Graphanalysis, Technological Reproduction, and the Acoustical Unconscious: Reflections on an Error in Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape

This article re-examines a mechanical error found in the first printed editions and in some performances of Samuel Beckett’s Krapp's Last Tape, where four words ("in the late autumn") disappear when the protagonist, Krapp, re-listens to a recording of his own voice. The analysis draws on Roland Barthes’s notion of "graphanalysis," which interprets typographical mistakes as manifestations of the unconscious, and extends this framework to the aural and performative dimensions of the play. Incorporating Wolfgang Ernst’s theory of technological trauma caused by the reproducibility of the voice, the article argues that the error is not a mere typo, but a symptom of a deeper rupture between Krapp’s past and present selves. By examining the text, stage recordings—particularly Patrick Magee's 1972 performance—and the sound score, the study reveals an “acoustical unconscious” that emerges through recording technology, dissociating the voice from the subject and producing a state of “schizophonia.” The article concludes that the error functions as an overdetermined symptom, whose interpretation resists closure and opens up a multiplicity of overlapping meanings.