Postmodernism, Hermeneutics, and the Problem of Narrative in Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead

Abstract

Postmodernism cannot be understood merely as a collection of literary, artistic, or philosophical techniques; rather, it refers to a profound transformation in the relationship between human beings and truth, history, language, subjectivity, science, art, and the possibility of constructing comprehensive narratives about the world. One of the most influential philosophical formulations of this condition was offered by Jean-François Lyotard in The Postmodern Condition, where incredulity toward grand narratives, the plurality of language games, and the crisis of legitimation become central to the analysis of contemporary knowledge. This article examines Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead through the theoretical framework of postmodernism, particularly the thought of Friedrich Nietzsche and Jean-François Lyotard, alongside the hermeneutic perspectives of Martin Heidegger and Hans-Georg Gadamer. It argues that Stoppard's play can be understood as a significant example of postmodern rereading of a classical text, since it does not exist outside Hamlet but emerges from its margins, transferring two of Shakespeare's minor characters to the center of theatrical experience. By examining the shifting boundaries between the primary and secondary text, center and margin, reality and performance, character and actor, knowledge and ignorance, and fate and freedom, the article demonstrates how Stoppard transforms the crisis of narrative into a theatrical experience. The play ultimately challenges the possibility of a single, final, and authoritative narrative while demonstrating that meaning remains open to multiple horizons of interpretation.