Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, written by Tom Stoppard in 1966, is an innovative retelling of Hamlet, written by William Shakespeare. Stoppard tailors the themes and characters of the play to fit and reflect the mindset of the 1960s- a time period quite different than Shakespeare’s. Stoppard depends on the audience’s knowledge of the original play, Hamlet, and converts a tragedy into an absurd, which moves the focus from the monarchy to the everyday, average person. Stoppard uses a play within a play to create confusion both on and offstage and blur the lines of reality. With the use of these techniques, Stoppard is able to construct a statement about society in the 1960s by writing a play that reflects the situations and ideals of his time, creating a play more relatable to his audiences.
The retelling and conversion of Hamlet into an absurd changes the plays story structure from a well-structured format, into a chaotic one. Stoppard purposely altered the construction of the play to create a perplexing ambience, mirroring life in the 1960s- nothing was completely certain. The style of dialogue has meaning in both Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead and Hamlet. Stoppard utilizes…show more content… There is clear line between fact and fiction in Hamlet. However, one cannot say the same for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. Stoppard introduces the question of whether or not man is being genuine or is just playing a role; by muffling the audience’s observations. Different characters and objectives morph together and it becomes more difficult to determine if a character is genuine or acting. One example is when Guildenstern “kills” the Player. Audiences and characters are led to believe that the stabbing was real, but the viewers are mistaken. By manipulating reality, Stoppard causes the audience’s to doubt their own judgement, forcing them to reevaluate themselves and their own
