Endgame Group at eNotes

Martin Esslin's book The Theatre of the absurd begins with a chapter on...

Mon, 9 Nov 2009 10:03:02 PST

Martin Esslin's book The Theatre of the absurd begins with a chapter on Beckett who is considered to be the leader of the so-called Absurdist theatre. Please note this is just a critical label and not a deliberate authorial movement at all. Esslin uses Camus's idea of absurdism to interpret the contemporary theatre as a projection of an absurd world where meaning has reached a point of self-cancellation via infinite complication and...

What is part of the absurdity in drama "endgame"

Mon, 9 Nov 2009 09:38:43 PST

What is part of the absurdity in drama "endgame"

If one treats Endgame as an absurdist play at all (there are other,...

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 01:00:03 PST

If one treats Endgame as an absurdist play at all (there are other, better ways of looking at it), the elements in the play that may be seen to corroborate the absurdist/existentialist vision of a human world stripped of meaning through proliferation and infinite deferral can be the following-- 1. the non-realistic conception of the whole play, the unnamability of its time and space. the setting is as abstract as it can get with the expression...

The line that Beckett says is crucial to the play, especially in terms...

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:46:40 PST

The line that Beckett says is crucial to the play, especially in terms of its performance is Nell's comment "Nothing is funnier than unhappiness". He also speaks of the play as 'saying the final no to nothingness'. An interpretation of this in the context of Beckett's life is almost impossible because in his case it is not a simple overlaying relation between life and art that we encounter. But Nell's line captures the essence of Beckett's...

This is a somewhat vague question, I would have to say. Here is...

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 09:48:57 PST

This is a somewhat vague question, I would have to say. Here is something on the game metaphor as worked out in the play. Beckett's play develops the game-metaphor as a parallel to the theatrical metaphor. Hamm begins by saying--"Me? To play?" this is both play-acting and the game of chess. Hamm is the King while Clov, Nell and Nagg are mere pawns in this game while Clov's offstage kitchen, as described, is like a Chess-block off the surface...

What are the elements of absurdity found in Samuel Beckett's 'Endgame'?

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 06:38:11 PST

What are the elements of absurdity found in Samuel Beckett's 'Endgame'?

What are the "Rules" for Endgame..by Samuel Beckett

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 13:55:06 PST

What are the "Rules" for Endgame..by Samuel Beckett

What line does Beckett consider most important? How does this dependency...

Mon, 16 Feb 2009 14:32:59 PST

What line does Beckett consider most important? How does this dependency compare to Beckett's real life, and what's the purpose of the play?

Check

Thu, 12 Feb 2009 05:03:01 PST

Check

'Endgame' in chess is hard to pinpoint. It is the final stage, after...

Thu, 12 Feb 2009 04:30:57 PST

'Endgame' in chess is hard to pinpoint. It is the final stage, after most of the bishops, knights and rooks have been lost in tit-for-tat clashes. Endgames between skillful players (which Beckett was) often consists of only pawns and kings. Hamm is the white king, trapped in a defensive position behind stalemated pawns. He is unable to move, pinned in by the still mobile, black king, Clov. Hamm can only delay and hope for stalemate....

An "Endgame" in chess is when only two kings are left on the board....

Thu, 12 Feb 2009 03:11:53 PST

An "Endgame" in chess is when only two kings are left on the board. Neither can win or lose. All that happen is that they can endlessly move around, and around, and around, never putting each other into check, and the game only ending when it is aborted as a stalemate. In that sense, Hamm and Clov are both kings, unable to finish anything (note the first and last lines of the play!) moving around the chess board. But, it's important to say...

What symbols would each character symbolize in a game of chess?

Wed, 11 Feb 2009 17:53:16 PST

What symbols would each character symbolize in a game of chess?

"Hamm’s parents, Nagg and Nell, having lost their legs many years...

Fri, 2 Jan 2009 08:58:03 PST

"Hamm’s parents, Nagg and Nell, having lost their legs many years ago in a bicycle accident, live in ashbins from which they occasionally emerge only to be cursed by their son." Some questions you might consider for a class discussion are:1. What's the setting of the play? 2. Who are the characters? 3. What is their physical and emotional condition? 4. What kinds of disabilities...

Discussion Questions for "Endgame"?

Thu, 1 Jan 2009 12:19:02 PST

I was asked to lead the class on a discussion of Samuel Beckett's "Endgame."

What are some questions I could ask the class? Who were Nell and Nagg?

"Endgame" by Samuel Beckett has a continuous structure that is not...

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 10:11:55 PST

"Endgame" by Samuel Beckett has a continuous structure that is not broken into scenes or acts. It is set in a post-apocalyptic world where four characters live together in a nebulous setting (a mother and father live in an ashbin, having lost their legs in a bicycle accident, and a crippled man and his servant live together in the same space with the parents in the ashbin). Main themes of the play are life and death, human conflict, and...

What is the structure, themes, thoughts, setting and diction of...

Sun, 14 Dec 2008 04:10:06 PST

What is the structure, themes, thoughts, setting and diction of "Endgame" by Samuel Beckett?

I need your help. Is there anyone using this play in her/his lessons? I...

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 12:54:58 PST

I need your help. Is there anyone using this play in her/his lessons? I need presentation of this play and need a powerpoint presentation. thanks.

There are definitely different ways to interpret their relationship and...

Thu, 8 May 2008 09:06:44 PST

There are definitely different ways to interpret their relationship and the play as a whole, for that matter, but I don't think there is much to insinuate a sexual relationship despite the kiss. Beckett would probably tell us that it is absurd to try to find much meaning in this play or ANYTHING else for that matter. There are a few ways that you can look at their relationship that doesn't involve a master/servant relationship OR a sexual...

Because he is blind and confined to a wheelchair, Hamm is completely...

Mon, 5 May 2008 07:18:14 PST

Because he is blind and confined to a wheelchair, Hamm is completely dependent on Clov. In that sense, they are more than master and servant because without Clov, Hamm would be. Despite being terribly mistreated by Hamm, however, Clov does not leave him, not out of love or loyalty, but because he doesn't know the combination to the lock on the food pantry. Hamm does ask Clov for a kiss, but it may be from a need for any kind of human contact...

What is the relationship between Hamm and Clov in "Endgame"? I...

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 08:35:01 PST

What is the relationship between Hamm and Clov in "Endgame"? I think they are more than owner and servant.