An Analysis of Stoppard’s “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead”

Tom Stoppard is one of the children of World War II. His real name was Tom Straussler and
he was born in Czechoslovakia in 1937. When he was three years old his family escaped to Singapore
because of the Nazi extermination. But in there they also confronted with Japs. They escaped to
Australia but his father became a volunteer and stayed with the English army in the defense of
Singapore. He died as a prisoner of war in the hands of japs. Later on his mother married with a
British army major and he became an English citizen. He experienced the horrors of World War II
both from the western and the eastern front and lost one of his parents. So he had a chaotic, isolated
childhood. As a result of the horrific impact of World War II on his imagination, this play is his
attempt or desire to show something to people for preventing another war by making them responsible
individuals. He is famous for his parodies just like this play. Most common features of his plays are
usage of Sigh-gags, Philosophical, historical and literary arguments, parodies, wordplays and
complicated plots. Many of his works might be categorized as “Comedy and Mental Manners”
because in his plays, he tries to challenge with his audiences with an intellectual way. His masterpiece,
“Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead” is a kind of intellectual chess play between the audiences
and Tom Stoppard in which he aims to challenge with people by using Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” as a
chess board.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern is an absurd, tragicomic and metafictional play that written by
Tom Stoppard in April 11, 1966. The premiere of the play happened in Edinburg in the festival Fringe.
It is a metafictional work that contains the setting of Shakespeare’s hamlet. Therefore it aims to
provoke audience to question the relationship between real and the unreal. It always reminds you that
you are watching a theater. The play, exploits the setting, characters and the story of William
Shakespeare’s famous tragedy Hamlet. The main characters of the play are originally coming from
this root but with a different style. The play consists of three acts.The action of the play takes place in
the realm of Shakespeare which he created for his play and it includes the original parts and characters
of his play. The protagonists of the play are Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, two minor courtiers from
the original tragedy of Shakespeare. But in original, they’ve never had a chance to explain their own
characteristic features due to their minor roles, but with that play they’ve got that chance as playing as
protagonists. The major characters of the original play like protagonist Hamlet (The Mad Prince of
Denmark) and antagonist King Claudius (The Usurper) appears only for brief moments and plays
some parts of the original play. But the fiction of the play is completely different from that one
because it concerns with the stories of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. It represents their confusion
through the events which occur without their knowledge in Hamlet. The title of the play gives a direct
reference to its ending as it happened in the Hamlet and obviously, gives the major source of the play
to us. But there are also some similarities between it and Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot. To give
example; the protagonists, Ros and Guild are the different sides of the same coin but together they
resemble a persona. Another important feature of the play is its emphasis on the language due to its
creator because Tom Stoppard is admired as a master of the Language. Therefore his play moves
forward through rhetoric statements, lots of questions, riddles, simple language, complex language,
intertextuality, unrhymed iambic pentameter, quotations, game of questions, puns and funny dialogues
includes philosophy, slapstick humor, comedy and irony.

In general, the play deals with the unfortunate stories of two courtiers from Hamlet,
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern who are childhood friends of Prince Hamlet. But it focuses on their
actions that happened in the background of Hamlet. These gentlemen are two best friends who are not
in control of their own fate. They are just two courtiers that instructed by King Claudius to discover
the truth behind Hamlet’s madness. As it happened in Hamlet, prince mucks with them and outwits
them and finally they end up with a dead end in the end of Hamlet. But in Stoppard’s play, the action
of Hamlet and events that happen is senseless and comical to the perspective of this duo.

They have their own unique identities in Stoppard’s play. Rosencrantz is in a tendency to
confuse his own name with Guildenstern just like the other characters. Other characters are also in a
difficulty by distinguishing them from each other. Moreover, they have a problem with memorizing
due to the fact that they don’t have a past. Therefore, their memories are not reliable and they can’t
remember anything. They only thing they know that they’ve summoned by the court and this is their
only memory. They know that, they are the childhood friends of Hamlet because they have told so but
they can’t remember that. They seem like two alien from outer space and they don’t have a capacity of
understanding events which surrounds them. They have tendency to talk and make statements about
philosophical ideas through funny dialogues but they don’t have the capacity to conclude them.
Rosencrantz is more naïve, sensitive and optimistic than his friend but Guildenstern is full of passion,
pessimistic and more rational than his fellow. In other words, they are the two sides of the same coin
which they tossed.

MetaTheater

It is also a great example of metatheater and it is one of its central elements. The characters of
the play is coming from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, therefore we can accept the whole play as piece of
metatheater. It is a technique that reflects the world as an extension of human conscience, not
accepting the norms of society but allowing an imaginative variation of society. It is a force within a
play, simply challenges with the realistic representation. It is a term that refers to communication in
which theater talks about itself to draw attention for its theatrical presence. The actors become
audience while watching a play within their own play. Metatheater doesn’t represents the life exactly
how it is on the contrary it may seem absurd and alien. Its aim is to revise the relationship between art
and reality. Therefore it questions what is real and what is not. There is no border between the reality
and real life in the Rosencrantz and Guildernstern. This situation becomes so clear with the speeches
of Player, hamlet’s advice to the players and meta-play known as mouse trap. There are lots of
examples in the play such as play-within the play, players dramatic death in act 3 to show them this is
just a play because all the play is actually wheels within wheels. The elements of metatheater are used
to reinforce the idea of man’s confusion, helplessness and the absence of identity. Players are there to
represent that we are all players, it is also an aspect of metatheater. They are there to ask us our own
role in this absurd life.

After the play in Hamlet that known as The Murder of Gonzago which used by Hamlet in the
original to tend the King Claudius for revealing his true psychology, King Claudius sends them to
England with Hamlet in boat with the mission of delivering him to King of England. The intention of
this action is to give the letter to English king with hamlet for executing him. They revealed the truth
about their voyage to England from the letter of King Claudius. Rosencrantz hesitates by thinking that
he had done nothing wrong to them. But Guildenstern tells that doing nothing is the best thing for
them. So they don’t show any reaction but Hamlet does. He changes the letters with the execution
demand of them. After the attack of the Pirates, Hamlet escapes and they resign themselves to their
fate. Rosencrantz still doesn’t seem to understand the reason behind their death but he seems relieved
by knowing he had done nothing wrong. But Guildenstern still wonders, where did they passed the
point of no return and how did the missed it. After their disappearing from the stage, an ambassador
from England comes and announces their deaths but audience never sees that. So their deaths are just
an assumption. There are several themes into the play such as meaningless nature of the world,
hardness of making true choices, the art vs. reality and existentialism.
 One of the primarily aim of the play is to open the mystery of death to debate. According to Player,
death is something that you can avoid, it is a rule and it is written. He has a vision about what is it
going on as he said in the play. He tries to give a message to the couple that you dont have to worry
about your life, just do something useful and develop an identitiy because you will die either you like
it or not and this not a something you can change. He clears this stiuation by saying that“Deaths for all
ages and ocasions” and “...blood is compulsary”. It is written on the manuscript of a play and when
your part is over you have to know how to dissappear. This is a metafioctional aspect but also one of
the messages of play to audience.

Absurd Theater

The theater of absurd developed well after the ww2 in 1950’s because of showing the
meaningless nature of human existence after WWII. Absurd theater tries to express what happens
when human existence has no meaning or purpose in life. It tries to express what happens after all
communications broken down. It is a form of drama that emphasizes the absurdity of human existence
by employing disconnected, repetitious and meaningless dialogues. This theater type tries to show the
purposelessness of life with confusing situation therefore their plots are lack of realistic and logical
development. You can’t see the trails of traditional theater in absurd theater. It usually increases
distorted characterization in order to convey the message of irrationality and the isolation of humanity.
This theater type is associated with Samuel Beckett and his Waiting for Godot but his ideas are very
much contributed the ideas of Tom Stoppard in his Rosencrantz and Guildernstern are Dead. We can
see the absurdity of life while looking at the play of heads and tails in the opening scene. Heads wins
the game over 90 times which is impossible but it’s happening in the play because they are under
control of forces beyond the nature. And this situation makes their life meaningless/absurd. There is a
force in the universe which they can’t control just like our life. My Tutors in school are demanding me
to do lots of handiworks without giving me a time to express myself. They are denying my own
private life and I’m under the control of some external forces and obeying their commands just like
Ros and Guil. We are also under control of some outside forces and we don’t have chance to express
our self just like Ros and Guil. So in their world they don’t even trust the law of probability because
even it under the control of some outside forces.

Existentialism

Existentialism is a term which appeared in the late 19th century and it was a philosophical
movement that signifies a thought. That is, philosophical thinking starts with the living, feeling human
individual. It was a philosophical movement that focuses on an individual’s own search of meaning
and purpose in universe. In existentialism, an individual is responsible for his own actions whether it is
right or wrong. Therefore, the play is quite similar to Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot. Because
both of these plays represents characters that in existential suffering. Key characteristics of an
existential work are presence of double sided heroes, mistaken identities and uncertain knowledge of
the past. All of these features are exists in the play. Existential suffering is just a human treat that
comes out with the awareness of mortality which it happened in the play. Throughout the play,
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern try to find an answer a question “What is death?” by fearing from it.
Guildenstern looks at the question with a perspective of realism by knowing no one comes back after
death and thinks that death is a phenomenon which blood runs cold. But Rosencrantz on the other side,
he also has a curiosity to death which is unknown and he tries to understand the phenomenon by
making an empathy, thinking himself as a dead man in a box that has a lid on it. And also wonders
that, how a child meets with death for the first time in his childhood by thinking that it must be
shattering. When it comes to their mistaken identities, it is just a signal for their lost individual lives.
The play forces people to become responsible for their life by doing something to their existence.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern had this chance for proving themselves in life by doing something
meaningful but they’ve just missed it by not touching the letter. It is an example for all of us actually,
there are lots of people on the earth that waiting something to be happen? But it never does because
only you can show your own identity by doing or creating something meaningful. It asks people that
what are you waiting for? Are you waiting for external forces to send you to your own doom? It is
actually a criticism, blame that made by Stoppard. He is trying to tell us that “you know everything
about the world but doing nothing because of your hesitation or your fear of taking responsibility”

Incomprehensible nature of the World / Absurdity

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead is a play that signifies the mystery of the world. Like
other plays of the Theatre of the Absurd, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead presents in
philosophical ways man’s lack of absolute values, the problem of freedom and the uncertainty of
knowledge and perception. The play represents the characters while spending their time on stage with
a huge confusion and unreliable knowledge of some basic information. They can’t understand the
events and the world that surrounds them from the very beginning and to the end. In the beginning, the
play opens up with a heads and tails game. It seems that Rosencrantz wins the game for 92 times in a
row with heads which is nearly impossible. But impossible becomes true after exploiting the minimal
chance of a coin’s turning up as heads for 92 times. The action on the beginning illustrates the
randomness and incomprehensible nature of the world. The random appearances of the other
characters are also makes a contribution to that idea while confusing the minds of our characters.
While trying to understand the world our couple falls into confusion and this is the reason of their
despair.

Hardness of making true choices

Constant confusion of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern leaves them into a feeling of unable to
make any meaningful and important choice in their lives. Therefore, they are not in control of their
lives because of their mind confusion. They seem like a rock near the shore that rolls with the outside
force of the waves. Because of their passivity in taking control of their life, their doom comes as
inevitably while signifying the importance of making true choices. Throughout the play, they have
done only what they have told. Making the right decisions with their free will was difficult for them
because they were living in a world which they can’t fully understand. Therefore, all decisions seemed
meaningless to them. But in some point, they’ve got that right. They realized the intention of King
Claudius on the boat by reading his letter. Rosencrantz hesitates by thinking that they are the friends of
Hamlet and thinking that he had done nothing wrong to them. But Guildenstern argues about they
shouldn’t do anything. As a result, they’ve decided to stay out of this issue with a total passivity
without knowing what’s at the stake. By failing to make any meaningful decisions led them into
terrible consequences. Hamlet realized the letter and changed it with the execution demand of
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern instead of his own. And they’ve found themselves hanging down from
the Gallows. Therefore, the play underlines that making a decision is an important thing for a person
but failing to act is a decision and it is destructive. To sum up, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are
Dead is a play that criticizes the passivity.
Art vs. Reality

The play puts a huge emphasis to the connection between real life and the stage. Player is
there to prove that we are all players in this life. It is a metafictional aspect that presented to create a
connection between audience and the play. It’s function is to remind audience that they are watching a
play. There is a conflict between art and the reality in the play which we can see this clearly from the
philosophical argument about death between the Player and Guildenstern. Guildenstern doesn’t
believe the Player’s theatrical perspective of death. The player claims that, theatrical death is the only
kind of death that people believe in because it is what they expect. But for Guildenstern “No gets up
after death, there is no applause, there is only silence and some second hand clothes”. Eventually, he
stabs him with a toy knife. The player acts like he is dying so real that even Guildenstern believes that.
So this event suggests that, people believe in the things which they see on the stage because this is
what they expect. According to this argument, the play never shows the theatrical death of
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Therefore, the expectation of audience is never fulfilled and their death
is just an assumption. Therefore, audience should never believe their death and instead of this, they
should accept them as living literary characters.