Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead

by Tom Stoppard

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead: Soliloquy 1 key example

Definition of Soliloquy

A soliloquy is a literary device, most often found in dramas, in which a character speaks to him or herself, relating his or her innermost thoughts and feelings as if... read full definition
A soliloquy is a literary device, most often found in dramas, in which a character speaks to him or herself, relating his or her innermost... read full definition
A soliloquy is a literary device, most often found in dramas, in which a character speaks to him or herself... read full definition
Soliloquy
Explanation and Analysis—Hamlet vs. Rosencrantz:

Through character foils, Stoppard positions Rosencrantz as a clumsy, modern counterpart to Hamlet. Rosencrantz is the standard against which Shakespeare’s Hamlet—the character notoriously wracked by indecision—seems almost brutally efficient by contrast. Stoppard’s version of Hamlet hardly has any original lines of his own, yet deftly navigates the play’s terrain.