The big question the text poses is how far Plato is right in his claims that art is an immitation of life...Ýs Stoppard's a fourth hand immitation of the original Romeo and Juliet or what?
The text also raises a controvertial issue as to what is the nature and FUNCTION of art? The irritating question is not "to be or not to be" but what will happen if, let us say, after a cosmic disaster nothing survived but few texts of Shakespeare and SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE without its front page, and of course a man and a woman? How would future generations of students, critics and scholars read shakespeare?
Norman and Stoppard's text is very dangerous.And releasing it is like playing with a cocked fire arm..one does not know when and how it will explode..very brilliant