The tears of the world are a constant quantity. For each one who begins to weep somewhere else another stops. The same is true of the laugh.

Ryan John ed. Early works
Beckett's earliest works are generally considered to have been strongly influenced by the work of his friend James Joyce. Nohow On: Company Ill Seen Ill Said Worstward Ho.

Strongly influenced by James Joyce he is considered one of the last modernists. He was elected Saoi of Aosdána in 1984.