Quiz Guide: Stoppard Chapter 1

• How do the stage directions differentiate between Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (hereafter, R & G)?
• What game are R & G playing when the play opens, and what are the results?
• How long has the game between R & G been going on?
• How did R & G get where they are at the beginning of the act?
• Why, according the player, has his company been "roundabout"?
• Why does Guildenstern smash the player across the face?
• Why doesn't Alfred like being an actor?
• What element is "compulsory" in the players' performances?
• When the player starts his performance, why doesn't he change his clothes or 'comeon"?
• What happens right before the scene changes and Ophelia comes on? What do you think is the connection between the two events?
• Discuss something funny that happens in the interchange between R,G, Claudius,and Gertrude (usually 2.2 of the Hamlet).
• Rosencrantz reminisces about a time when there were no questions but plenty of answers. Give some examples.
• "Words, words. That's all we have to go on," says Guildenstern. Talk about a time in this act in which words, wordplay, or the meaning of words is highlighted.
• R & G rehearse for their interview with Hamlet by playing a game like tennis. What seem to be its rules? Read through the whole game to get them all.
• R & G try a role-playing to prepare to meet Hamlet. What are some of their difficulties?