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42 pages 1 hour read

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead

Fiction | Play | Adult | Published in 1966

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Essay Topics

1.

At the end of Act III, Guildenstern insists, “There must have been a moment, at the beginning, where we could have said—no. But somehow we missed it” (116). Is he right? Is there any point in the play where Rosencrantz and Guildenstern could have chosen differently than they did? How would that choice affect the end of the play?

2.

Does chance exist in the absurd, deterministic world of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead? Can you think of an example of chance within the play?

3.

In Act I, Rosencrantz is introduced as lighthearted and simple while Guildenstern is introduced as serious and intellectual. How do they evolve as characters throughout the play? Are they complete foils of each other?

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