At first glance, Samuel Beckett's Endgame has absolutely nothing in common with the model provided in Aristotle's Poetics. Where Aristotle argues that the most important element of any tragedy is the plot, Endgame appears to have no plot. Where Aristotle discusses the importance of speeches that convey moral purpose and character, Endgame has characters who speak metalanguage (language about language) and talk just to pass the time. Where Aristotle talks about action as a movement of the spirit, Endgame seems to be totally devoid of characters going through a movement of the spirit. But after looking at the structure of the work, Martin Esslin's essay The Theater of the Absurd, and, above all, Endgame in the context of the period in which it was written, Endgame seems to have several points of contact with the model provided in Poetics. and can be called a tragedy for the post-World War II era. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Endgame, written in French, was first produced in 1957. Esslin explains that the absurdism movement emerged in France after World War II as a rebellion against the traditional values ​​and beliefs of the culture and Western literature (878). Absurd drama creates an environment where people are isolated and characters make their way through life ineptly because they don't know what else to do. The post-World War II era was full of people asking for meaning in their lives and that's exactly what the characters in Endgame are looking for. In Endgame, the characters stay together simply because they are afraid of being alone in such an incomprehensible world. They also live in a world of interdependence (Clov cannot sit, Hamm cannot stand or see; they rely on each other). Aristotle says "...poetry tends to express the universal...By universal I mean the way in which a person of a certain type will occasionally speak or act, according to the law of probability or necessity..."(68) . Aristotle believes that it is important to educate the emotions, so that the spectator understands that what he sees is universal. The only difference is that the "universal" in Aristotle's time was that fate is man's great equalizer, while in Beckett's time it is that death and addiction are man's great equalizer. In terms of structure, Endgame's presentation coincides strongly with that of Aristotle. mimesis concepts. Poetics is very much concerned with the idea of ​​mimesis, or imitation, and Aristotle believes that truth is embedded in imitation. Esslin discusses many writers who wrote about the meaninglessness of life before the absurdists, but they differ from the absurdists in that their works contain logical and rational characters who talk and reason about their meaningless lives. Absurdists, however, present the meaninglessness of the human condition by abandoning rational characters, actions, and plots. "The Theater of the Absurd has given up discussing the absurdity of the human condition; it simply presents it in being, that is, in terms of concrete scenic images. This is the difference between the approach of the philosopher and that of the poet. ..." (Esslin, 877). In reference to Aristotle and his story, the difference between the philosopher and the poet can be seen as the difference between Plato and Aristotle. The first was a philosopher who explains why he is against drama and why drama should not be staged; the latter was a theater theorist who believed imitation to be the highest form of truth. If Aristotle sees imitation as the highest form of truth,then Endgame is a perfect example of imitating what the era believed (rather than discussing the ideas of that era). In chapter IV of the Poetics, Aristotle raises the question of the Origin and development of poetry. He believes that it comes from two instincts of human nature: that of imitation and that of harmony and rhythm (55-56). Here Aristotle recognizes both the content (imitation) and the form (harmony and rhythm) of art. We have already talked about imitation. Harmony and rhythm are clearly seen in Endgame: the characters speak in prose and the language is metalinguistic - it is dialogue about dialogue; the characters just talk to pass the time. One of the most frequently used words in Endgame is "Pause", creating a monotonous, dragging pace. All of this is done with a rational purpose in mind; Beckett wants the theme of death, repetition and meaninglessness to be conveyed to the viewer. Many might argue that Endgame does not follow Aristotle's model at all because Aristotle emphasizes the importance of rationality while Endgame seems irrational. However, for the time period it represents, imitates, and comments on, Endgame is actually highly rational, and harmony and rhythm are just one place where this can be seen. Another place this can be seen is through character. It's clear that Endgame focuses on the incomprehensibility of the world, and each of the characters manifests this theme. If we consider an Endgame theme as an attempt to rationalize an irrational and disordered world, we need look no further than Clov's character. Clov is indecisive, constantly torn between duty and hate. He asks questions like "Why this farce, day after day?" (761) and "You do this, you do that, and I do it. I never refuse. Why?" (764) These are the questions that arose at the time of writing this play: "Why live if sooner or later we will die?" "What is the meaning of our existence?" One of the goals of creating a character, according to Aristotle, is that the character must be true to life (81). At a time when the world is trying to make order out of chaos, Clov comments that he loves order, which is his dream, "A world where everything would be silent and still and everything in its last place, under the dust" ( 767), seems very true to life. If Clov were a character in a play in Aristotle's time, the perception of him would be completely different. If Clov asks the questions, Hamm provides, or tries to provide, the answers. The theme of life moving towards death in a meaningless world is emphasized by the seriousness with which Hamm speaks about death and the end in his soliloquies. The metaphor of death or reaching the “end” of something is evident in the very first lines of the play as Clov states, “Finished, it is finished, almost finished, it must be almost finished” (754). Hamm's response to Clov's ramblings as he wakes up is "I play" (754), a metatheatrical response that suggests to the viewer that all we do in our meaningless lives is act towards each other, or show off and not reveal who we really are. I am. Hamm's reluctance to die follows shortly after when he says, "And yet I hesitate, I hesitate to—to finish. Yes, there it is, it's time for it to end, and yet I hesitate to—to finish" (754). This opening scene suggests an unwillingness to finish or die. However, there remains a struggle to understand death, to give it meaning so that life has meaning - again coinciding with the ideas that were rampant in the period in which it was written. Looking at these characters, the viewer can't help but notice how pitiful they are. The purpose of Aristotle's definition of tragedy is "...through pity and fear effecting the proper purification of these emotions" (61). This is where the term comes from.