Compare Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Are Dead

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The Entanglement

The interconnectedness of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Tom Stoppard’s play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead extends the identities of the characters. While Hamlet gives a limited view of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, the opposite is true for Stoppard’s play. Hamlet and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead contain similar themes, and Stoppard’s play presents a new perspective to the one-sided story. The common themes of fate and chance, and uncertainty and meaninglessness are compared between the two plays.

While humans have the ability to demonstrate ownership of their lives, characters do not. Similarly, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern and Hamlet are in the plays to complete their given tasks, as required by fate and …show more content…

In Act III, Scene I, he says, “To die, to sleep.—ay, there’s the rub, for in that sleep of death what dreams may come when we have shuffled off his mortal coil, must give us pause.” This theme undoubtedly shines through Hamlet’s soliloquys. This theme is also apparent in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. The “game of question” evokes deep thought in the reader. Questions such as “Is there a God? “ (43), “Is there a choice?” (43), and “Who do you think you are?” (44), are posed. As the rules demand that only questions are uttered, none of the questions posed are truly answered. This game provides the spectators with a new viewpoint to the existing theme of uncertainty and meaninglessness. Rosencrantz’s and Guildenstern’s deaths are not incorporated in either of the plays, thus leaving the audience to question what had truly occured. The meaninglessness in their deaths reveal the lack of control they have over their own fate is more evident in Stoppard’s play. They recognize the lack of answers in their lives and are constantly questioning their surroundings. In the final scene, Rosencrantz expresses frustration that no explanation is provided about their lives, nor their deaths. Upon realization that Guidenstern’s life is as meaningless as his death, he attempts to kill the Player. As he runs a sword through the Player, he shouts “If there are no explanations for us, then let there be none for him” (Stoppard 96). Even the certainty of death is meaningless and Stoppard’s play aids in the exemplification of this theme though the in-depth depictions pf Rosencrantz and

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