Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead

Tom Stoppard's play, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead is a good example of Postmodern literature. It's postmodern inclination is evident from the start, given away by the prevailing sense of directionlessness and purposelessness. There is furthermore a lack of understanding, or a breach in the communication between the characters as they struggle to understand the words which their companion employs (Postmodernism holds that words have no inherent meaning). There is also a sense of Nihilism that we can gather from the beginning of the play; the characters have nothing better to do than flip coins and bet on them, that is all they have been doing before being summoned, and they do not know what they are doing next, furthermore, they are uncertain which direction they should go. A fog of confusion reigns. Nothing has meaning or purpose. And even when Guildenstern tries to reason things out, he just ends up proving nothing (deconstruction).

Furthermore, it strikes me that this play bears many close similarities to Waiting for Godot. The setting is bleak, no props in R&G are Dead and hardly any in Waiting for Godot. Both feature two main characters who seem inseperable, and both feature a wealth of dialogue that means nothing. In both plays, there was the sense of confusion where the past was indistinct to the characters, where they could hardly remember that same morning, if they could remember at all. They both fill their time with futile pursuits. For example, in Waiting for Godot, Estragon is perpetually trying to pull his boot off and in R&G are Dead, they flip coins and always get the same result. In both plays, there is a difficulty in accomplishing equal conversation, and Guildenstern resembles the character of Vladmir while Rosencrantz resembles Estragon.