Literary history has had a heavy impact on Stoppard’s method and conceptual presentation. He admits to being swooned by such masterpieces as Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett, and ‘The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufock” by T.S. Elliot. The ideas that he extracted from these artists and their works helped him divulge his own style to which he could further literature. A parallel may be drawn between Waiting for Godot and Stoppard’s “Rosencrantz and Guildenstein are Dead.” Both works feature two men, and their journey in existentialism. Beckett’s version has them waiting for a surreal character (Godot) that, in the end, never appears. The characters are portrayed as confused, and the play takes on an air of severe depression. The play is very much an appeal to the audience, as they too are overcome by this depression. The characters slowly fade away, emotionless and unexcitable. Stoppard’s “version” though has his characters embark on a journey; a fruitless journey, but a “goal” to meet none the less. Beckett disarms his audience, while Stoppard embraces them into his play; making the audience feel at home and comfortable. Stoppard diffuses the rather “heavy” atmosphere belied by Beckett with satire and a whimsical wit. For example, In “Rosencrantz and Guildenstein are Dead,” Stoppard portrays the idea of “death” as a game. He does this in an attempt to show the audience that it is not to be feared. He achieves this by his satirical depiction of the internal “play” within “Hamlet” by Shakespeare. The characters in the “play” perish, and then the actual characters die in the exact same manner. The audience can identify with death, as all humans are concerned with their own demise. They take away though, a much less serious approach in viewing it. The other author, Elliot, often depicted his characters as stumbling and indecisive. One of his most famous works, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, deals with a man who is enamored with the variables and uncertainties of approaching a woman that he admires. In the poem, Prufrock realizes that only he cares about his decision, and whether he chooses to pursue her or not, will not matter. He sees himself as part of his own world; in which he is the “sole occupant.” He, sadly, is only coherent enough in his “world” though to realize how much he is potentially missing by not being completely immersed in it. He cannot solve this problem though, and continues wandering and pondering till the end of time. Stoppard took away from Elliot a similar stance to character development. He portrays his characters as aware, but not completely in tune with their surroundings. The effect is one of dismay, but comical as well. Stoppard’s portrayal is more humorous in nature, displaying them as bungling and unresponsive. This is exemplified in his play, Rosencrantz and Guildenstein are Dead. His characters attempt to divulge the plan and their “purpose” as designated by the King (Claudius), but are unable to fully grasp its meaning. These literary greats do not contribute the fabulous humor that Stoppard has developed though. His humorous elements can best be equated to his passion for the “Theatre of the Absurd.” This type of theater came into popularity during the 1950s and 1960s; and was applied to plays that portrayed the human situation without purpose and with absurd plot elements. This form was a reemergence of an attempt towards awareness of man’s purpose in life; the sense of wonder that man has always had concerning how things work and why. In some respect, it was anti-theater, as it went against the basic premise of regular theater. It was illogical and usually had very little or no plot (Culik). Stoppard’s fascination with this art form had a profound impact on his own personal style. Sigmund Freud, a proponent of the Absurd, said, “In trying to burst the bounds of logic and language, the absurd theater is trying to shatter the enclosing walls of the human condition itself.”(Culik) This confirms the spatial concepts that the theater was attempting to portray, and Stoppard’s comedic element is based upon this illogical and removed nature.
The play Rosencrantz and Guildenstein are Dead is a satirical look upon the much more staunch play Hamlet. It delves into the lives of two supporting characters named “Rosencrantz” and “Guildenstein.” The characters ‘ unimportance is exemplified in the play by their lack of understanding and baffling thought patterns. This play shows Stoppard’s portrayal of “artificiality of theater.” The performance is not about the actual play, but the context of the play; the idea of attending the performance. The characters appeal directly to the audience, instead of becoming immersed in its story and plot. The effect is comical, as the play begins with them merely spinning coins and making bizarre implications towards the audience. Rosencrantz has spun the coin and received “heads” nearly 85 times. His humorous portrayal of the “law of averages” is his “justification” for his luck. This is the play’s first look into why things happen. The characters are unable to come to a proper conclusion though; and the path that Rosencrantz begins upon (the law of averages) cannot be farther removed from the truth. The play continues with these hilarious situations, finally having the pair receive their mission from Claudius the King. The pair ponders why they have received the mission, and why they must complete it. Stoppard constantly asserts that a “play is being read.;” instead of allowing the reader to delve into a story. He makes the reader think of Hamlet, and its tragic implications; and applies a humorous tone to it. In the end of the play, Rosencrantz and Guildenstein are supposedly murdered (the English king is instructed to execute them, but their actual deaths are not witnessed), but instead of a grand exit, they merely fade away. Stoppard shows through this that the characters had served only a menial and insignificant purpose. The reader is unable to sympathize with the characters’ demise, as the play is portrayed with a comical tone. This disservice to death with satire is both eye widening and thought provoking. A person is assaulted with the moral implications of death, instead of offering a deaf sympathy to the character’s grief. Stoppard’s ability to allow the playgoers to analyze what they feel is his greatest achievement in the work; not the story itself.
Stoppard’s play Arcadia is another intelligent play that provokes the reader to appraise man’s life long debacles. In the play, the characters attempt to grasp the mysteries of sex, and a path towards knowledge that leads to an understanding of the future. The latter is portrayed as an equation developed by Thomasina, in an attempt to control her own destiny. Her professor, Septimus, also contributes to the equation by way of a lesson to his student, Thomasina. He explains to her that the loss of knowledge isn’t the end of the world; as it is rediscovered eventually in the future. This subject is an explanation of humanity’s technological progression and our knowledge. The play attempts to allow the reader to grasp the many unknown or misunderstood concepts in life. “Mysteries” such as sex can only be acquired through practice and progression of time. Stoppard appeals to the general public that things cannot be instantly understood; they must be studied and experimented with to fully grasp the full meaning. These mysteries will eventually be solved, but it shall take time and patience; nothing is instantaneous in life. Stoppard’s inclusion of Thomasina’s “equation” is both humorous and practical in its implication. Thomasina’s goal was to create an equation that could more or less tell the future. It is humorous to surmise that a simple equation can predict the future with numbers. The limitless variables and uncertainties in life will forever impede such an ”advancement.” Stoppard attempts to explain that life itself is intangible; it can neither be predicted nor reduced to a simple equation.
Stoppards’ plays contain many useful outlooks on how a person should view their life on earth. People are always concerned with the future and their own death (and when it will occur). Stoppard believes that man shouldn’t view life with such a critical eye; and instead should accept certain facts to be true. Man is powerless concerning the ability to control life. There are many uncertainties in life that are both humorous and infinitely escapable to the human mind. His plays show inept characters driven into the ground by their consumption of the “study of life.” Stoppard suggests through his characters’ comical adventures that life is for living, and the consequence of a life spent longing and pondering equates to a life disenfranchised of pulp and meaning. The “meaning” which man longs for cannot be quantified; it must be experienced to break the surface of significance.
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