Tom Stoppard Writing Styles in The Real Thing

This Study Guide consists of approximately 60 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of The Real Thing.

Tom Stoppard Writing Styles in The Real Thing

This Study Guide consists of approximately 60 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of The Real Thing.
This section contains 866 words
(approx. 3 pages at 400 words per page)
Buy The Real Thing Study Guide

Realism

The Real Thing marks a major departure in style for Stoppard: an abandonment of Absurdist styles for an exploration of Realist technique. Stoppard's move from Absurdism to Realism is apparent in the first scene, when Max speaks at length, and apparently without purpose, about the difference between Japanese and Swiss watches. It is a funny, albeit baffling, speech. A moment later, however, the audience realizes that the digression has real meaning. The "utterly reliable" Swiss watches are losing out to the "snare" and "delusion" of Japanese watches, just as solid, stable marriages are being replaced with no-strings-attached affairs.

Later, when Henry and Annie's embrace is interrupted by the impatient beeping of Henry's wrist-watch, Stoppard humorously reminds the audience of his earlier metaphor a thoroughly modern one for time's intrusion into love. It is a metaphor that melds modern context with eternal themes.

The characters are concerned with "real...

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This section contains 866 words
(approx. 3 pages at 400 words per page)
Buy The Real Thing Study Guide
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The Real Thing from Gale. ©2005-2006 Thomson Gale, a part of the Thomson Corporation. All rights reserved.