Wether or not "Rosencrantz & Guilenstern are dead" can exist as a play in its own right, without the audiences understanding of the play "Hamlet" is a rather interesting question, in that "Ros and Guil are dead" would be more greatly appreciated if the audience had an understanding of Shakespear's "Hamlet", however that is not to say that they NEED and understanding of "Hamlet" in order to enjoy Stoppard's play.

In Tom Stoppard's interview with Jon Bradshaw in 1977, Stoppard explains "the play had no substance beyond its own terms, beyond its apparent situation. It was about two courtiers in a Danish castle. Two nonentities surrounded by intrigue". What is meant here, is that when he wrote this play, it wasn't supposed to be the sequel to "Hamlet", merely the same play through different eyes, in which case an understanding of "Hamlet" is not necessary in order for "R & G are dead" to exist as a pl

In the play Ros and Guil Are Dead we meet them as they are on there way to Elsinore castle. Along the way they meet up with the Players who are also going to Elsinore to put on the play "the Murder of Gonzago" which if you have read Hamlet reveals Caludius as the murderer of Hamlet's father. When everyone arrives at Elsinore you will find yourself going back and forth between the play of Hamlet (is it real or is it "the play"?) and the story of poor Ros and Guil who are trying to find out what is going on in the castle and what's up with Hamlet (is he crazy or not?). So every exit from the play Hamlet is an entrance into the play of Ros and Guil. Perfectly blended with these two levels of action are the Players who perform feats of illusion for everyone in the castle as well as the play "Gonzago."

Actually, the play has less to do with Hamlet than it does with life, death and one's place in the universe. Stoppard takes the two least important characters in Hamlet and shows the play from their point of view -- their confusion, their bewilderment and their utter inability to cope with their situation.

In this same interview with Gussom M., Stoppard then goes on to state that "The only way I really work is to assemble a strange pig's breakfast of visual images and thoughts and try to shake them into some kind of coherent pattern." here Stoppard draws a direct link between Shakespear's work ("A strange pig's breakfast of visual images and thoughts") as being the "intergral" of his own work. Meaning that Stoppard's play ("R & G are dead") is in fact derived from Shakespear's play "Hamlet". In which case in this interview Stoppard confirms that "R & G are dead" can hold up as a play in it own right, however in order to understand it better one should know Shakespear's "Hamlet".

In which case one could also say that to gain a better understanding of the play "Hamlet" one should read the play "Ros and Guil are dead".

Some topics in this essay:
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