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Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead
by
Tom Stoppard
Acclaimed as a modern dramatic masterpiece, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead is the fabulously inventive tale of Hamlet as told from the worm's-eye view of the bewildered Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, two minor characters in Shakespeare's play. In Tom Stoppard's best-known work, this Shakespearean Laurel and Hardy finally get a chance to take the lead role, but do so ...more
Paperback, 128 pages
Published
January 21st 1994
by Grove/Atlantic, Inc.
(first published 1966)
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I watched this movie years ago and thought it was hilarious so I thought I'd check out the play that inspired the film. It's the ramblings of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern while Hamlet goes unnoticed, or at least misunderstood, by them in the background. In far over their heads, both in thematic prose and plot progression, what makes this play so hilarious is the irony. One of the few times irony can truly be claimed: the reader is aware of a humor lost on the characters when we have the foreknow...more
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Kelly
rated it
Recommends it for:
everyone, though especially lovers of Shakespeare. Or snark. That works as well.
Brilliant. It's fitting to choose the British designation for how wonderful I think this play is, I believe. This play manages to be absolutely stand on its own hilarious, as well as a thoughtful meditation on many issues at the same time. It pushes neither on the viewer/reader on its own, nor predominantly. The satire is executed near flawlessly, and the comedic sensitivity (even in the saddest moments of the farce) could not be more on target. I very much usually wish to have some criticism to...more
"We do onstage the things that are suppose to happen off. Which is a kind of integrity, if you look on every exit being an entrance somewhere else."
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead can be seen as Stoppard's answer to the question what are the minor characters of the play Hamlet doing while the tragic prince is agonizing and plotting? Stoppard's simple answer is "nothing".
R and G spend there time playing word games, musing on the nature of death an...more
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead can be seen as Stoppard's answer to the question what are the minor characters of the play Hamlet doing while the tragic prince is agonizing and plotting? Stoppard's simple answer is "nothing".
R and G spend there time playing word games, musing on the nature of death an...more
Just a fantastic look at the world of Hamlet through the eyes of two minor characters from the play.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are a dynamic duo of characters. They are the Gilligan and Skipper, Abbot and Costello, Laurel and Hardy of literature.
Without giving too much away, the opening sequence of consecutive coin flips is hysterical, as is Rosencrantz's monologue about learning about death.
At the same time, it is so well written and introspective that it o...more
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are a dynamic duo of characters. They are the Gilligan and Skipper, Abbot and Costello, Laurel and Hardy of literature.
Without giving too much away, the opening sequence of consecutive coin flips is hysterical, as is Rosencrantz's monologue about learning about death.
At the same time, it is so well written and introspective that it o...more
This re-read could not have come at a better time deep in the midst of existential crisis #522. This is the clever tragicomic meta-play of two minor characters from Shakespeare's Hamlet. They are summoned, they bumble about, they play questions, they are entirely confounded by the hubbub surrounding the "much transformed" Prince of Denmark, and then they are sent to their feeble deaths as demanded by the grand scheme of the play. While the dialogue and physical antics of Rosencrantz...more
ROS: I remember when there were no questions.
GUIL: There were always questions. To exchange one set for another is no great matter.
ROS: Answers, yes. There were answers to everything.
GUIL: You've forgotten.
ROS (flaring): I haven't forgotten--how I used to remember my own
name--and yours, oh, yes! There were answers everywhere you looked. There was no question about it--people knew who I was and if they didn't they asked and I told them.
GUIL: You did, the trouble is,...more
GUIL: There were always questions. To exchange one set for another is no great matter.
ROS: Answers, yes. There were answers to everything.
GUIL: You've forgotten.
ROS (flaring): I haven't forgotten--how I used to remember my own
name--and yours, oh, yes! There were answers everywhere you looked. There was no question about it--people knew who I was and if they didn't they asked and I told them.
GUIL: You did, the trouble is,...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
A wild and hilarious ride from Stoppard through Rosencrantz and Guilderstern's tragic five seconds of fictional fame. Once you've read the book, go see the movie. With Gary Oldman, Tim Roth and Richard Dreyfuss, it's a great adaptation of an amazing play.
I love how Rosencrantz and Guildenstern seem able to contemplate themselves from the outside (a perspective held up by the switch between modern language form and Shakespearean Hamlet). I found myself rereading many of the passages where they were arguing because it was just so metaphysically amusing.
I borrowed this play from the Toronto Public Library, and they have the movie available on DVD, too, which I borrowed after reading the play. As usual, I think the book is much better-...more
I borrowed this play from the Toronto Public Library, and they have the movie available on DVD, too, which I borrowed after reading the play. As usual, I think the book is much better-...more
“Words, words. They're all we have to go on,” Stoppard declares in this retelling of the Shakespearean play ‘Hamlet.’ Rozencrantz and Gildernstern are Dead is a quirky, lovable piece filled with wordplay and theoretical discussions. Stoppard is particularly concerned with the restrictions on expression inherent to the English language. It’s a manifesto about the language we use, how we present the art of theatre, and a new spin on a Shakespearean classic.
At once, Stoppard plays with words...more
At once, Stoppard plays with words...more
First off: I read this for AP Lit and Comp... aaaand I absolutely adored this play. It's perfect. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, the characters, play off of each other and balance each other out, all at the same time. For the most part the play is a wild ball of nervous energy. Ros & Guil are constantly getting on each others' nerves, annoying each other until they can't stand it anymore. But, then, when Rosencrantz gets worked up to the point of tears Guildenstern always comforts him. They reall...more
Heads.Tails.Heads.Tails.Heads.Tails.Heads.Tails. What are the odds of getting heads when you flip a coin? One out of two, right? Nope. Not in this story. The odds of getting heads is 100%. Every single time Rosencrantz flips his coin, he gets heads and wins over Guildenstern. Hamlet's young friends show off their true personalities in this play. They show off who they really are and where they really were during the critical moments in Shakespeare's Hamlet. Although people who have read Hamlet w...more
I’ve been wanting to read Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead ever since I first heard of it, in one of the many retellings of Tam Lin that were all the rage a few years back. Someone mentioned it on another site recently, and I figured I might as well finally order it from Amazon.
For those who don’t know, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are two minor players in Hamlet. They have a couple scenes here and there; they’re mostly little toadies who are trying to help the King against Haml...more
For those who don’t know, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are two minor players in Hamlet. They have a couple scenes here and there; they’re mostly little toadies who are trying to help the King against Haml...more
My AP English Lit class had assigned both Hamlet and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead to be read within the year. Hamlet was finished in the beginning of the year, and R & G was read together as a class. I thoroughly enjoyed both perspectives of the Hamlet world, but reading this intellectually crafted yet absurd play aloud made it so much more enjoyable. By already reading Hamlet, aspects and even lines from the original are embedded in the work itself, giving Hamlet this alternate perspec...more
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead follows two of Hamlet's best friends as they go about their own adventure while the widely known story of Shakespeare plays out in the background. The thing that I loved most about this book was it's use of meta based humor. That is, the characters were constantly asking questions and making jokes that were related to the events taking place around them, while also alluding to the fact that they would soon be dead. Stoppard pulled this through so well becaus...more
Commedia dell'assurdo in cui due personaggi minori dell'Amleto di Shakespeare, Rosencrantz e Guilderstein appunto, assurgono al ruolo di protagonisti in un opera che è contemporaneamente commedia e dramma esistenzialista. All'inizio dell'opera Rosencrantz e Guilderstein si ritrovano in viaggio verso la corte di Danimarca, impegnati in una partita di "testa o croce" che sembra non avere inizio nè fine. Da quanto tempo giocano? Perchè sono in viaggio? Chi li ha convocati e perchè non han...more
Sheer brilliance: I've seen a few reviews here that say "read it, but don't go see it." Most of the time, I would probably agree, because most people who do the play don't get it; they think it's a straightforward comedy, and it is almost anything but.
R&G is all about pace; except for a couple of spots, if the pace isn't almost franticly precise, the end loses its entire effect. The beginning of the second act
"Hmmm?"
"Yes?"
"What?"
"I thought you....more
R&G is all about pace; except for a couple of spots, if the pace isn't almost franticly precise, the end loses its entire effect. The beginning of the second act
"Hmmm?"
"Yes?"
"What?"
"I thought you....more
I liked the film of this play so much that when I was wondering through a secondhand bookshop and saw a copy of the play on the shelf I snatched it up immediately. One of the reasons was because I wanted to actually see how the play upon which the film was based (and remembering that the playwright also made the film) panned out, and it does seem to be quite faithful to the original play. However, unlike the film, the action of Hamlet, around which this play is based, has been pushed further in...more
This play was fantastic.
When I first read it I hated it. It was for my english literature class and I was thinking how the hell am I supposed to write about this it is just a load of banter. For the first time in my life I was happy that we studied it at school and got dissect it because when you do it makes the play that more amazing.
It's a fairly straightforward play it tell's you things explicitly especially relating to our own mortality. But the characters in the play make it...more
When I first read it I hated it. It was for my english literature class and I was thinking how the hell am I supposed to write about this it is just a load of banter. For the first time in my life I was happy that we studied it at school and got dissect it because when you do it makes the play that more amazing.
It's a fairly straightforward play it tell's you things explicitly especially relating to our own mortality. But the characters in the play make it...more
I had to read Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead for a school project. We were given a list of novels that we would have to choose from to do our final on. I instantly recognized the characters Rosencrantz and Guildenstern from the Shakespearean play Hamlet that we read earlier in the year. So my buddy and I figured it would be fun to read more about the two characters from Hamlet. I am so happy that we decided to, Rosencrantz and Gulidenstern Are Dead was one of the most enjoyable plays that...more
This Stoppard play is an old favorite. I first devoured it in high school when the copy of Hamlet we were given to read included the snippet where they play the 'Questions' game.
The premise is quickly explained. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern find themselves travelling to the court of Denmark with very little idea of who they are and what they're doing - and they want to find out. While the play Hamlet marches toward its bloody end around them, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern do their bes...more
The premise is quickly explained. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern find themselves travelling to the court of Denmark with very little idea of who they are and what they're doing - and they want to find out. While the play Hamlet marches toward its bloody end around them, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern do their bes...more
I read Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard for a project in my CP English class. After reading the play, I was very glad that I chose this play. In showing Hamlet from two minor characters' points of view, Stoppard made the play very enjoyable. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern use their wit to make the play quite humorous. As they travel to Denmark, they spend their time trying to figure out who they are and what they are doing. They are told they only have to "glean what afflic...more
ROS: They had it in for us, didn't they? Right from the beginning. Who'd have thought that we were so important?
GUIL: But why? Was it all for this? Who are we that so much should converge on our little deaths? (In anguish to the PLAYER:) Who are we?
PLAYER: You are Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. That's enough.
[Rhetorical. game. non-sequitur. set. statement. match:]
note:
dredged up a 1990 film version directed by Tom Stoppard starring Gary Oldman (Rosen...more
GUIL: But why? Was it all for this? Who are we that so much should converge on our little deaths? (In anguish to the PLAYER:) Who are we?
PLAYER: You are Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. That's enough.
[Rhetorical. game. non-sequitur. set. statement. match:]
note:
dredged up a 1990 film version directed by Tom Stoppard starring Gary Oldman (Rosen...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead, written by Tom Stoppard, was first performed in a shortened version in August 1966. When it opened in London in 1967, it catapulted Stoppard into the front ranks of modern playwrights. The plot is supposedly simple: the play of Hamlet seen not through the eyes of Hamlet or Claudius or Ophelia or Gertrude, but a worm's-eye view of the tragedy seen from the standpoint of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. The blurb on the back of book says that "it is very funn...more
Hard to know what to say about this one. I saw the play about 18 months before I read it. I quite enjoyed the performance, though I felt a little lost every time they switched into Shakespeare-speak, because Shakespeare's language is always a bit confusing for me. I thought in reading the play, it might be a little easier to understand, but those parts confused me just as much in print. Plus, without the actual movement of the play, by actual players, the print version fell flat for me. It just ...more
Christina
rated it
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead is a play within a play containing a play within a play. It all gets quite confusing in the end, and while I understand the point of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead’s choppy nature, it comes across as incohesive and junvenile. You almost need to interfuse both Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead and Hamlet to understand the sporadic nature, humor, and basic plot of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.
This “back story” to Shakespeare’s p...more
This “back story” to Shakespeare’s p...more
The play is hilarious and I kept wanting someone else to have a copy so I could read it aloud and act it out. I've only ever seen the movie and even when I was watching that at home four years ago, as much as I enjoyed it, I couldn't help but think that it must work so much better on stage. So much of what works about it is the simplicity because Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are completely trapped by the confines of the other play they inhabit. It needs that limited space for it to work thematic...more
This was actually an interesting parody of Hamlet because it told the story from a completely different view. Yes, it made fun of some of the finer points in Hamlet but it was also completely random at the same time. The play is heavy in its existentialism and that was annoying at some parts but overlooking that, it actually was an enjoyable read that makes you laugh quite a bit at the utter ridiculosity of the characters.
One of the greatest works of the absurdest comedy style, this play is a must if only for it's brilliant workings of dialogue and the magic of imaginative staging. I will give you my favorite monologue:
Rosencrantz:
Do you ever think of yourself as actually dead, lying in a box with the lid on it? Nor do I really. Silly to be depressed by it. I mean, one thinks of it like being alive in a box. One keeps forgetting to take into account that one is dead. Which should make all the d...more
Rosencrantz:
Do you ever think of yourself as actually dead, lying in a box with the lid on it? Nor do I really. Silly to be depressed by it. I mean, one thinks of it like being alive in a box. One keeps forgetting to take into account that one is dead. Which should make all the d...more
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Sir Tom Stoppard OM, CBE, FRSL, is a British screenwriter and playwright.
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“We cross our bridges when we come to them and burn them behind us, with nothing to show for our progress except a memory of the smell of smoke, and a presumption that once our eyes watered.”
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“Life in a box is better than no life at all, I expect. You'd have a chance at least. You could lie there thinking: Well, at least I'm not dead.”
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