Home : Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead : Study Guide

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead Study Guide

by Tom Stoppard

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead study guide contains a biography of Tom Stoppard, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

The play opens as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are spinning coins in an indistinct landscape. As the coin is called "heads" or "tails," the winner places the coin in his sack. The coin has landed on heads over seventy-six times in a row, and Rosencrantz has won every time. Guildenstern, the more philosophical and probing of the two, is not angry at his loss, but is rather trying to hide his discomfort at the improbability of the situation. Rosencrantz is not unsettled by the events, and simply believes he has set a new record. Guildenstern proceeds to muse upon possible explanations for why the laws of probability seem to have been suspended in this coin toss game. He lists several explanations ranging from divine intervention to the…

Read the full Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead Summary

• Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead Summary
• About Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
• Character List
• Glossary of Terms
• Major Themes
• Summary and Analysis of Act I
• Summary and Analysis of Act II
• Summary and Analysis of Act III
• Remaking Hamlet
• Related Links on Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
• Suggested Essay Questions
• Test Yourself! - Quiz 1
• Test Yourself! - Quiz 2
• Test Yourself! - Quiz 3
• Test Yourself! - Quiz 4
• Author of ClassicNote and Sources

• Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead: Major Themes
• Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead: Essays
• Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead: Questions
• Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead: Purchase the Novel and Related Material
• Tom Stoppard: Biography