Summary

The scene opens with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in a nondescript setting in Elizabethan dress. They are playing a game of spinning coins. In this game, they bet on whether a tossed coin lands heads or tails. Having called heads several times in a row, Rosencrantz is winning the game and has a nearly full bag of coins. Guildenstern is not angry about the loss of the money, but is rather concerned at the improbability of a coin landing on heads over seventy times in a row: "A weaker man might be moved to re-examine his faith, if in nothing else at least in the law of probability." Rosencrantz does not share these same concerns, but is rather excited about the prospect of setting a new record of the most wins in a row. After losing several more times, Guildenstern begins to mull over some logical reasons for the events taking place. He hypothesizes that he might be entertaining self-defeat within himself. He also considers the possibility that the event actually occurred once, but that time stopped and is repeating a single moment over and over again. Two other possibilities that he considers are divine intervention, and the notion that he should not be surprised, because each time a coin is spun it is just as likely to end up on heads as it is on tails.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern's conversations are quite often a series of nonsequitors. While Guildenstern is trying to figure out the coin-spinning phenomenon, Rosencrantz intermittently inserts irrelevant information, such as how beards and fingernails continue growing after death. In the midst of his queries, Guildenstern asks Rosencrantz, "What's the first thing you remember?" After many questions that lead to nowhere, it is revealed that Guildenstern remembers nothing save from the fact that they both were sent for by a messenger. Then, as if through no effort of his own, Rosencrantz gradually begins to recall the morning in more detail: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were awakened before dawn by a messenger standing on his saddle delivering an urgent royal decree, calling each of them by name. Where they have been called to and why is still unknown.

Drums are heard in the distance. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern enter a debate as to whether the sounds they hear are real or an illusion. Guildenstern answers the uncertainty with an illustration about a unicorn: a man sees a unicorn cross his path, but as more and more people witness the event, it becomes apparent that it is just a horse with an arrow sticking through its forehead. After Guildenstern's illustration, Rosencrantz announces confidently, "I knew all along it was a band."

After Rosencrantz and Guildenstern's conversation about illusion and reality, six tragedians enter. The troupe includes a spokesman ("the Player"), musicians, actors, clowns, and a young boy named Alfred.

Excited to have come across "an audience" in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, the Player attempts to sell them "gory romances, full of fine cadence and corpses, pirated from Italian" for an unspecified price. In typical fool fashion, Rosencrantz rises and introduces himself and Guildenstern, but mixes up their names. He does not realize his mistake until Guildenstern corrects him. Despite this, Rosencrantz continues to assume the primary role of communication with the Player. The Player attempts to sell them a pornographic show, and tries to convey the nature of his product to Rosencrantz in indirect terms. At one point the Player says, "It costs little to watch, and a little more if you happen to get caught up in the action, if that's your taste and times being what they are." The Player's insinuations and euphemisms, however, completely escape Rosencrantz. The humorous encounter continues when the Player attempts to negotiate a price for the show. The Player initially names ten guilders per person as a price, yet Rosencrantz, fumbling through an obtuse dialogue, argues him down to seven. When Rosencrantz is unable to grasp the Player's speech about the declining standards of theatre, the Player very nearly gives up and continues on his way.

Guildenstern finally steps in and asks the troupe where they are going. Through a series of questions, Guildenstern attempts to discern whether the troupe met them on the road by plan or design. The Player evades his questions, and asserts that they have no control over where they play, whether in the court or in the tavern. Guildenstern implies that he has influence in the court and may be able to help the troupe perform there. However, the Player questions Guildenstern's influence; Guildenstern, indignant, shakes the man violently. Having collected himself, Guildenstern returns to the Player's mention of getting caught up in the action. Realizing that Guildenstern is brighter than Rosencrantz, the Player enthusiastically bargains with Guildenstern, offering him a private and uncut performance of The Rape of the Sabine Women starring Alfred, a young boy dressed in drag. Guildenstern is enraged at the notion and slaps the Player in the face. He says, "it didn't have to be obscene" as he questions why the nature of the sign had to be obscene rather than mystical (such as a bird dropping a feather on his shoulder) or absurd (such as a mute dwarf pointing the way). The Player, offering no real explanation for the obscenity, apologizes, saying, "You should have caught us in better times. We were purists then."

Before the Player can turn to leave, however, Rosencrantz, who now understands the nature of the show, stops him, wishing to know more about the gory details of what they do. Faced with the threat of the troupe leaving, Rosencrantz offers up a single coin. The Player rejects the offer, but his troupe grasps for the coin. Rosencrantz suddenly becomes indignant and denounces them as disgusting filth, and the Player turns to leave. Before they exit, Guildenstern entices the troupe to gamble. They toss the coin several times, and each time it lands on heads, with Guildenstern winning. The Player places his foot on the coin to stop the betting, but is tricked into betting whether or not the year of the Player's birth doubled is an odd number. Not realizing until too late that all numbers doubled are even, the Player loses the bet. Unable to pay his debt, Alfred, the young boy, is offered up to settle the bet. Guildenstern sees in the boy a charitable project. He aims to turn the boy away from filthy theatre and demands that the troupe perform an actual play to pay off their debt. The actors move to take their places, but the Player remains stationary, directing the others. When Guildenstern questions when the Player is going to change into costume and go on stage, the Player replies that he is always in costume, and always on stage. Just as the Player's immobility is becoming awkward, Rosencrantz steps up to the Player and asks him to move his foot, which hides beneath it the coin. When Rosencrantz stoops to examine it, he discovers that it has landed on tails.

As Rosencrantz tosses the coin to Guildenstern, the lighting changes and Ophelia runs by, holding the garment she has been sewing. Hamlet follows her, disheveled and shaking. He clasps her tightly, and then lets go of her with a shudder. He backs off stage without releasing his gaze; she runs in the opposite direction.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern have been frozen during this scene, and Guildenstern unfreezes first. Before they can leave, however, Claudius and Gertrude, the King and Queen of Denmark, enter. The King greets Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, mistaking one for the other. This causes a usually well-choreographed bow sequence to go off kilter. Both Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are uncomfortable, adjusting their clothes awkwardly as the King briefs them as to why they have been sent for. It seems that Hamlet's father has died, and that the King and Queen have observed a measurable "transformation" in Hamlet's manner and appearance. As Hamlet's childhood friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern have been sent for so that the King and Queen may better understand the reasons for Hamlet's distress. Gertrude, unable to distinguish between the two, addresses both Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and lets them know how fondly Hamlet thinks of them and how grateful both she and her husband are for their arrival. Attendants come so that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern may visit Hamlet immediately. Before they can exit, however, Polonius (the King's advisor) enters and appears to have found out the cause of "Hamlet's lunacy." Polonius and the King and Queen exit before Rosencrantz and Guildenstern hear the reason. Once gone, Rosencrantz immediately lets Guildenstern know of his discomfort and desire to go home. Rosencrantz is disturbed about the ever-present uncertainty he feels within the court. Here, he is not even certain of his name. Guildenstern comforts Rosencrantz by telling him to relax and to allow the events to play out for themselves. He also tries to explain Rosencrantz's dilemma on a philosophical level. Guildenstern explains that what was once an innate fact becomes subject to question when the very nature of how one perceives the world changes. When Rosencrantz suggests that they go looking for Hamlet, Guildenstern convinces Rosencrantz to stay where they have been "placed" and pass time by playing a game of "Questions". The object of the game is to carry on a coherent conversation without making a statement. In this trite game they breach deep questions regarding their identity and the purpose of their existence.

Hamlet passes by Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and they debate briefly whether or not they recognize him and how he has changed. They attempt to put the "question" game to practical use without much success. Guildenstern is pretending to be Hamlet so that they can rehearse for their interrogation. However, Rosencrantz does not catch on very quickly, and much confusion ensues before they are able to glean any new information from the exercise. By the end of the game, they find are able to summarize the plot of Hamlet. Rosencrantz says,

To sum up: your [Hamlet's] father, whom you love, dies, you are his heir, you come back to find that hardly was the corpse cold before his young brother popped onto his throne and into his sheets, thereby offending both legal and natural practice.

With the successful completion of the exercise, Rosencrantz confuses their identities once again. Hamlet enters backwards as he aggravates Polonius with senseless verbal play. Polonius eventually leaves. At the end of the scene, Hamlet enthusiastically greets his dear friends but also mistakes their identities.

Analysis

In plays, the setting is often critical to orienting the audience to key elements such as time, place, and mood. Stoppard, however, describes the set of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead as "without any visible characters." In the tradition of many absurd plays, Stoppard seeks to strip from the audience the illusion of certainty. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern enter a world full of uncertainty: their past is a mystery, their names seem interchangeable, and they must struggle for even the most fundamental knowledge of why they have been sent for. Rosencrantz's and Guildenstern's activity of tossing coins at the beginning of the play serves not only as an indicator of the paranormal nature of their world, but also as an example of how much of their existence is spent merely passing time.

The world of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead is not normal. The law of probability appears to have no jurisdiction here - as shown by the fact that the coin repeatedly lands on heads. This occurrence seems to be an ominous and persitent sign foreshadowing their deaths. Although Rosencrantz is oblivious, Guildenstern seems to sense that a law is being violated each time the coin lands on heads. Frustrated at his partner's inability to grasp the gravity of the situation, Guildenstern says, "Fear! The crack that might flood your brain with light!" Yet even though Guildenstern senses there are implications for the event, he is not certain of what those implications are. Guildenstern approaches the question of what this means in a very methodical, scientific fashion. He comes up with a series of possible explanations, but despite his methodology, Guildenstern does not arrive at any concrete answer. When Guildenstern says, "The scientific approach to the examination of phenomena is a defence against the pure emotion of fear," the inclination is to regard his convoluted tangents as mere ramblings that alleviate his fears rather than lead toward a conclusion. Stoppard has created a space in which science is not a certainty.

Secondly, in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern's world, time seems to stretch on indefinitely. As in Beckett's Waiting for Godot, characters must pass time, and Stoppard's pastime of choice is play. Although they are betting while flipping coins, competition is not in the air. Guildenstern is "not worried about the money, but he is worried by the implications." There seems to be no true gain or loss. Money is simply transferred between identical bags that belong to characters whose names are interchangeable both to themselves and others. Even in the face of his significant earnings, Rosencrantz does not seek material gain, never mentioning what he might buy with his money. In fact, by the end of the act, barter becomes the mode of commerce: the troupe acts out a play in exchange for their debt. Although Rosencrantz and Guildenstern do not seem to be motivated by money, the Player is. He says of the actor's motivations, "For some of us it is performance, for others, patronage." The loss or gain of money does not sustain Rosencrantz and Guildenstern's relationship. They are as easily entertained by word games as they are by betting. However, the mixture of "performance" (the desire to be seen) and "patronage" (money) drives the actors to interact with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.

Acting becomes a vital means to survival in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern's world. It is important to note that the Player and his troupe are introduced in the first act right after Guildenstern talks about the unicorns. The anecdote illustrates how the dismantling of the miraculous actually removes one from individual experience, forcing one to settle upon the mundane perception of the masses. Ronald Haymen, in his chapter on "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, makes a key connection between the two. Haymen says:

It is clever [for Stoppard] to bring on the troupe of players before Rosencrantz and Guildenstern meet any of the other characters from Shakespeare's play and it is apt that these specialists in illusion are introduced just after Guildenstern's story about the unicorn. (37)

While acting is a means to survival, Elsinore is what Rosencrantz and Guildenstern must survive. Meeting King Claudius and Queen Gertrude is a confusing and disorienting affair not only for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, but for the audience as well. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern appear in medias res upon the stage of Hamlet. In Act II scene I of Shakespeare's play, Ophelia tells Polonius the events that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern witness: the disheveled Hamlet surprising Ophelia in her sewing room and embracing her extended arm. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern face the Queen without preparation or briefing. They are like actors that have been pushed onto stage, never having been through a dress rehearsal. They know all the words, but their behavior betrays their uncertainty. Although the words are Shakespeare's, Stoppard's stage directions allow the brief scene to come alive to illustrate his agenda - not his predecessor's. While Shakespeare intended this to be a minor scene where the audience learns that Hamlet will be spied on by Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Stoppard creates a scene where the audience sees that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern have names that people often interchange. This illustrates Stoppard's subtle critique of Shakespeare that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are not fully developed characters. They do not have separate and distinct identities, and because of the author's neglect, the audience witnesses the challenges Rosencrantz and Guildenstern must go through. The scene illustrates how masterfully Stoppard has used Shakespeare as a vehicle to endorse the deep-seated conflicts of the postmodern audience.

Summary

The scene opens with the tail end of Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, and Hamlet's conversation. The audience picks up on the conclusion of the conversation that is found in Act II scene ii of Shakespeare's Hamlet. Hamlet is speaking in an indecipherable language, saying, "I am but mad north north-west; when the wind is southerly I know a hawk from a handsaw," when Polonius enters. Polonius is trying to inform Hamlet that the Player's troupe has arrived, but Hamlet initially evades Polonius by engaging in senseless talk with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.

After Hamlet and Polonius have left, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are able to reflect on the success of their lengthy conversation with Hamlet. Unfortunately, even after rehearsing with the game of questions, Hamlet gets the best of them by evading most of their inquiries. The score was 27-3: Hamlet asked 27 questions, and only answered three of theirs. For example, when Hamlet asks them, "Were you sent for?", they fail to evade the question, and instead answer it directly. Guildenstern tries to compensate for their defeat by noting that they were able to observe his symptoms. Guildenstern makes an impromptu verdict of "thwarted ambition - a sense of grievance, that's my diagnosis." Rosencrantz, however, swiftly deflates Guildenstern's half-hearted optimism. In return for the information they have given, they have only gleaned that Hamlet is depressed and does not like living in Denmark. Guildenstern begins to ponder Hamlet's final words before Polonius enters ("I am but mad north-west; when the wind is southerly I know a hawk from a handsaw"). Since the true meaning of the lines is completely incomprehensible to them, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern begin to argue about how to determine the direction of the wind by first determining the direction of the sun. Getting lost in the maze of detail, they arrive no closer to Hamlet's meaning at the end of their argument. Having concluded that it is pointless to try to initiate the next steps, Rosencrantz resorts to passing the time with the disappearing coin magic trick. In the middle of their game, the action resumes when Polonius, Hamlet, and the troupe enter the scene. Hamlet has secretly asked the actors to perform a version of The Murder of Gonzago that he himself has amended. The Player, having noticed Rosencrantz and Guildenstern standing to the side, confronts them about leaving the performance they gave while on the road. He is upset because performing without an audience is humiliating to him. The Player then gives a lengthy speech about the nature of actors, declaring that the one thing actors' identities are tied to is being watched. After inquiring some more, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern discover that the Players will perform The Murder of Gonzago for Hamlet and are given a preview of the play's plot: the blood, love, and rhetoric of a King and Queen. The Player attempts to leave with words that foreshadow Rosencrantz and Guildenstern's deaths, saying, "I should concentrate on not losing your heads." However, Guildenstern entreats him to stay, confessing his unease about being in the court and the fact that he doesn't really know what's going on. The Player advises Guildenstern to not always question his predicament, but rather to relax and respond as the action takes place. Guildenstern then complains that he has no way of knowing if what he has been told about Hamlet is true or not. The Player reassures him that all anyone has to go on is assumptions, and then helps him figure out some more details about Hamlet. They conclude that Hamlet is actually sane, but is pretending to be mad. The Player makes a motion to exit, but Guildenstern refuses to allow him to leave unless he gives him a solid reason for his departure. The Player responds that he has lines to learn.

With no other entrances, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern seek to entertain themselves, but discover that the coin they played with earlier is missing. With this discovery, the conversation turns to the subject of death. Rosencrantz does not grasp why people get depressed about the idea; he believes it is like lying asleep in a box. And if given a choice, he would rather lie in a box dead than alive. Guildenstern contributes little to the conversation as Rosencrantz continues talking about the banality of eternity and when one actually gains an "intuition of mortality."

The royal procession enters, including the King, the Queen, Polonius, and Ophelia. Gertrude engages Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in a conversation, inquiring about how their conversation with Hamlet went. Rosencrantz embellishes the truth when retelling how open Hamlet was when talking to them. However, they do tell Gertrude the truth about the fact that Hamlet is looking forward to the play that is about to be performed. Polonius confirms their statement, and the King again urges them to encourage Hamlet to come to the performance. After the royal procession leaves, Rosencrantz declares his annoyance about having been inconvenienced by these entrances and exits. Rosencrantz then sees Hamlet upstage, and Guildenstern becomes preoccupied with how they will initiate conversation with Hamlet - or rather "insert" themselves into the scene. Rosencrantz moves toward Hamlet, but he falters at the last moment, saying, "We're overawed, that's our trouble. When it comes to the point we succumb to their personality." Ophelia enters in a religious procession. Hamlet greets her, and they exit. Rosencrantz regains his courage and decides to surprise the Queen by sneaking up behind her and placing his hands over her eyes, but the figure turns out to be Alfred, dressed in a robe and blonde wig.

The Player enters the scene and does not budge when he finds himself face to face with Rosencrantz. Rosencrantz excuses himself, and the Player lifts his foot. Rosencrantz puts his hand on the floor, and the Player steps on it. Rosencrantz is unsettled by the situation and tries to make an exit, but each of his attempts are blocked by an actor making an entrance. Rosencrantz finally gives up and retires. The troupe, led by the Player, begins their dress rehearsal. They first perform a dumb-show, in which a king is poisoned in his sleep by his brother. The queen finds her husband dead, and is consoled by the brother, and the brother and the queen marry. Ophelia interrupts the dumb-show with her crying. Hamlet calls off their marriage, and demands that she go to a nunnery. Claudius and Polonius comfort Hamlet. After seeing Hamlet, Claudius decides that Hamlet is not in love with Ophelia - or, for that matter, mad at all. Claudius decides to send Hamlet to England lest Hamlet's true feelings have grave consequences.

The Player confers with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern concerning the critique of the dumb-show. During that conversation, the Player once again alludes to the deaths of "marked characters." Guildenstern asks questions in order to glean the Player's meaning, but does not grasp it fully. The Player continues with the dumb-show. The next scene is a gratuitous love scene involving the queen and the new king. Rosencrantz objects to the scene because the content is inappropriate for a royal audience. The Player assures him it is what his audience wants to see: murder, seduction, and incest. The Player, while simultaneously acting and narrating, plays the part of Lucianus. Lucianus is the new king's nephew who, outraged by his mother's incestuous marriage, is driven to thoughts of suicide and the actual murder of Polonius. Lucianus finally confronts his mother in anguish. The king, ridden with guilt, decides to send Lucianus to England by way of two spies carrying a letter with them. Lucianus escapes the two spies and alters the letter. The letter now orders the deaths of the two spies instead of Lucianus.

Rosencrantz interrupts the dumb-show and approaches the two actors playing the spies, who are dressed identically to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. They are both perplexed, but do not grasp that they are the two spies. The Player again foreshadows their deaths saying, "A slaughter house - eight corpses all told." Instead of inquiring about the identities of the eight characters who die, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern choose to go on a tirade about how true death compares to dramatic death. Guildenstern does not believe that an actor can die so many times and be convincing, but the Player insists that the audience is conditioned to believe in death on stage. He gives an example of how one time he decided to hang an actor for real during a death scene, and discovered that the audience did not believe that this true death was real, instead believing that it was bad acting. Guildenstern objects to the Player's assertion that you can act out death, claiming that acting is man's failure to reappear. As Guildenstern says this, two cloaks are thrown over the two spies in the play, and the scene ends.

The lights fade, and when they are turned back on the two spies are still sprawled on the stage. Upon closer examination, however, the two figures are revealed to be those of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, resting. Claudius enters and informs them that they must find Hamlet and Polonius' body. Hamlet, in a rage, has slain Polonius. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern cannot agree as to whether they should search for him together, or split up. They spot Hamlet dragging Polonius' body and try to trap him, but Hamlet effortlessly evades them. Rosencrantz calls out to Hamlet, asking him where he has put the body, but Hamlet refuses to tell them and derides them for spying on him and assigning their loyalty to the King. Hamlet spots the King, and in order to avoid him bows, thus smoothly evading Rosencrantz and Guildenstern at the same time. Claudius inquires about the location of the body, but Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are unable to give him an answer. Claudius then demands that they produce Hamlet, and the two stand awkwardly, unsure of what to do. Luckily, a messenger brings in Hamlet, saving Rosencrantz and Guildenstern from the King's wrath. Rosencrantz is relieved, mistakenly believing that they are relieved of their duty and do not have to see Hamlet again. However, they discover that they must escort Hamlet to England. While Hamlet is conversing with a soldier, they discuss whether or not they truly want to go to England, and wonder whether this task will in reality free them from the whole ordeal.

Analysis

Like the fools they have been created to be, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern fumble about without direction, highlighting the absurd nature of their existence. When instructed to capture Hamlet, they lie in wait and devise a plan for his ambush, but Hamlet effortlessly evades them. Rosencrantz heroically muscles up the determination to "insert" himself into a scene with the Queen, but ends up hugging a young boy dressed in a blonde wig. One of the key elements of absurdity is illustrated in Albert Camus' interpretation of Sisyphus. Sisyphus labors to push a rock up a hill only for it to roll back down again; the cycle continues for eternity. In an absurd world, it seems, labor does not result in progress. Similarly, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern put a great deal of effort into practicing for their conversation with Hamlet, using the game of Questions and the mock interview. However, after all their effort, the interview is a failure. After the meeting with Hamlet, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern try to decipher Hamlet's words: "I am but mad north north-west; when the wind is southerly I know a hawk from a handsaw." Shakespearian commentary will generally attempt to make a concrete interpretation of Hamlet's words, but the meaning often fails to match up. In general, when the wind is blowing to the south, the eye is away from the sun and sees the bird more clearly. However, this explanation does not make sense of the phrase "north north-west". Hamlet's language is indecipherable, and in an attempt to understand his terminology, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern end up bumbling around foolishly "trying to discern the direction of the wind." Guildenstern suggests to Rosencrantz, "Lick your toe and wave it around a bit." Rosencrantz "considers the distance of his foot" and responds, "No, I think you'd have to lick it for me." Their confusion provides humor for the audience. It is during these moments of laughter that Stoppard demonstrates the absurd nature of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern's existence.

Having learned that acting is a means to survival in Elsinore, Guildenstern decides to act like Hamlet while Rosencrantz interviews him. The mock interview proves to be more successful than the real interview with Hamlet. The audience only catches the tail end of the real interview, but can predict Rosencrantz and Guildenstern's failure by Hamlet's convoluted metaphors. By the end, Guildenstern can definitively say that the only real benefit that came from their time with Hamlet was that they were able to observe his behavior. However, the mock interview does enable them to discover the motivational premise behind Hamlet's "transformation": his uncle has murdered his father, is sleeping with his mother, and has stolen his throne. While the game of Questions passes time, the game's language obscures rather than clarifies, and evades rather than directs. However, in the mock interview the language of acting seems to be one of the few activities that yields fruit.

Acting is a compelling mode of communication. The troupe performs a dumb-show before The Murder of Gonzago. When asked why, the Player explains, "Well, it's a device, really - it makes the action that follows more or less comprehensible; you understand, we are tied down to a language which makes up in obscurity what it lacks in style." As demonstrated by Hamlet's "north north-west" metaphor, language can often be complex and incomprehensible. Through his words, the Player suggests that the motion of acting offers a visual clarity unachievable by language alone. The action of acting offers a bridge from the abstract imagination to the here and now. The dumb-show precisely mirrors the plot of Hamlet. The two spies in the dumb-show represent Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, placing the two men in the ironic position of watching their fate acted out before them. However, they are unable to recognize themselves. The Player attempts to draw the connection between the dumb-show and their life in the following dialogue:

PLAYER: Do you call that an ending? - with practically everyone on his feet? My goodness no - over your dead body.

GUIL: How am I supposed to take that?

PLAYER: Lying down. (He laughs briefly and in a second has never laughed in his life.

Both Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are unable to see their fate mirrored in the play; they never understand that they are looking at themselves. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern have been deprived of an essential source of survival: knowledge of self. Because they are unable to recognize themselves, they are unable to alter their fate.

Summary

The scene opens in darkness, as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern try to determine where they are. They guess that they might be dead, but Guildenstern quickly clears up that fear by pinching Rosencrantz. After hearing several commands, they figure out that they are on a boat. They next try to discern whether it is night or day, and come to the conclusion that it is day. Guildenstern then begins to ramble about how he likes boats and feels safe on them. He has a moment of clarity: they are "bearing a letter from one king to another, are taking Hamlet to England." At this point, they make sure they can locate Hamlet, who is sleeping. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern then begin to play a game where one guesses what hand the coin is in. The sight of the money sparks an argument about how much each got paid to escort Hamlet. They conclude that they are being paid the same because the King cannot distinguish between the two. Rosencrantz then begins to frantically search for the letter the King gave him when Guildenstern calmly reveals that it was given to him. They read the letter and discover that it orders Hamlet's death. As Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are speaking, Hamlet blows out the light. As they sleep, Hamlet swaps the letters. Morning arrives, and Rosencrantz tries to discern the direction they are going in based on the position of the sun. They both hear music and try to discern where it is coming from. They discover that it is the Player's troupe, which is hiding in barrels because their play offended the King. Hamlet appears, spits into the audience, and then wipes his eyes. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern try to discern from his actions whether or not he is mad. In the midst of their conversation, a group of pirates attack. Hamlet, the Player, Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern all jump into different barrels to hide. The lights go out, and when they come back on Hamlet's barrel has swapped positions with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern's. Hamlet, it seems, is missing. This event sparks a discussion with the Player about whether or not Hamlet is dead. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are satisfied with not knowing what truly happened to Hamlet. They are resigned to the fact that he is dead to them, and cannot gain their release without him. Rosencrantz tries to comfort his friend by saying that they only need to arrive in England and make their report, and they will be released, but Guildenstern does not believe any of it. Guildenstern reads the letter and discover that their names have been substituted for Hamlet's. Guildenstern is angry at their predicament because they have been told so little. The Player asserts that they know enough, and seems content with their imminent deaths because for actors, most things end in death. Guildenstern becomes enraged that this actor is presumptuous enough to instruct him about life, and stabs the Player with his own dagger. The Player dies only to get up again and reveal that he was acting. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, tired and frustrated, resign themselves to the idea of their death.

Analysis

The end of the play is no surprise: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern die. The head on the coin foreshadows this; the Player insinuates this; and the title directly states this. However, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern do not know it for themselves until the very end of the play. Guildenstern has the following angry exchange with the Player just before he stabs him:

GUIL: But why? Was it all for this? Who are we that so much should converge on our little deaths?(In anguish to the PLAYER) Who are we?

PLAYER: You are Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. That's enough.

GUIL: No-it is not enough. To be told so little-to such an end- and still, finally, to be denied an explanation...

At this moment, the audience sympathizes with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern's predicament. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern have been treated as nothing more than objects or plot devices: useful in achieving the goals of the play, but given no distinct identity. Having been denied the dignity of meaning, Guildenstern lifts his voice in protest, but his objections fall on deaf ears. The Player answers his plea with an almost cruel brevity, and ultimately their fates are unchanged.

Death is an important subject that is discussed throughout the play. In the first act, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern debate whether the beard and fingernails continue to grow after death. In the second act, Rosencrantz ponders the idea of death being like "lying in a box." In that same act, the Player brings a new depth to the discussion when he asserts that the only convincing death is one on stage because "[a]udiences know what to expect, and that is all they are prepared to believe in." In the final act, Guildenstern protests the Player's assertion that true death can be conveyed on stage:

No...no...not for us, not like that. Dying is not romantic, and death is not a game which will soon be over...Death is not anything...Death is not...It's the absence of presence, nothing more...the endless time of never coming back...a gap you can't see, and when the wind blows through it, it makes no sound.

Although death is discussed throughout the play, the audience never is privy to the true weight of death. They think about it, talk about it, and even act it out, but overwhelmingly when characters die, the end is not experienced as one might expect in the theater. Stoppard creates this effect purposefully and strategically. Although Stoppard masterfully uses Elizabethan wit and vaudeville comedy, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead is ultimately an intellectual play that "thinks". The plot of the play is given away in many different ways. The title automatically takes away the suspense of whether or not Rosencrantz and Guildenstern live or die. Knowledge of Hamlet's plot takes away the anticipation of finding out what happens next. And if one is a bit rusty on their Shakespeare, no problem: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern summarize the plot after a mock interview with Hamlet in the first act. Critic Normand Berlin describes Stoppard's approach as "theater of criticism": "Stoppard forces us to be conscious observers of a play frozen before us so that it may be examined critically." As the play progresses, the actual events of the plot become secondary to the activities that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern engage in while they attempt to pass the time. Thoughts and ideas take a prominent place on the stage. Therefore, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern's deaths are tragic not as events per se, but rather because of the manner in which they represent the human condition.

The possible meaning of the title Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead has been discussed by critic J. Dennis Huston in his article "Misreading Hamlet." He notes first that the title is a quote from Shakespeare's Hamlet. In Shakespeare, the announcement comes across as an unfortunate mishap that is overshadowed by many other, more tragic, deaths. However, when repeated in Stoppard's play the little line picks up gravity, bringing significance to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern's deaths even if only by the fact that it recognizes the absurdity of them. Huston also notes the ambiguity of the title. When the quote becomes a title, the tense becomes ambiguous. Read one way, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern could be thought of as characters who have no lives of their own in Shakespeare, but who are given a full existence by Stoppard. Examined from a different perspective, the title could imply that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are doomed from the start, destined to meet their fate whether or not they deserve it.

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