characters
ROSENCRANTZ AND GUILDENSTERN
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are protagonists in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead and minor characters in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are summoned to the castle by King Claudius to find out what is troubling Hamlet and distract him and are eventually sent to escort Hamlet to England, where Hamlet is to be executed. The two characters come from a good social background since they are “well dressed--hats, cloaks, stick and all” (11) at the beginning of the play. Throughout the play, they are confused about their roles and their own identities, and often show inaction towards the action that occurs around them. In response to their inaction, they are left to the mercy of the other characters’ decisions. This is important to the idea of existentialism in the play because it shows that a person robs themselves of freedom and choice when they do not take reign of their own life.
ROSENCRANTZ
Rosencrantz is the more light-hearted of the two friends. For example, after Guildenstern suggests that Rosencrantz should lick his toe and wave it around to determine the direction of the wind Rosencrantz’s response is banter: “No, I think you’d have to lick it for me… or I could lick yours, of course… I’ll even wave it around for you” (59). Near the end of the play, Rosencrantz also attempts to make Guildenstern happy after they survive the pirate attack. Rosencrantz believes that “if you’re not even happy what’s so good about surviving?” (121), which reflects the philosophy of existentialism.
He is also slower to understand the actions around him and tends not to question them.
In the end of the play, Rosencrantz attempts to fight their inevitable death and justify their survival by saying, “Couldn’t we just stay put… we’re still young… fit… we’ve got years… we’ve done nothing wrong! We didn’t harm anyone. Did we?” (125). He quickly understanding, however, that there is no going back and says he is relieved before disappearing.
GUILDENSTERN
Guildenstern always seeks to find logical explanations behind the phenomena that occur around him. In the beginning of the play, for example, he questions how the coin can land on heads so many times. He attempts to find logic through syllogisms and mathematical laws, such as the law of probability.
Guildenstern also expresses strong emotions towards death. More importantly, Guildenstern finds that death in plays are not realistic because to him art should mirror life and when an actor comes back to life, he or she is defeating the purpose of death which is “the absence of presence” (124).
At the beginning of the play, Guildenstern personifies the idea of existentialism. In Act II, however, he tells Rosencrantz that they should be “taken in hand and led, like being a child again” (40). This shows how self-interest plays a role in a person’s view because Guildenstern suggests this after he learns that Claudius will pay them well if they figure out what is wrong with Hamlet.
Throughout the play, Guildenstern allows other people to tell him what to do. This leads him to be confused about his role and his identity. At the end of the play, Guildenstern says that “there must have been a moment, at the beginning, where we could have said--no” (126) because he realizes that he and Rosencrantz chose their death when they allowed external forces to dictate the course of their own lives.
THE PLAYER
The Player is the leader of the Tragedians. Even though he is fooled by Guildenstern at the beginning of the play when Guildenstern says, “Year of your birth. Double it. Even numbers I win, odd numbers you lose” (31), in Act III the Player later says that he learned that the hard way. The Player shows that people must remember and learn from their mistakes, unlike Rosencrantz and Guildenstern who forget what they have done and cannot learn from it.
The Player brings input about the relationship between art and life. The Player says that “blood is compulsory” (33) in all plays. This statement can have different meanings, such as plays need to have blood (familial) relationships or death. This shows the relationship between art and life because death is inevitable and people cannot escape it. They can learn, however, how to make the best of their life so that when death comes they are fulfilled.
The Player also brings a darker side to the play through his suggestions of selling the Tragedians’ bodies for money.
THE TRAGEDIANS
The Tragedians is a group of ragged traveling actors led by the Player. Like Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, the Tragedians are on their way to the castle, where they are to perform for the royal family. The Tragedians are eager to perform for anyone who is willing to watch since they have been struggling to find work because “juvenile companies, they are the fashion” (24). Once in the castle, Hamlet instructs them to act out a scene that depicts the plot of Hamlet, from how Claudius murdered King Hamlet (the Ghost in Hamlet) to how Rosencrantz and Guildenstern will die. The Tragedians mimic these scenes and anger Claudius, which lead them to escape and find themselves in the boat heading to England with Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, and Hamlet.
Guildenstern says that he prefers “art to mirror life” (31). The Tragedians reflect this concept because they dress up as people (the Hamlet cast) and act out the events that take place in Hamlet as well as in Stoppard's play, therefore reflecting what has and will occur in the lives of the characters.
The Tragedians are submissive to the Player, showing how people often submit themselves to a higher authority without question. Furthermore, the Tragedians are often in the center of the prostitution- and homosexual-toned jokes throughout the play. In Act 1, for example, the Player lines up the Tragedians and tells Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to “let your imagination run riot. They are beyond surprise” (24).
ALFRED
Alfred is a young boy and the only member of the Tragedians to be given a real name. Alfred serves as a running joke and as a support to the motif of mistaken identity since he is the Tragedian who wears the robes and acts out the women in the plays. In Act 2, Rosencrantz sneaks up to Alfred, mistaking him for Gertrude.
HAMLET
Hamlet is the tragic hero of Shakespeare's Hamlet. In Stoppard's play, he plays a lesser role. Hamlet's bizarre and unnatural behavior is the reason that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are summoned to the castle. In Stoppard's play, Hamlet is witty and can easily confuse and trick Rosencrantz and Guildenstern such as when he says that he can tell the difference between a hawk and a handsaw (which is him accusing Rosencrantz and Guildenstern of acting like friends but in reality being traitors). Hamlet also proves that he is far more intelligent than Rosencrantz and Guildenstern when he steals the letter that Claudius wrote and switch it with another one that Hamlet writes himself. His action to change his fate contrasts with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern's inactive approach to situations.
CLAUDIUS
Claudius is the new king of Denmark. In Hamlet, Claudius kills his brother, King Hamlet (Hamlet's father), marries his sister-in-law, Queen Gertrude, and takes over the throne of Denmark while Hamlet is out of the country. Therefore, he is Hamlet's uncle. Claudius calls for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to come to the palace so that the two men can figure out what is wrong with Hamlet. Later, he writes Hamlet's execution letter and sends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to escort Hamlet to England, where the king of England will read the letter and immediately execute Hamlet. At the end of the play, Stoppard shows that Claudius is dead.
GERTRUDE
Queen Gertrude is King Hamlet's former wife, King Claudius' new wife, and Hamlet's mother. In Stoppard's play, Gertrude is worried about Hamlet's state of mind and, alongside Claudius, asks Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to help. Gertrude serves as a facilitator in Claudius' secret plot to kill Hamlet.
OPHELIA
Ophelia is Polonius' daughter and Hamlet's love interest.
