Describe the way in which Tom Stoppard appropriates themes, characters and ideas from Shakespeare's Hamlet in his modern play, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.

Tom Stoppard has appropriated the classic Shakespearean play Hamlet in his own play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. What was once a traditionally structured play revolving around important characters such as Kings and Queens has become an absurdist play about ordinary men. The concentration on characters is reversed and the minor characters become major fixtures, when, not only does Stoppard adapt ideas and form from Hamlet, he also takes two small, irrelevant characters and creates …

… the confusion created by the main characters in Hamlet, which in turn, ironically, has often evolved from role-playing themselves. Stoppard's appropriation of Hamlet shows similar themes, but with different purpose. He aims to challenge his audience, by forcing them to delve into universal issues and philosophies. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead is an excellent appropriation of Hamlet, as each text complements and challenges the concepts of the other, leading to different or new readings.