Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead: Tom Stoppard, Postmodernism and Existentialism

Tom Stoppard Biography Born Thomas Straussler in 1937 Of Czech descent Unstable childhood stabilized in 1946 when his mother remarried and the family moved to England

Tom Stoppard (cont.) These childhood experiences evident in his plays in a theme of danger hidden by apparent security Left school at 17 - bored

Tom Stoppard (cont.) Wrote for radio, television, stage, and movies R & G 1966 – breakthrough play Often wrote about intellectual, philosophical themes and the human condition

Tom Stoppard (cont.) Active in human rights struggle all over the world but particularly in Soviet block and Eastern Europe

Tom Stoppard (cont.) Says theatre is “first and foremost a recreation” Loves to amuse audiences with word play, puns, games, and broad farce

Tom Stoppard (cont.) Likes to help audiences laugh at the human condition and man’s foibles Protagonists often involved in philosophy, advanced mathematics, physics, Latin and Greek scholarship

Elements usually found in a Stoppard play: brilliant language absurd yet inspired theatrical ideas, an intellectual frame of reference which is not mocked

Elements usually found in a Stoppard play: a rebellion against realism an embracing of modernist ideals such as revolt, experimentation of all kinds, a desire to mock realist and traditional beliefs, concepts and mores

Modernism (1936-1963) In painting, Cubism and Dadaism In writing T. S. Eliot, James Joyce and Virginia Woolf Collage as a form of expression in any format

Modernism (1936-1963) A resurgence of interest in intellectual pursuits and the idea of the Renaissance Man, the classical works of Greek and Roman cultures

Theater of the Absurd came about as a reaction to World War II Theater of the Absurd came about as a reaction to World War II.  It took the basis of existential philosophy and combined it with dramatic elements to create a style of theatre which presented a world which cannot be logically explained; life is, in one word, ABSURD!

The plots often deviated from the more traditional episodic structure and seem to move in a circle, ending the same way they began.  The scenery was often unrecognizable and, to make matters worse, the dialogue never seemed to make any sense.

Theatre of the Absurd Samuel Beckett Paris Life was going nowhere and all conventional aims and purposes were considered pointless, absurd Eugene Ionesco

Postmodernism (1963-present) Previous truths are seen as fabrications Each person should strive to make his own truth Intellectual pursuits are for all, not just the elite esthete Questioning is to be applauded and celebrated

Postmodernism (1963-present) Experimentation in any form is encouraged Rebellion against modernist forms and tenets Teases its audience Chaos theory

Stoppard on morality: “I cannot commit myself to either side of a question. Because if you attach yourself to one or the other you disappear into it. And I can’t even side with the balance of morality because I don’t know whether morality is an instinct or just an imposition” (Hunter 18-19).

Existentialism - philosophical movement or tendency of the 19th and 20th centuries. Because of the diversity of positions associated with existentialism, a precise definition is impossible; however, it suggests one major theme: a stress on individual existence and, consequently, on subjectivity, individual freedom, and choice.

Existentialism Belief that, since life has no inherent meaning humans are able to discover, man must determine meaning for himself Philosophers: Soren Kierkegaard, Friedrich Nietzsche, Martin Heidegger Writers: Fyodor Dostoevsky, Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone De Beauvoir, Albert Camus, Ralph Ellison

Syllogism: A form of deductive reasoning consisting of a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion; for example, All humans are mortal (the major premise). I am a human (the minor premise). Therefore, I am mortal (the conclusion).

Non sequitur: literally means “it does not follow”.

Terms: Logical fallacies – invalid ways of attempting to win an argument Organic - forming an integral element of a whole; having systematic coordination of parts

Terms: Anachronism – a person or a thing that is chronologically out of place, especially one from a former age that is incongruous in the present

Terms (cont.) Kitsch - something that appeals to popular or lowbrow taste and is often of poor quality Expiating – to put an end to; to make amends for

Terms (cont.) Camp – something so outrageously artificial, affected, inappropriate, or out-of-date as to be considered amusing; something self-consciously exaggerated or theatrical

R & G Owes much to William Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot Discusses themes of death, reasoning, individualism

Questions: How can you identify Ros and Guil as separate individuals? When do Ros and Guil’s lives begin? What roles do Ros and Guil play in living their own lives?

Questions: What does Stoppard intend for his audience to understand from the many games played in this play? What is the relationship between acting and reality?