Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow
Tom Stoppard's play, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, draws on two previous theatrical works: Shakespeare's Hamlet and Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot.
Rosencrantz and Guildenster Are Dead follows the "off-stage" exploits of two minor characters from Hamlet, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. While the two main characters in
Stoppard's play occasionally make brief appearances in "Hamlet" as scripted in Shakespeare's original tragedy, the majority of the play takes place in other parts of the castle
where Hamlet is set. While off stage in this way, the characters resemble the main characters in the absurdist Waiting for Godot. As in Beckett's play, Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern pass the time by impersonating other characters, engaging in word play, and remaining silent for long periods of time. These same two characters were also
featured in a parody of Hamlet, the short comic play by W S Gilbert entitled Rosencrantz and Guildenster Gilbert's play makes Rosencrantz and Guildenstern into central
characters and alters the storyline of Hamlet

What is the author's purpose in this passage?
A)To inform the reader about stage adaptations of Shakespeare's characters
B)To convince the reader that Shakespeare's writing is out of date today
C)To persuade the reader to explore more works by Shakespeare and others
D)To question the reader about current understandings of Shakespeare's writing