Author: Stoppard has much experience in writing
and lived for a while in India until his mother married his stepfather, Kenneth
Stoppard. He became very successful
right after the Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead was performed.
Setting: The play is set in Denmark begins along a
path perhaps in a general area where Guildenstern and Rosencrantz question
where they are supposed to be and what they are supposed to be doing. The majority of the play takes place in
Elsinore at the castle, and toward the end of the play Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern are on a boat on their way to England.
Plot: The king and queen send for Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern because the king and queen need help in discovering the reason for
Hamlet’s madness. On their way to
Elsinore they encounter the Players and make a bet with them, except they are
then transported inside the castle.
After meeting with Claudius and Gertrude they find Hamlet and speak with
him. Hamlet clearly has the upper hand
with his double meanings and he knows why they are actually visiting him,
however, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern think that they had the upper hand. While
the events in Hamlet unfold
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern have more encounters with the Players who are a
contrast to their personalities and character.
Claudius ships Hamlet off to England after the murder of Polonius and
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are sent with him.
The Players escape onto the boat as well. While on the boat Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern discover that Hamlet is to be killed, however, after the pirates
attack the letter has been switched and they discover their own fate.
Significant
Characters:
Rosencrantz:
He is not the brain of the two.
He is like a little boy who is just discovering the world for the very
first time. He and Guildenstern often
come to the right conclusions but they completely miss the point.
Guildenstern:
He thinks he is the brain but he is often confused and his philosophical
analyses consist of the misuse of ideas and concepts.
Hamlet: The
prince of Denmark and troubled by his mother’s haste marriage after the murder
of his father by his uncle Claudius. He
knows what is going on and seems to have his life headed in the direction that he
thinks destiny wants it to go.
Player: He
acts as a contrast to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern because he and his men have
accepted their fate while Rosencrantz and Guildenstern have not. The Player and the other players seem to know
how the play will end, probably because they have put this play on numerous
times.
Claudius: The
new king who murdered his brother and married his sister-in-law…incest!
Narrative Voice: The narrative voice is from multiple
characters because it is a play. From
hearing different characters speak we see which ones have accepted their fate
and which ones’ struggle with their destiny.
Due the fact that the play is from the point of view of Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern we mostly see their inability to cope with their destiny. They don’t understand why their life ends the
way it does.
Stoppard uses repetition of
conversations and of entire scenes and many short sentences. Guildenstern’s tone is often irritated and
sometimes sarcastic when speaking to Rosencrantz, while Rosencrantz’s tone is
filled with concern. Their tone
contributes to Stoppard’s style. When
Guildenstern is irritated his lines are curt, but when Rosencrantz is worried
he keeps talking. Stoppard’s style
symbolizes that the play is indeed a play and not real life. In a play the plot has to end the same way
every time, but Rosencrantz and Guildenstern haven’t come to terms with their
end. Another symbol is the direction of
the wind which shows Rosencrantz and Guildenstern being lost and not knowing what
they are supposed to do. Even though
they have been in this play numerous times, they still don’t know what to do,
probably because deep down they know their end and they don’t want it to happen.
Quotes:
“Life in a box is
better than no life at all” (71).
This quote symbolizes actors on a stage that aren’t truly alive and they
are confined in a box (the stage).
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are actors who don’t actually exist and
they know it, therefore, they too are confined to a box and have no control
over their fate.
“Life is a gamble, at
terrible odds…” (115). This quote
shows that life is random, and what is going to happen will happen. There is no way to change destiny or one’s
fate. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern have
yet to come to terms with this.
Theme:
In Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern are Dead, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern make reference to being
on a stage, and through this Stoppard explores the relationship between life
and the stage.
Setting: The setting is in Denmark like Hamlet is and is confined to a box, the
stage. This represents Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern being confined and having no choice but to do what everyone else
expects them to do. The castle is such
that they go around and around and can’t seem to find their way out. Again this represents a box and their
confinement.
Plot: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are sent for to
find out what afflicts Hamlet. In doing
so they become entangled in Hamlet’s fate and as a result are put to
death. The plot and their fate are known
just as the ending of a play is. Within
the play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern question what they are supposed to be
doing and how to counter their destiny.
Part of the plot is informing the audience that the actors know they are
in a play.
Work’s Title: The title of the play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead gives away the ending of the
play and their fate. This is like a play
that has been showing numerous times because people know what is going to
happen. Therefore, it informs readers
that this is just a play, not reality, because no one knows the ending of
reality.
Narrative Voice: The narrative voice is from many
characters which again shows that this is a play and not real life. From hearing many characters speak we see
which one’s struggle with their fate at the end of the play.
Author’s Style: Stoppard uses short sentences with repetition
when Guildenstern and Rosencrantz are talking.
This shows their confusion of what they are supposed to be doing. Not only are words and lines repeated but
also entire scenes and conversations thus showing Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern’s life is just a circle being repeated; it isn’t real.
Tone: Guildenstern’s irritated tone and Rosencrantz’s
worried tone shows their knowledge and agitation about their end. Even in real life people are concerned about
their fate and their tone shows that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are no
different.
Imagery: The description of how the coin continues to
land on heads contributes to the question over life and the stage. The imagery created shows that their is no
chance and what is going to happen will happen, this happens in a play and in
real life.
Symbolism: The flipping of the coin is a symbol for what
is reality. Due to the fact that the law
of probability doesn’t work symbolizes that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are in
a play, not reality.
