Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead is a play that consists of dialogue between characters, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Sifting through the dialogue to find tone is challenging; however, this play’s tone is pretty obvious. Immediately from the start of the play, the goofy nature of the two main characters gives a foreshadow to how the rest of the play will unfold. Stoppard conveys his tone in many ways. One, he often has characters speak in short, choppy phrases and at a relatively quick pace to add a comical tone. Delivering certain lines quickly makes them funnier and exude humor. For example:
"ROS: Took the very words out of my mouth.
GUIL: You'd be lost for words.
ROS: You'd be tongue-tied.
GUIL: Like a mute in a monologue.
ROS: Like a nightingale at a Roman feast.
GUIL: Your diction will go to pieces.
ROS: Your lines will be cut.
GUIL: To dumbshows.
ROS: And dramatic pauses.
GUIL: You'd be lost for words." (2.92 – 101)
GUIL: You'd be lost for words.
ROS: You'd be tongue-tied.
GUIL: Like a mute in a monologue.
ROS: Like a nightingale at a Roman feast.
GUIL: Your diction will go to pieces.
ROS: Your lines will be cut.
GUIL: To dumbshows.
ROS: And dramatic pauses.
GUIL: You'd be lost for words." (2.92 – 101)
The fact that these lines just fall right after each othe, creates an image of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern just delivering them with rhythmical humor. Another way that Stoppard expresses his tone is through the absurdity that he intertwines with actual Hamlet quotes. Hamlet was a tragedy that had bits of comedy dispersed throughout; however, this play is the opposite. Stoppard uses a comedic tone to make more of a humorous play with bits of drama in between. Instead of speaking in the proper Shakespearean dialect; Stoppard has his characters speak in informal, colloquial prose which creates a stark contrast. This contrast exemplifies a more playful and witty tone. However, the dramatic components of the play help in giving this play an underlying tone that is ominous, reminding the audience of the matters that are going on in Hamlet. An example would be that even though The Player makes his few laughs, he claims that “blood is compulsory”, adding a darkness to his dialogue that the other characters do not necessarily have. (1.67)