Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead - Cherokee County Schools
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead - Cherokee County Schools
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead - Cherokee County Schools
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New York's Marine Midl<strong>and</strong> Bank, ushering in the era of the credit card. By the end of 1966, there are 2<br />
million BankAmericard holders.<br />
Today: BankAmericard has become Visa, Master Charge has become MasterCard, <strong>and</strong> the credit card has<br />
become a way of life world-wide. In the United States alone, banks solicited 2.7 billion credit card<br />
applications by mail in 1995, roughly 17 for every American between the ages of 18 <strong>and</strong> 64. The average<br />
credit card debt per household has risen from $649 in 1970 to nearly $4,000 in 1996.<br />
Topics for Further Study<br />
Compare Shakespeare's Hamlet with <strong>Rosencrantz</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Guildenstern</strong> <strong>Are</strong> <strong>Dead</strong> to see how Stoppard used the<br />
play as a source. What did he include, what did he leave out, <strong>and</strong> why? Research the conclusions of scholars<br />
on the relationship between the two texts to confirm <strong>and</strong> enlarge your findings.<br />
Read psychologists <strong>and</strong> psychiatrists on the human attitudes toward death, perhaps beginning with Elisabeth<br />
Kubler-Ross's On Death <strong>and</strong> Dying. Compare what you learn in your research to what is implied in<br />
<strong>Rosencrantz</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Guildenstern</strong> <strong>Are</strong> <strong>Dead</strong>.<br />
Read Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot as an example of Theatre of the Absurd. Compare it to Stoppard's<br />
<strong>Rosencrantz</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Guildenstern</strong> <strong>Are</strong> <strong>Dead</strong> <strong>and</strong> decide how they are similar or different in tone <strong>and</strong> theme.<br />
Research the conclusions of scholars on the applicability of Absurdism to Stoppard's play to support your<br />
conclusions.<br />
Media Adaptations<br />
<strong>Rosencrantz</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Guildenstern</strong> <strong>Are</strong> <strong>Dead</strong> was made into a feature film in Engl<strong>and</strong> in 1990 starring Gary<br />
Oldman as <strong>Rosencrantz</strong>, Tim Roth as <strong>Guildenstern</strong>, <strong>and</strong> Richard Dreyfuss as the Player. Stoppard adapted the<br />
script to the screen <strong>and</strong> directed the film himself. The film is in technicolor <strong>and</strong> runs 118 minutes <strong>and</strong> is<br />
available to rent from select video stores <strong>and</strong> for purchase from Buena Vista Home Video or Facets<br />
Multimedia. It was named the best picture at the Venice Film Festival in 1991 but met with a lukewarm<br />
reception in the United States.<br />
In 1972, Kenneth Friehling provided a 38 minute audio cassette commentary on the play for the<br />
Everett/Edwards Modern Drama Cassette Curriculum Series out of Del<strong>and</strong>, Florida.<br />
What Do I Read Next?<br />
Stoppard's The Real Thing (1982) is a more conventional play about love <strong>and</strong> marriage. It was very popular<br />
<strong>and</strong> convinced critics that Stoppard could write with more emotional impact <strong>and</strong> with less reliance on clever,<br />
verbal pyrotechnics.<br />
Shakespeare's Hamlet (1601), the obvious source for Stoppard's play, is a nearly inexhaustible resource for<br />
comparisons with <strong>Rosencrantz</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Guildenstern</strong> <strong>Are</strong> <strong>Dead</strong>.<br />
Stoppard clearly acknowledged Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot (1952) as a major influence on<br />
<strong>Rosencrantz</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Guildenstern</strong> <strong>Are</strong> <strong>Dead</strong>. Beckett's classic play is about two men "passing the time" as they<br />
wait for someone who never arrives. There are many similarities as well as differences between the two plays.<br />
Topics for Further Study 20