Dec 30, 2009

Endgame | Beckett's Endgame

McDaniel is a writer with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan. In the following essay, McDaniel discusses Beckett’s Endgame.

Samuel Beckett’s writing can be something of a puzzle. There are no final positions or absolute interpretations. Endgame is, however, a unique masterpiece with an intricate dramatic structure that runs contrary to traditional theatrical structure.

Endgame was groundbreaking because it dared not to adhere to accepted dramatic rules. Beckett uses circular dialogue, refuses to accessorize the play or its characters with anything but the bare minimum, yet he creates a complex fictional and highly theatrical world for his characters to inhabit. Beckett chooses his...