Undergraduate thesis deals with dramatic work of Samuel Beckett, which is interesting because of its original approach or its strong formal deviation from traditional (Aristotelian) dramatic form, which shows yet in lack of action and in non-active characters. Still, Beckett's giving up the basic elements of drama is a conscious act - Beckett excludes everything that belongs to traditional dramatic form in the way that in the end he has only the most crucial patterns of human behaviour left. His key themes, as he unveils them in his essay Proust, are habit, time and memory, which are discussed in interpretation of Beckett's dramatic work. Interpretation focuses mostly on plays Waiting for Godot, Endgame and Happy Days, in less significant measure on his later plays and plays Play and Krapp's Last Tape. Interpretation is followed by comparison of Beckett's and Brecht's dramatic work as two almost completely different authors' views on dramatic form. The dramatic work of both authors is chosen for comparison from historical context of 20th century, as it was issued in Alain Badiou's work Twentieth Century. Last, the thesis deals with Beckett's classification in a framework of theatre of the absurd, which is argued by Esslin in Theatre of the Absurd as a logical consequence or reflection of post-war era; and in a framework of dramatic postmodernism or dramatic modernism and its utmost exploration of modernist consciousness.
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