Thursday, March 8, 2012

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

"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 interdependence. All of the characters are stuck together in the same room, living and waiting for a questionable end. They are all reliant on each other, and they seem to be somewhat aware of being characters in a play, announcing things like, "I’m warming up for my last soliloquy.’’ They question the existence of God, the meaning of life, and the worth of life. The play is written in a very stripped-down manner, lines are short and to the point, often abstract and in a quick, staccato-like rhythm.

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