Absurd theatre is a form of drama that exemplifies how illogical, irrational, and meaningless life is. According to Dr. S. C. Mundra there are seven characteristics of Absurd Theatre: 1) Life is essentially meaningless, therefore miserable. 2) There is no hope due to the inexorable unavailing of human efforts. 3) Reality is intolerable unless relieved by dreams and illusions. 4) Man is infatuated with death. 5) There is no plot and no action. 6) The final scene in the play is absurd or comical. 7) There is no purpose therefore problems are not solved.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead is a play within a play. The play is supposed to show you what Rosencrantz and Guildenstern do behind the scenes of Hamlet. Tom Stoppard wrote this play with the theme of absurdity. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead meets absurd theater characteristics. Although, the play is supposed to fill in the blanks of Hamlet, there is no true plot. In the play, life is essentially meaningless, reality is unbearable, they are fascinated by death, the final situation is just comical, and there is no purpose. Nearly every aspect of Hamlet meets absurd characteristics. The characters essentially have no idea what they’re doing. Therefore, it’s often hard to follow due the fact that they themselves …show more content…
The play within a play is consistently between reality and drama. “Player: We keep to our usual stuff, more or less, only inside out. We do on stage the things that are supposed to happen off. Which is kind of integrity, if you look on every exit being an entrance somewhere else.” (pg. 28) The player explains how the drama of an onstage scene is the same reality as off stage. This makes the play seem almost comical due to the fact that nothing is taken seriously. The player explains how the drama of an onstage scene is the same off stage, creating a type of illusion. This causes the characters to be unable to decipher reality and