Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead
Preliminary Assessment Task 2 – Tutorial Presentation
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are two fools in a world that is beyond their understanding. They question the purpose of existence whilst pondering the mysteries of death and chance through constant rambling and anxious confusion. To understand the notion that ‘“Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead” locates us in places of social and psychological change’ we must acknowledge the context in which the play was written. When Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead appeared in 1966, it was evidently linked to The Theatre of the Absurd. Absurdist Theatre emerged after World War II, it was this experience which caused the public to begin questioning authority, opposing traditional values and challenging beliefs. It inspired playwrights to confront social and psychological conditions of their surroundings. The Theatre of the Absurd grew increasingly popular in the late 1950s/early 1960s and is generally associated with absence of logic, place and time, all of which apparent in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. Tom Stoppard has created a reinterpretation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet through the eyes of Ros and Guil taking Absurdism, existentialism and death to invite the audience to question and redefine their social and psychological beliefs.
We are first introduced to Ros and Guil in the first scene where they are currently travelling through an unidentified place. The ambiguity of the ‘place without any visible character’ is important because it makes it unclear exactly what rules the play are going to be, whether it is realistic or not. Absurdism is a form of drama that emphasizes the futility of human existence by using incoherent and meaningless dialogue, purposeless and confusing situations, and plots that lack realistic or logical development. Taking the coin tossing scene, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern toss coins in the air continuously, guessing whether they will land on heads or tails, for long
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are two fools in a world that is beyond their understanding. They question the purpose of existence whilst pondering the mysteries of death and chance through constant rambling and anxious confusion. To understand the notion that ‘“Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead” locates us in places of social and psychological change’ we must acknowledge the context in which the play was written. When Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead appeared in 1966, it was evidently linked to The Theatre of the Absurd. Absurdist Theatre emerged after World War II, it was this experience which caused the public to begin questioning authority, opposing traditional values and challenging beliefs. It inspired playwrights to confront social and psychological conditions of their surroundings. The Theatre of the Absurd grew increasingly popular in the late 1950s/early 1960s and is generally associated with absence of logic, place and time, all of which apparent in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. Tom Stoppard has created a reinterpretation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet through the eyes of Ros and Guil taking Absurdism, existentialism and death to invite the audience to question and redefine their social and psychological beliefs.
We are first introduced to Ros and Guil in the first scene where they are currently travelling through an unidentified place. The ambiguity of the ‘place without any visible character’ is important because it makes it unclear exactly what rules the play are going to be, whether it is realistic or not. Absurdism is a form of drama that emphasizes the futility of human existence by using incoherent and meaningless dialogue, purposeless and confusing situations, and plots that lack realistic or logical development. Taking the coin tossing scene, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern toss coins in the air continuously, guessing whether they will land on heads or tails, for long