Comparative study of texts, Shakespeare's Hamlet to Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead.

English essay.

Comparative study of texts, Shakespeare's Hamlet to Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead.

'Reactions of an existing text provide not only a new text but also a new reading of a prior text'. This statement is very true especially regarding to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead (Ragad). Ragad is a brilliant transformation of Shakespeare's original Hamlet. Ragad dose not only transform the characters, the settings and events but it also builds on to the themes of Hamlet as well as it generates some new themes itself. The themes that are present in both texts are viewed upon if different and similar manners, showing the difference of the times and contexts of each text. The new themes that are found in Ragad also change the ways in which one would look at Shakespeare's Hamlet, which in turn generates a new reading of the text.

How much has Tom Stoppard changed the characters of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern?

In Tom Stoppard's Ragad, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (Ros and Guil), whom are minor sideline characters of Hamlet, become the focus and main characters of Ragad, they are taken through the same sequence of events but now we get to see it through Ros and Guil's eyes.

Ros&Keith25_Vanessa Skidmore

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Ros&Keith25_MCRos

We get to see their interpretations of the world and what meaning they make of it. Although we get to see a lot more of Ros and Guil, we don't get much of a better understanding of them than from Hamlet, however because we get to know them for longer and because the are the main characters of the text representing the everyday man, we become connected to them and feel empathy for them.

There are many themes which are found in both texts and are dealt with and expressed in...