Before reading Endgame, it is possible that some students will have already heard of (and perhaps even read or seen performed) Waiting for Godot. As the two works are quite similar to one another, the teacher can scaffold off of the latter in order to further build students' understanding of Mr. Beckett's style and career as a writer.
Equally, it is likely that at least some students will have some prior awareness of the existential ideas with which the characters of Endgame grapple. By engaging with these ideas and other works connected to them – whether films, TV series, novels, dramas, poetry, or philosophy – the teacher can engage students more fully with the themes of the play.
