

Suspense Ros and Guil open the letter (twice) Hamlet is not even on stage – this makes it very clear where the emphasis of Stoppard's play lies. Note that the climax involves Ros, Guil, and the Tragedians. Tension between Guil and the Player has been cooking since Act One, when Guil slaps the Player, and it is here that he simultaneously tries to make his point (there is a difference between reality and art) and takes out his aggression on his adversary. In terms of action, this is definitely the climax. Climax Guil stabs the Player (with a fake knife) It's apparent when Guil begins arguing with the Player about whether or not someone can act out death, and it's apparent when it becomes clear (to the audience anyway) that the play the Tragedians will put on prophesies everything that will happen later on in reality (reality here being the play that the audience is watching). First, as the Tragedians perform their dress rehearsal for Ros and Guil, this questionable relationship between art and reality comes more to the fore. Things get complicated in two different ways. Complication The Player carries out his dress rehearsal and Hamlet kills Polonius By agreeing to figure out what is wrong with Hamlet for Claudius, Ros and Guil get themselves entangled in the events of Hamlet – events that will ultimately lead to their deaths. It might create more of a conflict for Ros and Guil if they were more tuned in to the fact that Claudius is Hamlet's enemy.

This is a minor scene, but it's the one that sets off much of the action of the rest of the play.

Conflict Claudius requests Ros and Guil seek out Hamlet It's also worth noting that, once the Player arrives, all the major characters have already been introduced. Yet, many elements of the play – the relationship between Ros and Guil, the role of chance, the interplay between art and reality – all come out in these early moments of Act One. In many ways, their inertia and passivity takes the foreground.

Because Ros and Guil are so passive, the plot seems to happen almost in the background in the play. There is a lot of waiting in the play, with action stopping and starting. Let's just say right up front that this play doesn't exactly fit a classic plot analysis. Initial Situation Ros and Guil bet on the toss of a coin and the Player's troupe arrives
