Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead Summary and Analysis

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead

Author: Tom Stoppard, 1964

Setting: Characters are from Elizabethan times. The play begins on a blank stage, but the setting later changes to Elsinore and a boat. 

Characters:

Rosencrantz: Although he and Guildenstern are constantly confused, Ros tends to be the more naive of the two. He is always trying to figure out various natural occurrences, but doesn't care much about trying to figure out the situation into which he and Guil have been put. Ros seems to have a gift for words because even if he doesn't understand the situation or the context, he often is able to say just the right thing. 

Guildenstern: He might be seen as the smarter of the two. He is always trying to figure out why things are the way they are, why he is here, who sent for them, etc. Although he is always thinking and trying to make connections, he has trouble with words and oftentimes cannot think of the right thing to say. 

The Player: He seems to have control of his situation and is able to understand his surroundings. He understands that "it is written" and is able to manipulate Ros and Guil. 

Tragedians: Also known as the players; they often simply do as the Player says.

Hamlet, Claudius, Ophelia, and Polonius: These are not really Stoppard's characters, since he does not add anything to them. These characters' lines are basically the same from Shakespeare's original play, but Stoppard has slightly altered them. 

Plot: 

Act I: R&G are flipping coins and the coins keep on turning up heads, so Ros keeps on winning. They run into the players who try to interest them in a performance. R&G refuse and then are in Elsinore. Much of the plot from Hamlet is used at this point. Once they are out of the play Hamlet, the two play a verbal game of tennis: a cyclical conversation that at first seems to have no meaning. Next, they run into Hamlet.
Act II: R&G try to figure out what's wrong with Hamlet. They can't seem to get anything out of Hamlet even though they asked him many questions, furthering the idea that many questions don't have answers. Next, Hamlet asks the players to preform the Murder of Gonzago. After that, R&G are sent to take Hamlet to England.
Act III: R&G find themselves on a boat but are very confused at first and even think that they might be dead. They find out that Hamlet is also on the boat. They remember that they were sent on the boat and remember the letter they were given. They read the letter and realize that they were sending Hamlet to his death. Hamlet later manages to get a hold of the letter and writes R&G's names in place of his. When R&G read the letter again, they realize that now they're going to die. By this time, Hamlet has already left since pirates took him away. Guil talks about what real death is and criticizes the players for faking death so often. Both R&G disappear from the stage (because they "die) and the play ends with the end of Hamlet.

Quotes:

Guil: "Words, words, they're all we have to go on."
The Player: "Decides? It is written."

Theme Statement: Tom Stoppard writes the play, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead to suggest that one should aim to develop their own answers about life and identity; obsessing about what one's direction is or looking to others for answers actually prevents a person from ever coming to conclusions. Ros and Guil are constantly asking each other questions and looking for answers. They want direction and think that they are entitled to it. What they do not realize, however, is that in life there are a lot of unanswered questions. They think everything has an answer, but there are so many things that don't. Obsessing over the answers to questions will lead a person in circles (just like many of Ros and Guil's conversations) until they finally decide to accept that there are some questions that one can never answer.