1. Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead Hamlet & the Theatre of the Absurd Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead Hamlet & the Theatre of the Absurd Name_________________________________________________________________Period____AP Literature____/30 pts.

2. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead The Philosophy of Existentialism EXISTENTIALISM: A philosophical system based on free will, choice and personal responsibility. TENETS OF EXISTENTIALISM: -Man has free will to make choices. -Those choices may cause stress and have negative consequences. -Life can be absurd with no explanation. -Because man can choose freely, he is responsible for his own choices. -Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard, an existentialist, said, “I must find a truth that is true for me…the idea for which I can live or die.” -Being human is to be tossed into a chaotic world. -Man yearns for meaning but often finds only absurdity. -One must learn to accept one’s own limitations. 1.) What is your definition of existence? Existence is … ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ 2.) What is your definition of death? Death is … ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________3.) Think back to the graveyard scene in Hamlet when he ponders the skull of Yorick… “That skull had a tongue in it, and could sing once… Where be your gibes now? Your gambols? your songs? your flashes of merriment, that were wont to set the table on a roar?” Why is it so hard for Hamlet to reconcile the fact that the lifeless object he holds was once a living, breathing human being? ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________4.) Why does it seem to be an innate human quality to question the purpose of our existence? ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ 5.) How does this separate us from other animals in nature? ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________

3. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead Theatre of the Absurd Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead Theatre of the Absurd Symbolic Images in the Film Explain these images and what they symbolize in the film Symbolism: What does it represent in the context of the film & Hamlet? Analysis: How does it help us interpret the meaning of the story in relation to Existentialism?

4. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead Theatre of the Absurd Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead Theatre of the Absurd Symbolic Images in the Film Explain these images and what they symbolize in the film Symbolism: What does it represent in the context of the film & Hamlet? Analysis: How does it help us interpret the meaning of the story in relation to Existentialism?

5. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead Theatre of the Absurd Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead Theatre of the Absurd Symbolic Images in the Film Explain these images and what they symbolize in the film Symbolism: What does it represent in the context of the film & Hamlet? Analysis: How does it help us interpret the meaning of the story in relation to Existentialism?

6. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead Theatre of the Absurd Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead Theatre of the Absurd 10.) What is the role of wordplay for R&G? ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ 11.) Where does anxiety arise for R&G? ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ 12.) Do R&G lack both confidence and experience to deal with the situation at hand? Why or why not? ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ QUESTIONS TO PONDER 6.) Are Rosencrantz and Guildenstern two parts of one whole—opposite sides of the same coin? How would this fit with Existentialism? ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ 7.) How important is the Player to the meaning of the story? ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ 8.) What characters manipulate R&G? ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ 9.) Why do both Shakespeare and Stoppard use a boat to restrain R&G? ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________

7. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead Theatre of the Absurd Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead Theatre of the Absurd 17.) Are R&G aware of their dilemma? ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ 18.) How important is communication in an absurd play? ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ 19.) Who will miss R&G when they are gone? ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ QUESTIONS TO PONDER 13.) Does R&G’s simple-mindedness help or hurt them? ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ 14.) How does R&G’s “isolation” at Elsinore Castle hamper their ability to “glean what afflicts Hamlet”? ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ 15.) Are R&G helpless in an alienating universe? ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ 16.) Does Stoppard’s play have the sense of doubling back on itself where nothing really happens? ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________

8. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead Theatre of the Absurd Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead Theatre of the Absurd 20.) Write a short analysis (2-3 paragraphs) of the film and how it relates the philosophy of Existentialism as well as the themes in Hamlet. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________