to say ‘‘Afternoon, squire'' to Dogg, the supervisor on the job. However, as Stoppard notes in the translation brackets: ‘‘[This means in Dogg, *Get stuffed, you b— .]’’ Dogg is offended, and "grabs EASY by the lapels in a threatening manner.’’ Easy is confused at this behavior and only gets more confused when, later in the play, Dogg looks over the wall that Baker and Abel have built from letter blocks. The letters spell out ‘‘MATHS OLD EGG,’’ which Easy thinks is harmless enough. However, Dogg's violent reaction—which he repeats—indicates that these harmless English words are actually insulting in Dogg:

EASY looks at the wall. EASY looks at Dogg. EASY smiles. DOGG slaps EASY lightly on the cheek. EASY opens his mouth to protest. DOGG cuffs him heavily on the other cheek and knocks EASY through the wall which disintegrates.

Humor
As demonstrated above, Stoppard places his characters in situations where their lack of understanding of each other's language leads to humorous effects. He repeats this pattern throughout Dogg's Hamlet. Humor is expressed in other ways in the first play, namely in the abbreviated version of Hamlet, the play within the play. Although these plays use lines that are taken verbatim from Shakespeare's Hamlet, the normally tragic play itself is abbreviated, and it is acted by people who do not speak the language, so the normally tragic performance becomes humorous. For example, when Baker and Abel—who play guards in the play—are practicing their lines, Stoppard notes in the stage directions that ‘‘They are not acting these lines at all, merely uttering them, tonelessly.'' In addition, since the Hamlet scene is speeded up, it leads to some comic effects. Abel says, '‘’Tis there. (Pointing stage left),’’ while Baker says, '‘’Tis there. (Pointing stage right, their arms crossing awkwardly).’’ This technique achieves its maximum effect during the encore, when the already condensed version of Hamlet is condensed even more, and the entire play takes place in only a few minutes. At this speed, the play becomes even funnier, because it no longer has any context and becomes merely a disembodied set of tragic quotes and events: "GERTRUDE: I am poisoned! (Dies) / LAERTES: Hamlet, thou art slain! (Dies) / HAMLET: Then venom to thy work! ... Kills CLAUDIUS.’’

In Cahoot's Macbeth, the humor is expressed in different ways, most notably in the dialogue of the inspector, who unintentionally says humorous things when he misunderstands the other characters. When the inspector asks Cahoot if he would like to make a statement, Cahoot quotes a line from Shakespeare' s Macbeth:"Thou hast it now: King, Cawdor, Glamis, all / As the weird sisters promised.’’ The inspector, responding to the ‘‘weird sisters’’ part, says, ‘‘Kindly leave my wife's family out of this.’’ In another instance, the inspector blows up at the actors, telling them they had better act for him. Right after this,"(He goes back to his seat and says genially to audience) / So sorry to interrupt.’’

Juxtaposition
Stoppard's two plays are filled with juxtapositions, starting with the structure. The first play is an instructional play, which teaches Easy and the audience how to understand the second play, a political play. Likewise, Stoppard's plays follow the style of prose dialogue found in most modern dramas, but this is juxtaposed next to the highly elevated Shakespearean language in Hamlet and Macbeth, which are both in verse. In addition, as noted above, Dogg language is juxtaposed next to English. Their differences and the miscommunica-tions that these differences inspire lead to much of the humor in the first play.

Late 1960s-Late 1970s: Many eastern European countries are under communist rule by the Soviet Union, including Czechoslovakia.

Today: China is the only major communist power in the world.

Late 1960s-Late 1970s: Prague Spring—a brief period of artistic and social revitalization in Czechoslovakia after decades of communist repression—is quickly suppressed by a Soviet invasion. Following the invasion, the works of many Czech writers and artists are censored. Today: The former country of Czechoslovakia is now the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. In both republics, people enjoy increased artistic freedom.

Late 1960s-Late 1970s: The United States engages in a war in Vietnam to try to stop the spread of Communism in Asia.

Today: The United States engages in a war in Afghanistan to try to stop the spread of terrorism in the world.

Sources
Berkowitz, Gerald M., Review of Dogg's Hamlet, Cahoot's Macbeth, in Theatre Journal, Vol. 32, No. 1, March 1980, pp. 117-18.

Doll, Mary A., ‘‘Stoppard's Theatre of Unknowing,’’ in British and Irish Drama since 1960, edited by James Acheson, Macmillan Press, 1993, pp. 117-29.

Gill, Brendan, ‘‘Stoppard's Shakespeherian Rag,’’ in New Yorker, Vol. LV, No. 35, October 15, 1979, pp. 147–48.

Londré, Felicia Hardison, ‘‘Stoppard, Tom,’’ in Contemporary Dramatists, 5th ed., edited by K. A. Berney, St. James Press, 1993, pp. 636-40.

Nightingale, Benedict, ‘‘Git Away,’’ in New Statesman, Vol. 98, No. 2522, July 20, 1979, pp. 104-05.

Otfinowski, Steven, The Czech Republic, Facts on File, Inc., 1997, p. 37.

Rusinko, Susan, ‘‘Chapter 10: Minor Stage Plays,’’ in Tom Stoppard, Twayne's English Authors Series, Twayne, 1986.

----, ‘‘Chapter 11: Political Plays,’’ in Tom Stoppard, Twayne's English Authors Series, Twayne, 1986.

Stoppard, Tom, Dogg's Hamlet, Cahoot's Macbeth, in The Real Inspector Hound and Other Plays, Grove Press, 1998.

Further Reading
Fleming, John, Stoppard's Theatre: Finding Order amid Chaos, University of Texas Press, 2001.
Fleming offers the first book-length analysis of Stoppard' s plays in almost a decade, taking an extensive look at Stoppard's three newest plays—Arcadia, Indian Ink, and The Invention of Love. In addition, the book gives a thorough overview of Stoppard's career and studies some of Stoppard's previously unpublished works.

Havel, Václev, and Karel Hvizdala, Disturbing the Peace: A Conversation with Karel Hvizdala, Vintage Books, 1991.
Havel, a former playwright, helped lead the struggle against Communism in Czechoslovakia and became president of the Czech republic. This book collects a series of interviews that Hvizdala conducted with Havel and offers an in-depth perspective of his experiences.

Kipfer, Barbara Ann, The Order of Things: How Everything in the World Is Organized into Hierarchies, Structures & Pecking Orders, Random House Reference, 1998.
Although technically a reference book, this eclectic and comprehensive information guide offers an engaging look into how everything in the world follows a specific order or structure. Kipfer is a language guru known for her thesauruses.

McCrum, Robert, William Cran, and Robert MacNeil, The Story of English, Penguin USA, 1993.
This highly accessible book, the companion to the PBS series of the same name, offers an in-depth, illustrated view of how English evolved into the language it is today. It is a great overview for those interested in the rich linguistic history of English.

Wittgenstein, Ludwig, Philosophical Investigations: The English Text of the Third Edition, translated by G. E. M. Anscombe, Prentice Hall, 1999.
Wittgenstein's philosophical writings influenced a number of writers and academics, including Stoppard, who based Dogg's Hamlet on one of Wittgenstein's investigations. In addition to language, Wittgenstein investigates the concepts behind objects, categories, symbols, sensations, and other aspects of the human experience.