So, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead is nothing like I've ever read before. Seriously. It's confusing and great and everything in it makes me really concentrate, like "this has a meaning to it that I can just barely grasp, but when I try to think about it...it slips my mind." It's profound but...I sometimes can't wrap my head around it.
It seems to present death in a way unlike any other thing we have read. In The American Dream, death was more psychological and emotional than physical- the loss of your humanity and dignity. In Death of a Salesman, death was something that was the ultimate end to all your problems, a way out. In Hamlet, death was abundant- a way to solve your problems. In this play, however, death is something to be scared of. It could come to you at any moment, and suddenly-you're nothing. Eternity and death, proclaimed as two of the worst things- and it's just the absence of is.
We have never really covered death as a literary topic in any class, and now I think that would be a really interesting course to take.
It seems to present death in a way unlike any other thing we have read. In The American Dream, death was more psychological and emotional than physical- the loss of your humanity and dignity. In Death of a Salesman, death was something that was the ultimate end to all your problems, a way out. In Hamlet, death was abundant- a way to solve your problems. In this play, however, death is something to be scared of. It could come to you at any moment, and suddenly-you're nothing. Eternity and death, proclaimed as two of the worst things- and it's just the absence of is.
We have never really covered death as a literary topic in any class, and now I think that would be a really interesting course to take.
Hi Preeti! This is really good, you connect Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead to other work we have read which shows that you are able to make connections and then analyze them. Doing so helps you reprocess the material so good job! Your analysis of death in all the plays is very interesting. I had not seen it that way and it seems that Hamlet and Death of a Salesman are most similar in that death helps them solve their problems. The American Dream's idea of death is more hollow as Mommy and Daddy aren't concerned that they killed their child. The idea of death in this play fits the character's emotions or lack of emotion.
ReplyDeleteGreat job! Rosencrantz and Guildenstern is hard to connect with because of the profound ideas in the play. Like Caroline said you are able to compare and contrast death in multiple works of literature. In Death of a Salesman Willy Loman almost looks forward to death because he sees it as a release ,but in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern the tone is sort of fearful of the unknown. I also liked that you italicized is because that emphasized that the word is being used in a profound sense.
ReplyDeleteYou bring up some good points Preeti. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern really is a lot more complex than the other plays we've read. Ms. Holmes even said specifically in class that we read it last because it is the hardest to understand, and I think most of us have found that is indeed the case. The other plays we've read definitely share the theme of death with this play, but as you said, it's much more prevalent here. The other plays focus on capitalism and decision making as main themes, but I would say that death is the main theme in this play. It's interesting to compare the themes of all the plays now that we have read all four.
ReplyDelete