Playing With Time: An Analysis of Time and Space in Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
In this paper I will examine the multiple layers of time within Tom Stoppard’s play, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. Typically, a script plays with two definitions of the term: stage time being that of the audience and the “real world,” and dramatic time, the passing of time within the world of the play and the characters’ lives. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead is unique in its multitude of times, each occupying its own space within the story. Hamlet resides in a time that extends beyond that of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, while presenting the same story through different characters. When are these stories presented harmoniously, and when can gaps be found between the two plays in terms of time? In contrast, the play‐within‐a‐play presented in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, titled “The Murder of Gonzago,” represents the story even prior to the opening scene of Hamlet and has an omniscient quality, presenting elements of both Hamlet and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. Though this play‐within‐a‐play represents the longest view of the overlapping stories, it is presented in the shortest amount of time. “The Murder of Gonzago” plays with the limitations of time and space and the acknowledgment of their presentation in theatrical terms. Throughout the paper I will determine the overlapping nature of times within the plays, how they are structured around one another, and what this symbolises for both the spaces of each play and the characters within.