Quiz Guide: Stoppard Act 2

• How does Act 2 begin? What has been happening in Hamlet (still in 2.2)?
• After Hamlet leaves at the beginning of the act, how do R & G evaluate their conversation with him?
• After their conversation with Hamlet at the beginning of the act, R & G try to get their directional bearings.What problems do they experience?
• Guildenstern relates an anecdote about a person in Asia. What is it, and why do you think he brings it up?
• After 2.2 of Hamlet finally ends and Hamlet leaves, why is the player angry at R & G?
• Rosencrantz speculates about boxes. A few pages before, the player says,"I can come and go as I please....I've been here before." Speculate about what Stoppard means or intends about this section of the play.
• Just after Rosencrantz "forbids" anyone to enter, several characters enter and Hamlet 3.1 begins. How does the player explain the "dumb show" in dress rehearsal"?
• Stoppard has R & G and the players witness Hamlet's interview with Ophelia, which is also being witnessed by Claudius and Polonius. Why do you think Stoppard does that?
• What does the player call the "logical" conclusion of a play?
• How does the player define tragedy?
• How does this second part of the "mime" or dumb show differ from the dumb show in Hamlet?
• Guildenstern complains that the players die too frequently to be believable. How does the player respond, and with what example does he illustrate his answer?
• How does Guildenstern define death?
• After the blackout that begins Hamlet 4.1, Rosencrantz believes he has gotten his bearings in terms of direction. How does he prove it, and how does Guildenstern refute him?
• Claudius asks R & G to find Hamlet and bring him to the king. Describe their difficulties.
• After Hamlet is marched out, Guildenstern says, "Can that be all? And why us?--anyone would have done. And we have contributed nothing." What does he mean?
• R and G quickly find themselves in 4.4 of Hamlet, though they aren't in that scene in Hamlet. Why are they there? What do they observe?
• R and G leave the stage for the first time at the end of Act 2. Speculate about why.