Course Hero Logo

Endgame | Study Guide

Samuel Beckett

Get the eBook on Amazon to study offline.

Buy on Amazon Study Guide
Contents
Cite This Study Guide

How to Cite This Study Guide

quotation mark graphic
MLA

Bibliography

Course Hero. "Endgame Study Guide." Course Hero. 29 June 2017. Web. 10 June 2023. <https://www.coursehero.com/lit/Endgame/>.

In text

(Course Hero)

APA

Bibliography

Course Hero. (2017, June 29). Endgame Study Guide. In Course Hero. Retrieved June 10, 2023, from https://www.coursehero.com/lit/Endgame/

In text

(Course Hero, 2017)

Chicago

Bibliography

Course Hero. "Endgame Study Guide." June 29, 2017. Accessed June 10, 2023. https://www.coursehero.com/lit/Endgame/.

Footnote

Course Hero, "Endgame Study Guide," June 29, 2017, accessed June 10, 2023, https://www.coursehero.com/lit/Endgame/.

Endgame | Infographic

Share
Share
Email Facebook Pinterest Twitter Google+
Click to copy
Embed
Click to copy code

Check out this Infographic to learn more about Samuel Beckett's Endgame. Study visually with character maps, plot summaries, helpful context, and more.

endgame-samuel-beckettNell, Section 2othing is funnier than unhappiness, I grant you that.Sources: Biography.com, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Just Play: Beckett’s Theater by Ruby Cohn, Samuel-Beckett.netCopyright © 2017 Course Hero, Inc.DeathDeath is always lurking—in life and in the play.TheaterBeckett highlights the demands of performing in and watching plays.ChessAs in chess, characters move around the king toward the endgame.MotifsHamm’s sentimental, legless mother with happy memories of the past; lives in trash binNellShabby servant unable to sit; wants to leave Hamm but feels obligated to remainClovCruel, blind tyrant and would-be actor; confined to a wheelchair yet still controls othersHammWhite-faced, legless father of Hamm, easily bribed by treats; lives in trash binNaggMain CharactersAn Irishman who wrote in French, Beckett crafted his most famous plays—Waiting for Godot and Endgame—with stripped-down sets and dialogue that explores the absurdity of existence. His later plays were even more spare. He once staged actors in nothing but urns and dressed a set with only an actor’s mouth visible.SAMUEL BECKETT1906–89AuthorWith no link to the past and no hope for the future, life is a struggle.Search for MeaningWords in the play fail to connect actors, characters, and audience.Work of LanguageThrust together onstage, the characters remain isolated in their own misery.Loneliness & PainEndgame pushes the French tradition of the Theatre of the Absurd to extremes. With characters unable to sit, stand, or escape their trash cans, the play’s action is purposefully tedious, and the characters’ search for meaning in endless moments reflects the human condition.It Must Be Nearly FinishedTHEMESFrenchOriginal Language1957First PerformedSamuel BeckettAuthorEndgameDramaPlay
Overview Context

Want to see more infographics? View All Infographics on Course Hero!

Cite This Study Guide

information icon Have study documents to share about Endgame? Upload them to earn free Course Hero access!

Copyright © 2016. Course Hero, Inc. As a reminder, you may only use Course Hero content for your own personal use and may not copy, distribute, or otherwise exploit it for any other purpose.