The Un-Symbol
Most people (us included) find Beckett to be a challenging writer. There is a big temptation to read his work as a metaphor and to ignore the physical realities that are a part of it. It's easier t...
It's like Genesis, but not…
We get into the idea of Endgame as a game of chess in "What's With the Title?" Here, we are going to consider another way to think of the play as a whole. Think of it as the un-creation, as the opp...
The Master-Servant Dynamic or the Superego and the Not-So-Superego
A great deal of the suspense in Endgame comes from Hamm and Clov's constant arguing. Clov repeatedly says that he will leave Hamm, but proves unable to do so. Hamm mistreats him, and in the middle...
Physical Disabilities
We've read pretty much everything that Beckett has ever written, and his characters' different physical handicaps still have us pretty confused. Consider what we have in Endgame. Hamm is blind and...