Modern Irony Essay

Since the beginning of time, man has attempted to unravel the seemingly infinite mysteries of life. The English dramatist Tom Stoppard has written gathers that address the existence of fate (or a predestined outcome for eery human being) and controlling ones own destiny. His escapes in any case deal with the many other uncertainties that arise during a normal persons life such as sex, how we know things, etc. (Tom Stoppard) Stoppards use of goods and services of satire and drawn parallels mirror the image of lifes faults and intricacies. His plays serve to show people the humor and irony that life presents.During the time that Stoppard wrote his first play, Rosencrantz and Guildenstein, purchase order was experiencing a social upheaval. The late sixties was a time of experimentation and existentialism. hatful were asking questions rough their very existence in a port never before seen. In this climate, Stoppard saw the opportunity to begin writing plays that dealt with the i ssues of the time (Overview of Tom Stoppard). He took a whimsical spin though, on the method acting in which he delivered it. He embarked on the continuing journey of a great literary tradition, but diverged from its path by ridiculing it.His desire to write plays was non a spontaneous venture during this era, many people wanted to express their thoughts and feelings, and plays were a common medium. Stoppard observed this and pondered if success and experience could be his as well. The oecumenical question being asked around this time was Why are we here? Man has al flairs sought an answer to this question, but now more than than ever was it expressed in literature and plays. Stoppards craft shows a propensity for humor, which offers a more light-hearted viewpoint of this previously serious and mundane subject. Stoppard asks the question of non completely Why are we here? but also How are we here? as well. He explores the intricacies of life in an attempt to derive a meaning . His unmatched touch alleviates the heavy association of philosophy though. Whether or not his question is answered is secondary to the method in which we view it. In Stoppards eyeballs, it is more important to live rather than to comprehend why we live. This approach brought fanfare to Stoppard, as society saw his style as fresh and a plain device to which they could relate. Literary history has had a heavy impact on Stoppards method and conceptual presentation.He admits to being swooned by such masterpieces as Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett, and The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufock by T. S. Elliot. The ideas that he extracted from these artists and their works helped him divulge his own style to which he could further literature. A parallel may be drawn between Waiting for Godot and Stoppards Rosencrantz and Guildenstein are Dead. Both works feature two men, and their journey in existentialism. Becketts version has them delay for a surreal character (Godot) that, in the end, never appears.The characters are portrayed as confused, and the play takes on an air of severe depression. The play is very such(prenominal) an appeal to the audience, as they too are overcome by this depression. The characters slowly fade away, emotionless and unexcitable. Stoppards version though has his characters embark on a journey a fruitless journey, but a goal to meet none the less. Beckett disarms his audience, while Stoppard embraces them into his play making the audience feel at inhabitancy and comfortable. Stoppard diffuses the rather heavy atmosphere belied by Beckett with satire and a whimsical wit.For example, In Rosencrantz and Guildenstein are Dead, Stoppard portrays the idea of death as a game. He does this in an attempt to show the audience that it is not to be feared. He achieves this by his satirical depiction of the internal play within Hamlet by Shakespeare. The characters in the play perish, and then the actual characters die in the exact same manner. The audience tolerate identify with death, as all humans are touch with their own demise. They take away though, a much less serious approach in viewing it. The other author, Elliot, often depicted his characters as stumbling and indecisive. atomic number 53 of his most famous works, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, deals with a man who is enamored with the variables and uncertainties of approaching a woman that he admires. In the poem, Prufrock realizes that only he cares about his decision, and whether he chooses to pursue her or not, will not matter. He sees himself as part of his own world in which he is the sole occupant. He, sadly, is only limpid enough in his world though to realize how much he is potentially missing by not being completely immersed in it. He cannot solve this problem though, and continues wandering and pondering till the end of time.Stoppard took away from Elliot a similar stance to character development. He portrays his characters as aware, but not completely in tune with their surroundings. The nitty-gritty is one of dismay, but comical as well. Stoppards portrayal is more humorous in nature, displaying them as clumsy and unresponsive. This is exemplified in his play, Rosencrantz and Guildenstein are Dead. His characters attempt to divulge the plan and their place as designated by the King (Claudius), but are unable to panopticy grasp its meaning. These literary greats do not contribute the fabulous humor that Stoppard has developed though.His humorous elements can best be equated to his passion for the Theatre of the Absurd. This type of theater came into popularity during the mid-fifties and 1960s and was applied to plays that portrayed the human situation without purpose and with absurd plot elements. This form was a reemergence of an attempt towards awareness of mans purpose in life the sense of wonder that man has always had concerning how things work and why. In some respect, it was anti-theater, as it went agains t the basic premise of regular theater. It was illogical and ordinarily had very little or no plot (Culik).Stoppards fascination with this art form had a profound impact on his own individualised style. Sigmund Freud, a proponent of the Absurd, said, In trying to burst the bounds of logic and language, the absurd theater is trying to shatter the enclosing walls of the human condition itself. (Culik) This confirms the spatial concepts that the theater was attempting to portray, and Stoppards comedic element is based upon this illogical and removed nature. The play Rosencrantz and Guildenstein are Dead is a satirical look upon the much more block play Hamlet.It delves into the lives of two supporting characters named Rosencrantz and Guildenstein. The characters unimportance is exemplified in the play by their lack of understanding and baffling thought patterns. This play shows Stoppards portrayal of artificiality of theater. The work is not about the actual play, but the contex t of the play the idea of attending the performance. The characters appeal directly to the audience, instead of becoming immersed in its story and plot. The effect is comical, as the play begins with them merely spinning coins and making bizarre implications towards the audience.Rosencrantz has spun the coin and received heads nearly 85 times. His humorous portrayal of the law of averages is his justification for his luck. This is the plays first look into why things happen. The characters are unable to come to a proper conclusion though and the path that Rosencrantz begins upon (the law of averages) cannot be farther removed from the truth. The play continues with these hilarious situations, finally having the pair receive their mission from Claudius the King. The pair ponders why they have received the mission, and why they must complete it. Stoppard everlastingly asserts that a play is being read. instead of allowing the reader to delve into a story. He makes the reader think o f Hamlet, and its tragic implications and applies a humorous tone to it. In the end of the play, Rosencrantz and Guildenstein are supposedly murdered (the English king is instructed to execute them, but their actual deaths are not witnessed), but instead of a de luxe exit, they merely fade away. Stoppard shows through this that the characters had served only a menial and insignificant purpose. The reader is unable to sympathize with the characters demise, as the play is portrayed with a comical tone.This disservice to death with satire is some(prenominal)(prenominal) eye widening and thought provoking. A person is assaulted with the moral implications of death, instead of offering a deaf benevolence to the characters grief. Stoppards ability to allow the playgoers to analyze what they feel is his greatest achievement in the work not the story itself. Stoppards play Arcadia is another intelligent play that provokes the reader to appraise mans life long debacles. In the play, the characters attempt to grasp the mysteries of sex, and a path towards knowledge that leads to an understanding of the future.The latter is portrayed as an equation developed by Thomasina, in an attempt to control her own destiny. Her professor, Septimus, also contributes to the equation by way of a lesson to his student, Thomasina. He explains to her that the loss of knowledge isnt the end of the world as it is rediscovered eventually in the future. This subject is an explanation of humanitys technological progression and our knowledge. The play attempts to allow the reader to grasp the many unknown or misunderstood concepts in life. Mysteries such as sex can only be acquired through practice and progression of time.Stoppard appeals to the general public that things cannot be instantly understood they must be studied and experimented with to fully grasp the full meaning. These mysteries will eventually be solved, but it shall take time and patience nothing is instantaneous in life. Stoppards inclusion of Thomasinas equation is both humorous and practical in its implication. Thomasinas goal was to create an equation that could more or less tell the future. It is humorous to surmise that a childly equation can predict the future with numbers. The limitless variables and uncertainties in life will forever impede such an advancement. Stoppard attempts to explain that life itself is intangible it can neither be predicted nor reduced to a simple equation. Stoppards plays contain many useful outlooks on how a person should view their life on earth. People are always concerned with the future and their own death (and when it will occur). Stoppard believes that man shouldnt view life with such a critical eye and instead should accept certain facts to be true. Man is powerless concerning the ability to control life. There are many uncertainties in life that are both humorous and infinitely escapable to the human mind.His plays show inept characters driven into the grou nd by their consumption of the study of life. Stoppard suggests through his characters comical adventures that life is for living, and the consequence of a life spent longing and pondering equates to a life disenfranchised of pulp and meaning. The meaning which man longs for cannot be quantified it must be experienced to survive the surface of significance.Works CitedStoppard, Tom. Arcadia. Stoppard, Tom. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. Tom Stoppard. DISCovering Biography. Online Edition. Gale, 2003. Student Resource Center. Thomson Gale. 17 January 2005http//galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/SRC