From: Subject: From Beckett to Stoppard: Existentialism, Death, and Absurdity Date: Mon, 14 Mar 2011 10:16:29 -0600 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/related; type="text/html"; boundary="----=_NextPart_000_0007_01CBE230.E298E690" X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2900.5931 This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_0007_01CBE230.E298E690 Content-Type: text/html; charset="Windows-1252" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Location: http://home.sprintmail.com/~lifeform/beckstop.html From Beckett to Stoppard: Existentialism, Death, = and Absurdity

In a universe that is suddenly deprived of illusions and of = light, man=20 feels a stranger. His is an irremediable exile. . . . This divorce = between=20 man and his life, the actor and his setting, truly constitutes the = feeling=20 of Absurdity.
- Albert Camus, The Myth of=20 Sisyphus

From Beckett to Stoppard: Existentialism, Death, and=20 Absurdity

      Absurdism, one of the most exciting and = creative=20 movements in the modern theater, is a term applied to a particular type = of=20 realistic drama which has absorbed theater audiences and critics for the = past=20 three decades. One specific area, appropriately labeled "Theatre of the = Absurd"=20 by the American critic Martin Esslin in the 1960's, offers its audience = an=20 existentialist point of view of the outside world and forces them to = consider=20 the meaning of their existence in a world where there appears to be no = true=20 order or meaning. Inching ever closer to a realistic representation of = life, the=20 evolution of absurdist drama from Samuel Beckett to Tom Stoppard brings = a new=20 focus to absurdism and expands the role of philosophy and metaphor in = theatrical=20 drama.=20

      Before discussing the ways in which the Theatre = of the=20 Absurd has evolved, it is beneficial to understand where and how it = developed.=20 Many theater historians and critics label Alfred Jarry's French play, = Ubu Roi as=20 the earliest example of Theatre of the Absurd. Absurdism also has = origins in=20 Shakespearean drama, particularly through the influence of the Commedia=20 dell'Arte. The current movement of absurdism, however, emerged in France = after=20 World War II, as a rebellion against the traditional values and beliefs = of=20 Western culture and literature. It began with the existentialist writers = like=20 Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus and eventually included other writers = such as=20 Eugene Ionesco, James Joyce, Samuel Beckett, Jean Genet, Edward Albee, = and=20 Harold Pinter, to name a few. Its rules are fairly simple: 1.) There is = often no=20 real story line; instead there is a series of "free floating images" = which=20 influence the way in which an audience interprets a play. 2.) There is a = focus=20 on the incomprehensibility of the world, or an attempt to rationalize an = irrational, disorderly world. 3.) Language acts as a barrier to = communication,=20 which in turn isolates the individual even more, thus making speech = almost=20 futile. In other words, absurdist drama creates an environment where = people are=20 isolated, clown-like characters blundering their way through life = because they=20 don't know what else to do. Oftentimes, characters stay together simply = because=20 they are afraid to be alone in such an incomprehensible world. Despite = this=20 negativity, however, absurdism is not completely nihilistic. Martin = Esslin=20 explains: the recognition that there is no simple explanation for all = the=20 mysteries of the world, that all previous systems have been = oversimplified and=20 therefore bound to fail, will appear to be a source of despair only to = those who=20 still feel that such a simplified system can provide an answer. The = moment we=20 realize that we may have to live without any final truths the situation = changes;=20 we may have to readjust ourselves to living with less exulted aims and = by doing=20 so become more humble, more receptive, less exposed to violent = disappointments=20 and crises of conscious - and therefore in the last resort happier and = better=20 adjusted people, simply because we then live in closer accord with = reality.=20 (Kepos 384)=20

      Therefore, the goal of absurdist drama is not = solely to=20 depress audiences with negativity, but an attempt to bring them closer = to=20 reality and help them understand their own "meaning" in life, whatever = that may=20 be. Samuel Beckett's understanding of this philosophy best characterizes = how we=20 should perceive our existence as he says, "Nothing is more real than = Nothing."=20

      Building on these components of absurdism, we = can now=20 proceed to analyze the way in which absurdist drama has evolved. The two = dramatists who best reveal this process of evolution are Samuel Beckett = and Tom=20 Stoppard. Using Beckett as a starting point and Stoppard as an ending = point, one=20 gets a small sense of the ways in which absurdist theater has changed = and keeps=20 changing. In comparing and contrasting these two dramatists' works, = specifically=20 changes in structure and metaphorical intent, the evolution of absurdism = ventures beyond its original borders into a new and distinct realistic = theater.=20 Of the three plays which clearly reveal this evolution, Samuel Beckett's = Waiting=20 For Godot will be addressed first, followed by another one of his plays, = Endgame, and finally a discussion of Tom Stoppard's play Rosencrantz and = Guildenstern Are Dead. All of these plays metaphorically address the = issue of=20 "ending" or "dying" and through such a focus offer us a clear example of = one way=20 in which absurdism has evolved.=20

      Beckett's most popular absurdist play, Waiting = For=20 Godot, is one of the first examples critics point to when talking about = the=20 Theatre of the Absurd. Written and first performed in French in 1954, = Godot had=20 an enormous impact on theatergoers due to its strange and new = conventions.=20 Consisting of an essentially barren set, with the exception of a = virtually=20 leafless tree in the background, clown-like tramps, and highly symbolic=20 language, Godot challenges its audience to question all of the old rules = and to=20 try to make sense of a world that is incomprehensible. At the heart of = the play=20 is the theme of "coping" and "getting through the day" so that when = tomorrow=20 comes we can have the strength to continue.=20

      Structurally, Godot is a two-act play which is = primarily=20 cyclical. It begins with two lonely tramps on a roadside who are = awaiting the=20 arrival of a figure referred to as Godot and ends with the same premise. = Many=20 critics have concluded that Act Two is simply a repeat of Act One. In = other=20 words, Vladimir and Estragon may forever be "waiting for Godot." We are = never=20 given an answer to their predicament. As an audience, we can only watch = them do=20 the same things, listen to them say the same things, and accept the fact = that=20 Godot may or may not come. Much like them, we are stuck in a world where = our=20 actions dictate our survival. We may search for an answer or a meaning = to our=20 existence, but we most likely will never find it. Anthony Jenkins = writes, "there=20 can be no answers; Godot may or may not exist and may or may not arrive; = we know=20 no more about him than do Vladimir and Estragon"(40). Thus, this play is = structurally arranged in such a way as to make us believe that Godot = will=20 probably never come, and that we must accept the uncertainty of life.=20

      The two main characters, Vladimir and Estragon, = spend=20 their days reliving their past trying to make sense of their existence, = and even=20 contemplate suicide as a form of escape. As characters, however, they = are the=20 prototypical absurdist figures who remain detached from the audience. = They=20 essentially lack identities and their vaudeville mannerisms, = particularly when=20 it comes to contemplating their suicides, has a more comic effect on the = audience than a tragic one. This is perhaps best observed in the = beginning scene=20 of the play when they contemplate hanging themselves:=20

VLADIMIR: What do we do now?=20

ESTRAGON: Wait.=20

VLADIMIR: Yes, but while waiting.=20

ESTRAGON: What about hanging ourselves?=20

VLADIMIR: Hmm. It'd give us an erection.=20

ESTRAGON: (highly excited). An erection! (12)=20

      What follows is a discussion of who should hang=20 themselves first. Vladimir suggests Estragon go first since he is = lighter and=20 therefore won't break the bough and leave the other one alone and alive. = The=20 conversation continues:=20

ESTRAGON: (with effort). Gogo light- bough not break- Gogo dead. Didi = heavy-=20 bough break- Didi alone. Whereas-=20

VLADIMIR: I hadn't thought of that.=20

ESTRAGON: If it hangs you it'll hang anything.=20

VLADIMIR: But am I heavier than you?=20

ESTRAGON: So you tell me. I don't know. There's an even chance. Or = nearly.=20

VLADIMIR: Well? What do we do?=20

ESTRAGON: Don't let's do anything. It's safer.=20

VLADIMIR: Let's wait and see what he says.=20

ESTRAGON: Who?=20

VLADIMIR: Godot.=20

ESTRAGON: Good idea. (13)=20

      This comical scene, replete with the image of = death,=20 ends up making the audience laugh rather than take the two tramps = seriously.=20 And, the fact that Estragon and Vladimir choose to not hang themselves = suggests=20 a much more existentialist, absurdist view of death and a less tragic = one.=20

      What remains archetypal in Godot concerning the=20 absurdist metaphor is the way in which each character relies on the = other for=20 comfort, support, and most of all, meaning. Vladimir and Estragon = desperately=20 need one another in order to avoid living a lonely and meaningless life. = The two=20 together function as a metaphor for survival. Like the characters who = proceed=20 and follow them, they feel compelled to leave one another, but at the = same time=20 compelled to stay together.=20

      At the end of Act One, Vladimir and Estragon = discuss=20 their partnership, saying:=20

ESTRAGON: Wait! (He moves away from Vladimir.) I sometimes wonder if = we=20 wouldn't have been better off alone, each one for himself. (He crosses = the stage=20 and sits down on the mound.) We weren't made for the same road.=20

VLADIMIR: (without anger). It's not certain.
ESTRAGON: No, = nothing is=20 certain.=20

Vladimir slowly crosses the stage and sits down beside Estragon.=20

VLADIMIR: We can still part if you think it would be better.=20

Silence.=20

ESTRAGON: No, it's not worth while now.=20

Silence. (35-36)=20

      The same conversation takes place again at the = end of=20 Act Two:=20

ESTRAGON: Didi.=20

VLADIMIR: Yes.=20

ESTRAGON: I can't go on like this.=20

VLADIMIR: That's what you think.=20

ESTRAGON: If we parted that might be better for us.=20

VLADIMIR: We'll hang ourselves to-morrow. (Pause). Unless Godot = comes.=20

ESTRAGON: And if he comes?=20

VLADIMIR: We'll be saved. (61)=20

      They consider parting, but, in the end, never = actually=20 part. Andrew Kennedy explains these rituals of parting saying, "each is = like a=20 rehearsed ceremony, acted out to lessen the distance between time = present and=20 the ending of the relationship, which is both dreaded and desired"(57).=20 Therefore, Vladimir and Estragon's inability to leave each other is just = another=20 example of the uncertainty and frustration they feel as they wait for an = explanation of their existence. For them and for us, death seems forever = on the=20 horizon, and therefore ending becomes "an endless process"(Kennedy 48).=20

      Samuel Beckett's other absurdist play, Endgame, = carries=20 on this same kind of thinking but is much more tragic and serious in its = metaphor for death than Godot. Like Godot, there is no apparent action = in the=20 play. Hamm and Clov, the two main figures, are even more isolated than = Vladimir=20 and Estragon. Confined to a small, bare room, the blind and disabled = Hamm=20 postulates on the subjects of life and death, while interacting with and = depending on his servant/son Clov to fill in meaning where there appears = to be a=20 void. Resembling Estragon and Vladimir are Hamm's parents Nagg and Nell, = who are=20 confined to trash bins at the front left of the stage. They, like the = two=20 tramps, exchange memories of a once coherent world and spend their time = eating=20 pap and biscuits. However, unlike Godot, Endgame is not absolutely = cyclical.=20 Instead, it emphasizes only one cycle and works its way toward some kind = of=20 ending, or in other words, has the vague feeling of a finale. Even = though death=20 does not come at the end of Endgame, there is a strong sense that it is = nearby=20 and the waiting will not be as long, as suggested by the chess-like = title.=20

      Like Godot, Endgame's comic quality keeps it = from being=20 too tragic in its metaphoric message. Sarah Lawall writes, "The = characters=20 popping out of ashcans, the jerky, repetitive motions with which Clov = carries=20 out his master's commands, and the often obscene vaudeville patter = accompanied=20 by appropriate gestures, all provide a comic perspective that keeps = Endgame from=20 sinking into tragic despair"(2468). However, the seriousness with which = Hamm=20 talks about death and ending in his soliloquies is not entirely undercut = by the=20 comedy. References to death are abundantly scattered throughout the = play. While=20 Godot emphasizes survival no matter what the cost, Endgame is doing = virtually=20 the same, but with a much more serious, empathetic tone. The audience is = still=20 somewhat detached from the characters on stage, but at the same time = there is=20 more of a feeling of sorrow for the characters in Endgame than Godot. As = Lawall=20 suggests, this may have something to do with the fact that Endgame = "describes=20 what it is like to be alive, declining toward death in a world without=20 meaning"(2469). Jacques Lemarchand describes it another way, "this may = be the=20 very game we play all the time, without ever believing it to be as close = as it=20 is to its end"(Modern and Contemporary Drama 484).=20

      The metaphor for death or coming to the "end" of = something is apparent in the very first lines of the play as Clov = states,=20 "Finished, it's finished, nearly finished, it must be nearly = finished"(456).=20 Hamm's response to Clov's ramblings as he awakens is "Me to play." = Hamm's=20 reluctance to die, however, follows shortly after as he says, "And yet, = I=20 hesitate to end. Yes, there it is, it's time it ended and yet I hesitate = to- to=20 end"(457). This beginning scene suggests something that is quite common = in most=20 absurdist plays, the unwillingness to end or to die. Yet, there remains = a=20 struggling to understand death, to give it some meaning so that life has = meaning. So as not to completely depress his audience, Beckett begins = the play=20 with a fairly comical musing on death. For example, two scenes in the = first four=20 pages concerning death are actually quite funny. Clov and Hamm discuss = the=20 connection between food and death saying:=20

HAMM: I'll give you nothing more to eat.=20

CLOV: Then we'll die.=20

HAMM: I'll give you just enough to keep you from dying. You'll be = hungry all=20 the time.=20

CLOV: Then we won't die. (458)=20

      A few lines later Hamm implores, "Why don't you = kill=20 me?" to which Clov replies, "I don't know the combination of the = cupboard"(458).=20 Both of these are meant to make the audience chuckle just a bit. On the = other=20 hand, Beckett juxtaposes a conversation between Nagg and Nell shortly = after,=20 which takes a more serious view of unhappiness and longing for death. It = involves more introspection and a clearer understanding of the = situation. After=20 listening to Nagg's joke, Nell responds:=20

NELL(without lowering her voice): Nothing is funnier than = unhappiness, I=20 grant you that. But-=20

NAGG(shocked): Oh!=20

NELL: Yes, yes, it's the most comical thing in the world. And we = laugh, with=20 a will, in the beginning. But it's always the same thing. Yes, it's like = the=20 funny story we have heard too often, we still find it funny, but we = don't laugh=20 anymore. (461)=20

      Certainly, the theme of the play resides in = Nell's=20 concluding words about life and meaninglessness. Nevertheless, the = comedic=20 aspects of the play help the actors and the audience deal with the = potentially=20 negative issue about death in a more positive, cathartic way.=20

      Another absurdist element that is present in = Godot and=20 is also reiterated in Endgame is the love/hate, dependent relationship = of Hamm=20 and Clov. Like their predecessors Vladimir and Estragon, Hamm and Clov = need each=20 other emotionally, and more so, physically. Hamm's disabled state makes = him need=20 Clov more than Clov needs Hamm, but Clov needs Hamm simply because = Hamm's home=20 is the only home he has, and even if he did leave there is no place for = him to=20 go in the void which exists outside. Kennedy's rituals of parting exist = in this=20 play, as well, and perhaps mean more than they do in Godot. Whereas in = Godot,=20 Vladimir and Estragon may have the luxury of meeting others should they = choose=20 to leave one another, Hamm and Clov do not appear to have that option in = Endgame. An early conversation establishes this:=20

HAMM: Why do you stay with me?=20

CLOV: Why do you keep me?=20

HAMM: There's no one else.=20

CLOV: There's nowhere else. (458)=20

      Midway though the play, a similar reference to = leaving=20 is brought up again:=20

CLOV: So, you all want me to leave you.=20

HAMM: Naturally.=20

CLOV: Then I'll leave you.=20

HAMM: You can't leave us.=20

CLOV: Then I won't leave you. (466)=20

      Thus, by the end of the play, we know that Clov = will not=20 leave Hamm. He has had plenty of chances to do so, just as Vladimir and = Estragon=20 have, but in the end he never does. Clov even says he will never leave = in one of=20 his more contemplative speeches about life with Hamm. Standing at the = door he=20 says:=20

CLOV: I say to myself- sometimes, Clov, you must learn to suffer = better than=20 that if you want them to weary of punishing you- one day, I say to = myself-=20 sometimes, Clov, you must be there better than that if you want them to = let you=20 go- one day. But I feel too old, and too far, to form new habits. Good = it'll=20 never end, I'll never go. (479-480)=20

      And, just as we know that Clov will not leave = Hamm, Hamm=20 also realizes Clov will not leave him. The closing lines of the play = echo this=20 acceptance as Hamm states, "Old stancher! You...remain" (481). So, while = Godot=20 and Endgame are alike in the absurdist methods they use, they differ in = their=20 level of metaphorical importance. Clearly, Endgame is a beginning to = move beyond=20 absurdism, in that, where Beckett only hints at the inevitability of = death in=20 Godot, it becomes more obvious in Endgame that death is inching ever = closer and=20 is within our sights. This realization, in turn, harkens back to = Esslin's=20 comment on the function of absurdity to help us "live in closer accord = with=20 reality." Tom Stoppard will complete this eventual evolution, or process = toward=20 death, in his absurd play, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.=20

      Obviously influenced by Beckett, Stoppard's play = certainly imitates Godot and Endgame. Like the two previous plays, = Stoppard's=20 main characters, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, are two individuals who = find=20 themselves in the center of an incomprehensible world. While Godot is = "about the=20 uncertainty and frustration felt by Didi and Gogo in their interminable = waiting=20 in limitless time, Stoppard's is about the uncertainty felt by = Rosencrantz and=20 Guildenstern in trying to understand the origin and meaning of events = which they=20 come to realize are carrying them to their deaths"(Duncan 59). What = essentially=20 makes them different is while the characters in Godot wait, but never = change,=20 the characters in Rosencrantz have to change.=20

      As Michael Hinden suggests, Stoppard's play is = an=20 example of his ability "to absorb and to work through Beckett, not to = get around=20 him"(404). So, it follows that Stoppard uses the absurdist template to = build on=20 and go beyond. In Rosencrantz, Stoppard introduces us to an absurd = world, but a=20 world nevertheless which possesses some type of order. Unlike the = previous=20 plays, there are rules that must be followed. Godot and Endgame = subscribe to the=20 belief that man has no role to play, and thus can only make up reasons = for=20 existence. Rosencrantz, however, postulates that man plays a defined = role, but=20 it is a role that is unfathomable. Victor Cahn supports this difference, = explaining that Stoppard "brings his characters into a new world, one = where=20 elements of absurdity are disguised under a mask of order and reason = worn by a=20 society which Stoppard has made us come to see as perhaps absurd = itself"(64).=20 So, Stoppard uses Beckett's absurdist tendencies as a model, but goes = beyond the=20 traditional absurdist play in several ways.=20

      The first thing that Stoppard does that differs = from=20 Beckett is he provides his characters with a stronger sense of identity. = Vladimir and Estragon are nobodies in Godot. We don't know much about = them, as a=20 whole. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, on the other hand, become more real = to us.=20 In including the Hamlet sub-play, Stoppard gives them an identity, a = meaning in=20 their incomprehensible existence. They are Elizabethan courtiers who = have been=20 summoned to Elsinore to glean what afflicts Prince Hamlet. Here, = Stoppard is=20 playing with the audience's pre-knowledge of the tragedy of Hamlet. = Therefore,=20 when they view this play, they already know the outcome of the play = based on=20 their knowledge of Hamlet or their understanding of the play's title. = This, in=20 turn, makes the characters of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern more = realistic and=20 more subject to the audience's pity, thereby breaking the distance = between=20 audience and actor. In this manner, Rosencrantz also differs by having a = structure which is linear, not cyclical. Stoppard's play has a definite = end, a=20 movement toward death which does come and is certain. Joseph Duncan = explains,=20 "the courtiers become part of a pattern of events- whose cause or = purpose they=20 do not understand- which they cannot or will not escape and which both = gives=20 them their only identity and carries them to their deaths"(65).=20

      Like Hamm in Endgame, Rosencrantz and = Guildenstern are=20 extremely preoccupied with contemplating their deaths. What is unique = about=20 Rosencrantz and signifies the final evolution of the absurdist view is=20 Stoppard's abrupt answering of the absurdist question: What is the = meaning of=20 life or death in an irrational world? The answer is simply the = realization that=20 death comes to all living things and is something that can never be = understood=20 or explained, but something that simply is. And, unlike Godot and = Endgame, death=20 does come at the end of the play. The end result remains a metaphorical = treatise=20 on the way in which we perceive death and how we condition ourselves to = believe=20 in its existence.=20

      In his essay, "Theatre at the Limit," John = Perlette=20 rightly points out that Stoppard "knows that direct and immediate access = to the=20 reality of death is simply beyond the capacity of his audience" and that = the=20 only solution is to present that "illusory spectacles of death are the = only=20 kinds in which we are prepared to believe"(666). This philosophy is best = represented through the character of The Player, and it is The Player's = job to=20 convince Rosencrantz and Guildenstern that this is the case. Ideally,=20 Rosencrantz and Guildenstern represent the concept of Everyman, or put = more=20 simply, they are no different from us. When their own deaths are = presented to=20 them two different times, they blindly do not see what they are headed = for=20 because the reality of what must be is too close to realism for them. = The same=20 is true for modern man. We accept only what we can believe in, and to = believe in=20 death is to believe in our own absence of presence. In more realistic = terms, we=20 see death as a tragic end which metaphorically symbolizes "an abrupt = exit from=20 one's own drama into a place incomprehensibly other"(Jenkins 43). = Stoppard's=20 ultimate conclusion on this subject is that we as human beings will be = better=20 off if we learn to accept that death is just as incomprehensible as = life, and=20 the only way to psychological happiness must come from dismissing social = conventions and beliefs of death and reconciling it with the ultimate = view that=20 we live in a world which defies reason and meaning.=20

      Unlike Vladimir and Estragon, Rosencrantz and=20 Guildenstern do much more than wait for something to happen to them. In = fact,=20 they are constantly being bombarded with attention, which tends to = irritate them=20 on several occasions. They have come to realize that their actions are = somehow=20 connected to a larger force, which may or may not have control of their = actions.=20

      Consistently throughout the play, Rosencrantz = and=20 Guildenstern test this theory of control. When they first arrive in = Elsinore (or=20 in the Hamlet play) they contemplate what they should do:=20

ROS: Shouldn't we do something something- constructive?=20

GUIL: What did you have in mind?. . . A short, blunt human pyramid. . = .?=20

ROS: We could go.=20

GUIL: Where?=20

ROS: After him.=20

GUIL: Why? They've got us placed now- if we start moving around, = we'll all be=20 chasing each other all night.=20

ROS (at footlights): How very intriguing! (Turns.) I feel like a = spectator-=20 an appalling business. The only thing that makes it bearable is the = irrational=20 belief that somebody interesting will come on in a minute. . .=20

GUIL: See anyone?=20

ROS: No. You?=20

GUIL: No. (At footlights.) What a fine persecution- to be kept = intrigued=20 without ever quite being enlightened. . .(Pause.) We've had no practice. =

      As the Hamlet play continues, they begin to feel = themselves being "caught up" in the action. People are coming at them = from all=20 sides, and they feel they are being pulled in all different directions. = In Godot=20 and Endgame, this is certainly not the case. Stoppard hints that they do = have=20 the luxury of "choice" and that there are a few moments where they can = escape=20 from their predicament. Guildenstern recognizes this when they are on = the boat=20 taking Hamlet to England saying, "Free to move, speak, extemporize, and = yet. We=20 have not been cut loose. . . we may seize the moment, toss it around = while the=20 moments pass, a short dash here, an explanation there, but we are = brought full=20 circle"(101). Eventually this theorizing continues until the end of the = play=20 when they realize their situation as Guildenstern's last lines question = the=20 validity of choice: "There must have been a moment, at the beginning, = where we=20 could have said- no. But somehow we missed it"(125). And the absurdity = of the=20 situation is heightened even more when he continues, "Well, we'll know = better=20 next time"(126).=20

      Getting back to the issue of death, and the = certain=20 uncertainty of it, Stoppard sets up an argument between The Player and=20 Guildenstern to show that just as there are two levels of life there are = two=20 levels of death: stage death and real death. As The Player is narrating = the=20 dumb-show to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Guildenstern asks the Player = what the=20 actors know about death. The Player tells him that it is "what they do=20 best"(83). The conversation continues:=20

GUIL(fear, derision): Actors! The mechanics of cheap melodrama! That = isn't=20 death! (More quickly). You scream and choke and sink to your knees, but = it=20 doesn't bring death home to anyone- it doesn't catch them unawares and = start the=20 whisper in their skulls that says- "One day you are going to die." (He=20 straightens up.) You die so many times; how can you expect them to = believe in=20 your death?=20

PLAYER: On the contrary, it's the only kind they do believe. They're=20 conditioned to it. . . Audiences know what to expect, and that is all = they are=20 prepared to believe in.=20

GUIL: No, no, no. . .you've got it all wrong. . .you can't act death. = The=20 fact of it is nothing to do with seeing it happen- it's not gasps and = blood and=20 falling about- that isn't what makes death. It's just a man failing to = reappear,=20 that's all- now you see him, now you don't, that's the only thing that's = real. .=20 . (83-84)=20

      At the end of the play, still unconvinced by The = Player's definition of death, Guildenstern loses his patience with The = Player=20 and pulls his dagger on him, in an attempt to show him what "real" death = is all=20 about:=20

GUIL: I'm talking about death- and you've never experienced that. And = you=20 cannot act it. You die a thousand casual deaths- with none of that = intensity=20 which squeezes out life. . .and no blood runs cold anywhere. Because = even as you=20 die you know that you will come back in a different hat. But no one gets = up=20 after death- there is no applause- there is only silence and some = second-hand=20 clothes, and that's- death- (123)=20

      Guildenstern then proceeds to stab The Player = who falls=20 to the ground and dies. Thinking he has really killed The Player, = Guildenstern=20 is satisfied with his argument that real death and stage death are not=20 congruent. However, he is denied this satisfaction because The Player = gets up=20 and is applauded by the Tragedians for his very believable "act" of = dying. The=20 Player reemphasizes, "What did you think? (Pause.) You see, it is the = kind they=20 do believe in- it's what is expected" (123). Like Rosencrantz and = Guildenstern,=20 we as the audience are also convinced of The Player's death. As Perlette = suggests, "we 'believe' because we do not believe"(667). So, as a = result, we can=20 "'believe' by suspending our disbelief only if that disbelief is there = to be=20 suspended in the first place"(667). This illusion is what The Player has = been=20 trying to explain all along, and what Stoppard wants us to understand = most about=20 his play. Therefore, as Cahn has suggested, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern = are at=20 the end of their play "the ultimate victims of absurdity"(60).=20

      When we compare and contrast the plays Godot, = Endgame,=20 and Rosencrantz, we can list many ways in which they are alike in their=20 absurdist tendencies and many ways in which they are different. What = remains=20 essentially important is not so much that they are different, but the = degree to=20 which they are different. Beckett's treatment of death as something to = come,=20 something always on the horizon out of reach, is probably more happily=20 acceptable to the viewer than Stoppard's view. But despite the negative=20 connotations death holds, both Beckett and Stoppard use the metaphor of = death to=20 help us understand how our lives are absurd and how, once we accept = this, we can=20 be happier, healthier individuals. The evolution of absurdism is most = clearly=20 represented by the degree to which Stoppard uses the linear metaphor of = death to=20 bring us closer to his characters and closer to ourselves. He goes = beyond=20 absurdism by breaking the distance between the audience and the actors. = We feel=20 more for his characters and we sympathize with their inability to = completely=20 change their fates, as we ourselves struggle with the same problem. = Again, the=20 words of Martin Esslin come to mind, and the Theatre of the Absurd in = all of its=20 intellectual complexities and intricacies helps us to see our role in = life.=20 Esslin writes:=20

The human condition being what it is, with man small, helpless,=20 insecure, and unable ever to fathom the world in all its = hopelessness,=20 death, and absurdity, the theatre has to confront him with the = bitter=20 truth that most human endeavor is irrational and senseless, that=20 communication between human beings is well-nigh impossible, and = that the=20 world will forever remain an impenetrable mystery. At the same = time, the=20 recognition of all these bitter truths will have a liberating = effect: if=20 we realize the basic absurdity of most of our objectives we are = freed from=20 being obsessed with them and this release expresses itself in = laughter.=20 (Kepos 345)
Glusman 1=20

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