Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead is an absurdist, existential, tragicomedy by Tom Stoppard, first staged at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 1966. The play expands upon the exploits of two minor characters from Hamlet, the courtiers Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and the main setting is Denmark. The action of Stoppard’s play takes place mainly “in the wings” of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, with brief appearances of major characters from Hamlet who enact fragments of the original’s scenes. Between these episodes, the two protagonists voice their confusion at the progress of events occurring onstage without them in Hamlet, of which they have no direct knowledge.
With William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet as the backdrop, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead concerns the musings and mishaps of the titular characters. The play is structured as the inverse of Hamlet, in which Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are two minor characters who were childhood friends of the Prince; instead, the duo remains the focus and Hamlet himself is a minor role whose actions occur largely offstage, with the exception of a few short scenes in which the dramatic plays converge. In Hamlet, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern operate under the King’s command in an attempt to discover Hamlet’s motives and plot against him. Hamlet, however, derisively mocks and outwits them, so that they, rather than he, are sentenced to death in the end. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead explores these events from the perspective of the duo; their actions seem largely nonsensical because they are superseded and, therefore, determined by Hamlet’s plot.
After witnessing a performance of The Murder of Gonzago – the play within the play in Hamlet – they find themselves on a ship, transporting Prince Hamlet to the King in England, with the troupe that staged the performance also on board as stowaways. They are supposed to give him a letter with an instruction to execute Hamlet, who discovers this and replaces the letter with another one. During the voyage, the ship is hijacked by pirates, after which it is discovered that Hamlet has disappeared and the letter now instructs the English monarch to execute them instead. The troupe recreates the duel scene from Hamlet with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, at the end, accepting quo fata ferunt (“whither the fates carry [us]”). The play concludes with the final scene from Hamlet in which the English Ambassador arrives and announces that “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead”.
“The Canterville Ghost” is a humorous short story by Oscar Wilde. It was the first of Wilde’s stories to be published, appearing in two parts in The Court and Society Review, in February and March 1887. In 1996 it became a film directed by Sydney Macartney. The mystery, romance, and adventure stars Patric Stewart and Neve Campbell; The story is about an American family who moved to a castle haunted by the ghost of a dead English nobleman, who killed his wife and was then walled in and starved to death by his wife’s brothers. It has been adapted for the stage and screen several times.
iram Otis comes to England with his wife, daughter and two sons on a research grant; he and his family will live in a castle called Canterville Hall. The Castle is haunted by the ghost of a deceased ancestor, Sir Simon de Canterville, doomed to remain on the estate after the death of his wife. His goal is to send the family packing so he begins a ghostly reign of terror. As is revealed by Lord Canterville (Sir Simon’s descendant) and the servants Mr. and Mrs. Umney, numerous people have stayed at Canterville Hall in the last few years and have all been scared away by Sir Simon – the locals start betting on how long the Otis family will stay. Virginia ‘Ginny’ Otis, the daughter, discovers a mysterious prophecy in a book about the house’s history, and a secret passage in the library that leads to a cell where Sir Simon resides during the day with his raven familiar Gabriel. Initially disliking the house and life in England, Ginny starts to appreciate her new home and becomes attracted to Francis, the young Duke of Cheshire, who has also seen Sir Simon’s ghost. Unfortunately, Hiram does not believe in ghosts and accuses Ginny of trying to scare the family so they’ll return to America.
Sir Simon becomes infuriated by the family’s resilience and is himself scared by a fake ghost that the boys build. Angrily chasing the Otis children, Sir Simon causes Ginny to get into more trouble with her father—who is such a skeptic that he cannot see Sir Simon. Ginny uses the secret passage to return to the cell and ends up befriending him. Later, Francis explains to Ginny that Sir Simon was suspected of murdering his wife, Lady Eleanor, and his fate remains unknown. Sir Simon appears to Ginny and advises her to not let her fears ruin her chances of finding true love. Ginny follows his advice and makes her feelings apparent to Francis. Hiram, still blaming Ginny for the strange happenings, decides to send Ginny back home to America. Going to Sir Simon for help, Ginny explains how her father doesn’t believe in ghosts (much to the ghost’s bemusement). They plot to trick Hiram into believing by performing a scene from Hamlet with Sir Simon as the ghost of Hamlet’s father. During the performance, however, Sir Simon chickens out and disappears halfway through the scene, with Hiram insisting it was a special effect (although the rest of the family are sure it was a real ghost).
Ginny discovers that the lines of the play brought back sad memories for Sir Simon. He confesses that he drove his wife insane after being tricked into thinking she had been unfaithful and that Lady Eleanor killed herself. Surrendering himself to Eleanor’s family for punishment, Sir Simon was locked in a cell to starve and cursed by a witch, who condemned him to haunt the house by night and lament the death of his wife by day. Sir Simon can only rest if he is redeemed and allowed to pass on. Sir Simon reveals that Ginny has already fulfilled part of the prophecy by weeping for him. Next, she must pray for him. Sir Simon takes her through a portal in the fireplace to the “Realm of Darkness” to plead to the Angel of Death on his behalf.
The next morning, Hiram goes to Ginny’s bedroom to try to make amends and discovers she isn’t there. Panicking, the family search the house and estate aided by Francis, the Umneys, Lord Canterville and the locals. They find the cloak Ginny was wearing in the library and everyone but Hiram realises that Ginny has been taken away by the ghost. Hiram starts to hear Ginny’s voice in his mind and sees her image in Sir Simon’s portrait, causing him to start believing in ghosts. That night, they hear a mysterious noise and rush to the library, where the fireplace opens to reveal Ginny trying to get home from the Realm of Darkness. Her family and Francis rescue her before the portal closes.
Ginny takes the family to Sir Simon’s cell and they find his chained skeleton. Gabriel disappears, no longer needed, and they hear the chapel bell (which is broken) ring out. Outside, a dead almond tree comes back to life and blooms, fulfilling the prophecy and confirming that Sir Simon is redeemed. The family decide to stay at Canterville indefinitely, with the blessing of Lord Canterville (who gives Ginny a ring that once belonged to Lady Eleanor) and have Sir Simon’s remains buried in the garden beside Lady Eleanor’s. Francis and Ginny visit the grave and Ginny thanks Sir Simon for everything he taught her about life, death and how love is stronger than both. Ghostly voices are heard, implying that Sir Simon has been reunited with his wife and is finally happy.
