· Dramatic techniques – characters used from Hamlet – what past do minor characters have? We are piecing together the ‘lives’ of the characters from the fragments mentioned in Hamlet.
· Purpose of the Player (enter p.17) – reflects the issues that Ros and Guil are grappling with – “Why, we grow rusty…We’d be back where we started – improvising.” P.17 “We keep to the usual stuff…only inside out…every exit being an entrance somewhere else.” P.22
Re-read the entrance of Hamlet and Ophelia on p. 26 and the entrance of Claudius and Gertrude on p. 27-8. What effect does this initial sighting of Hamlet have on Ros and Guil? How does this help to build the audience's understanding of the characters?
What types of dramatic techniques has Stoppard used to suggest a change in mood/atmosphere?
What effect does the changing style of dialogue (pp.27-9) have on the reader’s impression of Ros and Guil, and the reader's understanding of the situation?
Which techniques does Stoppard use to communicate an increasing state of panic in p.29? How does he then counter this panic to change the mood again?
"To be taken in hand and led, like being a child again, even without the innocence of a child - It's like being given a prize, an extra slice of childhood when you least expect it, a prize for being, or compensation for never having had one... Do I contradict myself?" (p.30) Explain the context of these lines and how this concept can be applied to the play at large.
On pp.32-3 Ros and Guil begin the first of many games of 'Questions'. Explain some of the techniques Stoppard uses to induce humour.
Pace is very important in this play. Examine the different techniques used by Stoppard to affect the pace toward the end of this act.
Act 2
A substantial conversation is supposed to have taken place between the end of Act1 and beginning of Act 2. How important is it to know the contents of that conversation. Have a look in the script of Hamlet (complete version is online) to see what was covered in the lapsed time. How does this affect your perception of the ensuing conversation?
How does the audience's understanding of Ros and Guil and their situation develop between pp.40-5?
The Opening
· Setting – “a place without any visible character” p.9 Limbo?
· Characters – costumes (Elizabethan, well dressed), props (full/empty bags of coins)
· Focus – probability, purpose, identity, memory, reliability
· Dramatic techniques – characters used from Hamlet – what past do minor characters have? We are piecing together the ‘lives’ of the characters from the fragments mentioned in Hamlet.
· Purpose of the Player (enter p.17) – reflects the issues that Ros and Guil are grappling with – “Why, we grow rusty…We’d be back where we started – improvising.” P.17 “We keep to the usual stuff…only inside out…every exit being an entrance somewhere else.” P.22
Re-read the entrance of Hamlet and Ophelia on p. 26 and the entrance of Claudius and Gertrude on p. 27-8. What effect does this initial sighting of Hamlet have on Ros and Guil? How does this help to build the audience's understanding of the characters?
What types of dramatic techniques has Stoppard used to suggest a change in mood/atmosphere?
What effect does the changing style of dialogue (pp.27-9) have on the reader’s impression of Ros and Guil, and the reader's understanding of the situation?
Act 2