Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard (Book Analysis): Detailed Summary, Analysis and Reading Guide

By Bright Summaries

Unlock the more straightforward side of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead with this concise and insightful summary and analysis!

This engaging summary presents an analysis of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard. The play’s titular characters are the courtiers from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, and the story of the Danish prince is interwoven with their discussions as they ponder why they are there and what their purpose is. The play is among Stoppard’s best-known works, and garnered acclaim for the brilliance of its writing and for its reflections on chance, fate and the nature of identity. Tom Stoppard is one of the most produced playwrights in the world, and has won four Tony Awards and an Academy Award for his screenplay for Shakespeare in Love.

Find out everything you need to know about Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead in a fraction of the time!

This in-depth and informative reading guide brings you:
• A complete plot summary
• Character studies
• Key themes and symbols
• Questions for further reflection

Why choose BrightSummaries.com?
Available in print and digital format, our publications are designed to accompany you on your reading journey. The clear and concise style makes for easy understanding, providing the perfect opportunity to improve your literary knowledge in no time.

See the very best of literature in a whole new light with BrightSummaries.com!

• Language: English
• Publisher: BrightSummaries.com
• Release date: Apr 8, 2019
• ISBN: 9782808018524

Book preview

BRITISH PLAYWRIGHT AND SCREENWRITER

Born in Zlin, Czechoslovakia in 1937.

Notable works:

Travesties (1974), play cycle

Arcadia (1993), play

Shakespeare in Love (1998), screenplay

Tom Stoppard (OM CBE FRSL) is regarded as one of the most prominent and influential writers in contemporary theatre. Born in what is now the Czech Republic, Stoppard (born Straussler) fled Nazi occupation with his family, moving first to Singapore then to a boarding school in Darjeeling. Stoppard’s father was interned and subsequently died in a Japanese internment camp, and his mother remarried an English military officer who moved the family to England and encouraged his step-children to become proper Englishmen. Stoppard dropped out of school at 17 to pursue journalism, and though he never received a university education, he began working in theatre criticism and writing radio plays before his first play was purchased to be staged in 1963. This was followed by receiving a Ford Foundation grant which allowed Stoppard to write his break-out hit, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, thus beginning his illustrious career as a dramatic writer.

The recipient of four Tony Awards and one Oscar, Stoppard has created a body of work spanning four decades and multiple mediums. Drawing on existentialism, metatheatre, farce, and formal innovation in the theatre, Stoppard has sometimes been accused of consciously creating paradoxical or overly cerebral work, relying heavily on highly-structured language. Nonetheless, he continues to pursue socially relevant themes in addition to painting with broad strokes stories about general morality and human agency. He continues to work in both theatre and film, in addition to taking on teaching positions at universities such as the University of Oxford, and has received three honours from the British government for his contributions to literature. He remains one of the most produced playwrights in the world.

ABSURDIST TRAGICOMEDY

Genre: play (tragicomedy)

Reference edition: Stoppard, T. (2000) Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. London: Bloomsbury.

1stedition: 1967

Themes: existentialism, fate, free will, theatre,