Entrances and Exits: Wilde and Stoppard Isabel Sebode 12th Grade

Alike the division of a novel into chapters, entrances and exits allow playwrights to structure the different sections of the plot in a comprehensive and effective manner for the audience. Whilst Wilde uses “An Ideal Husband” to examine a hypocritical society in which suppression of women and lower classes is accepted in the fight for power and reputation, in order to determine the extent to which these iniquities should be forgiven, Stoppard focuses “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead” (RGAD) on two characters that muse on the purpose of existence, our acceptance of death and the absurdity of reality. Regardless of these thematic differences, both playwrights equally employ entrances and exits in their works in order to focus on the theme of escape and the power dynamics between the characters, as well as in the complication of the plot.

The use of exits is inextricably interlinked with the notion of escape, which is prevalent in both RGAD and “An Ideal Husband”. Both plays depict characters that wish to escape their current situation, whether this is their past or their present. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern exist in an absurd environment, which is can be located neither in time or in place. They dread their uncertainty and...