maps of the Holy Land. Coloured they were. Very pretty. The Dead Sea was pale blue. The very look of it made me thirsty. That's where we'll go, I used to say, that's where we'll go for our honeymoon. We'll swim. We'll be happy.

Estragon: (aphoristic for once). We are all born mad. Some remain so.

See also[link]

• Vladimir
• Pozzo
• Lucky
• Waiting for Godot
• Anti-hero

External links[link]

• Various interpretations of Vladimir and Estragon

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Kai Hansen
Tuska Open Air Metal Festival, 2005
Background information
Birth name	Kai Michael Hansen
Born	(1963-01-17) January 17, 1963 (age 49) Hamburg, West Germany
Genres	heavy metal, Power metal, Speed metal
Occupations	Musician, songwriter, producer
Instruments	Guitar, Vocals, piano
Years active	1978–present
Labels	SPV
Associated acts	Gamma Ray, Unisonic, Helloween, Iron Savior, Avantasia, Blind Guardian, HammerFall, Angra, Stormwarrior
Website	Kai Hansen on Myspace
Notable instruments
ESP SV Flying V, Engl amplifiers

Kai Michael Hansen (born January 17, 1963, in Hamburg, West Germany) is a power metal guitarist and vocalist.

Hansen is the founder, lead guitarist, and vocalist of power metal band Gamma Ray, and the co-founder and former member of German metal band Helloween. He is a prominent figure in power metal, and has sold millions of albums worldwide. He is regarded as "the godfather of power metal", having founded three seminal bands in the genre. In 2011, he joined the band Unisonic featuring former Helloween vocalist Michael Kiske.

Biography[link]

His musical career started in 1978 in a band called Gentry, alongside Iron Savior's co-founder and producer Piet Sielck. In 1983 he and Michael Weikath founded Helloween, where he was guitarist and singer until Michael Kiske took over the microphone for the albums Keeper of the Seven Keys Part 1 and Keeper of the Seven Keys Part 2. Hansen left the band due to the extensive touring in 1988-89 and went on to form his own power metal band Gamma Ray. Hansen also joined Iron Savior as guitarist in 1997, but quit after a few years to focus his efforts on Gamma Ray. He has now forged a very successful career with Gamma Ray, releasing several albums and playing sold out tours across the globe.

Kai participated in a large number of other projects. He appeared as a guest vocalist on Blind Guardian's albums Follow the Blind and Tales from the Twilight World. Around the same time, he and fellow Gamma Ray bandmate Dirk Schlächter collaborated on Angra's first full length album Angels Cry, both playing guitar solos in the song "Never Understand". He also collaborated on Angra's album Temple of Shadows released in 2004 doing vocals for the song "The Temple of Hate". Together with HammerFall he recorded a cover version of Helloween's I Want Out.

Kai played the role of Regrin the dwarf in Avantasia's Metal Opera albums by Tobias Sammet. Later he was featured in the album The Scarecrow playing guitar in the song "Shelter from the Rain". He was also one of the guest musicians in Avantasia's 2010 world tour, which have put him to play live together with fellow ex-bandmate Michael Kiske, after more than twenty years since he left Helloween. After this tour it was announced via Michael Kiske's official website that Kai would join his new band Unisonic, as they "instantly felt the magic of Helloween years again and had a lot of fun together on and off stage".^[1]

In 2005, he toured with the young German power/Viking metal band Stormwarrior from his home town of Hamburg as lead singer, playing material from his classic Helloween debut album "Walls of Jericho" - the favorite album and greatest influence of Stormwarrior. "Stormwarrior featuring Kai Hansen" returned in 2007 to play at the Magic Circle Festival in Bad Arolsen and at the Wacken Open Air Festival.

In 2008 Kai Hansen featured Stormwarrior at Sweden Rock Festival 2008.

His influence in almost all of the Power Metal bands to come from Europe and his introduction of a new form of Heavy Metal in the early 80's with his band Helloween has earned him the title amongst other musicians in the Power Metal scene as "The Grandfather of Power Metal".

Singing style[link]

Kai Hansen.

During his earlier years Hansen's singing style was reminiscent of many thrash metal vocalists. Rather than using a smooth and clear style (like his follower Kiske) Hansen sang with a raspy sound, interluded by high-pitched screams for dramatic effect. Kiske was brought in as a singer originally because Hansen had trouble singing and playing the guitar simultaneously though later in his career he seems to have overcome these problems.

Beginning from 1995 onward Hansen has provided the vocals for his current band Gamma Ray. Around that time, Kai's vocal style became more melodic and slightly clearer, more in the traditional power metal sense, while still retaining the slight nasal tone and rasp of his early years.

Equipment[link]

For almost 20 years, Kai has played ESP Guitars. He first started using them during his days with Helloween after hearing testimonials of ESP from artists such as George Lynch and Kirk Hammett of Metallica. Before Helloween, he had owned a white Ibanez guitar, and a Les Paul, then saved up for a Marshall amplifier by delivering newspapers.^[2] His main ESPs are a pink ESP Custom guitar based on Jackson's Randy Rhoads model and two custom V models based on the classic Gibson Flying V shape. During the early '90s, Hansen had used Stratocaster models. On his autobiography on the Gamma Ray website, he claims his first electric guitar was a white Ibanez Les Paul copy. On the recent tour with Gamma Ray he has been seen using a Korina Epiphone flying V with EMG's.^[3]

Kai has used, and still uses, Engl amplifiers since the recording sessions of Keeper of the Seven Keys, Pt. 2.^[4]

Discography[link]

Helloween

• Helloween (1985)
• Walls of Jericho (1985)
• Keeper of the Seven Keys Part 1 (1987)
• Keeper of the Seven Keys Part 2 (1988)

Gamma Ray

• Heading for Tomorrow (1990)
• Sigh No More (1991)
• Insanity and Genius (1993)
• Land of the Free (1995)
• Alive '95 (1996) - Live album
• Somewhere Out in Space (1997)
• The Karaoke Album (1997) - Karaoke Compilation album
• Power Plant (1999)
• Blast from the Past (2000) - "Best of" Compilation album
• No World Order (2001)
• Skeletons in the Closet (2003) - Live album
• Majestic (2005)
• Land of the Free II (2007)
• Hell yeah! - The awesome foursome - Live in Montreal (2008)
• To The Metal (2010)
• Skeletons & Majesties (2011) - Compilation album

Iron Savior

• Iron Savior (1997)
• Unification (1998)
• Interlude (EP, 1999)
• Dark Assault (2001)

Unisonic

• Ignition (2012, EP)
• Unisonic (2012)

Guest appearances[link]

• With Rampage:
  • Love Lights Up The Night – vocals on "Life"
• With Angra:
  • Angels Cry – guitar solo on "Never Understand"
  • Temple of Shadows – vocals on "The Temple of Hate"
• With Blind Guardian:
  • Follow the Blind – vocals on "Valhalla", and guitar solo on "Hall Of The King"
  • Tales from the Twilight World – vocals on "Lost in the Twilight Hall," guitar solo on "The Last Candle"
  • Somewhere Far Beyond – lead guitar on "The Quest for Tanelorn"
• With Tobias Sammet's Avantasia:
  • The Metal Opera – as "Regrin the Dwarf" he has vocal parts in "Inside" and "Sign Of The Cross"
  • The Metal Opera Part II – he reprises his role and has vocal parts in "The Seven Angels" and "Chalice Of Agony"
  • The Scarecrow - lead guitar on "Shelter from the Rain"
  • The Flying Opera (live album) - vocals on "The Toy Master"
• With HammerFall:
  • I Want Out EP - vocals on "I Want Out" and backing vocals on "Man on the Silver Mountain"
• With Heavenly:
  • Coming from the Sky – vocals on "Time machine"
• With Stormwarrior:
  • Stormwarrior - vocals & guitar on "Chains Of Slavery" and "Heavy Metal is the Law" and narration on "Iron Prayers"
  • Northern Rage - additional vocals on "Heroic Deathe" and guitar solo on "Welcome Thy Rite"
• With Headhunter:
  • Parody Of Life - guest appearance on "Cursed"
• With Michael Kiske:
  • Instant Clarity - guest appearance on "New Horizons", "Be True To Yourself", "The Calling", "Thanx A Lot"
• With Heavenwood:
  • Swallow - vocals & guitar on "Luna", and vocal on "Downcast"
• With Primal Fear:
  • Primal Fear guitar solo on "Formula One", "Dollars", "Speedking"

References[link]

External links[link]

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