Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead Study Guide

1. Who wrote Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead?

• T. S. Eliot
• Samuel Beckett
• Shakespeare
• Tom Stoppard

2. When was the first edition of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead published?

• 1965
• 1966
• 1967
• 1968

3. What Shakespearean play do the main characters appear in?

• Hamlet
• Richard III
• King Lear
• Romeo and Juliet

4. What is the main difference between the first and second editions of the play?

• there is no real difference
• the ending
• the names of the main characters
• the setting

5. The following adjective(s) best describe(s) Guildenstern:

• inspiring
• smart, cynical
• hateful, bitter
• happy

6. The following adjective(s) best describe(s) Rosencrantz:

• angry, bitter
• depressed
• annoyed
• harmlessly obtuse

7. What game are Rosencrantz and Guildenstern playing at the play's opening?

• hopscotch
• tossing a coin
• marbles
• poker

8. What is puzzling about the game?

• the coin lands on the same side an highly improbable number of times
• it requires a minimum of four players, but they are playing with two
• Rosencrantz is cheating, unbeknownst to Guildenstern
• they do not fully understand the rules

9. On what side does the coin land?

• neither heads nor tails
• a mixture of heads and tails
• heads
• tails

10. Who keeps winning the bets?

• the Player
• Guildenstern
• sometimes Rosencrantz, sometimes Guildenstern
• Rosencrantz