1. Tom Stoppard The World’s a Stage

2. Biographical Overview Born in 1937 in Czechoslovakia German invasion prompted move to Singapore Father killed in Japanese invasion; extended family killed in Holocaust

3. Biographical Overview 1942—mother and brother evacuated to India Attended an American school 1945—mother married Major Kenneth Stoppard in the British Army in India 1946—family settled in England

4. Biographical Overview Worked as journalist—film and theater critic 1960—began writing plays, novels, and radio plays 1967—gained fame with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead

5. Biographical Overview Writes for film, television, radio, and the stage Three Tony-Award- winning plays 1999—won Oscar for Shakespeare in Love

6. Postmodern Characteristics Mixture of high art and popular culture Literary Allusions Historical dislocation/anachronism Humor/Parody/Sense of the Absurd

7. Postmodern Characteristics Use of fantasy Blurring boundaries between life and art Stage as metaphor for postmodern reality

8. The Real Inspector Hound Parodies the traditional mystery and theater criticism Implies that clear solutions and neatly resolved endings are no longer viable in postmodern reality There is no “Real” Inspector Hound! Expresses the tenuous nature of existential reality—we can “script” multiple realities

9. Shakespeare in Love Scene 1 Scene 2

10. Shakespeare in Love Scene 3 Paltrow as Thomas Kent playing Romeo And Lady Viola playing Juliet

11. Shakespeare in Love Scene 4 Scene 5 Viola and Shakespeare on stage as Juliet and Romeo