Summary and Analysis of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead

Summary:

“Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead” by Tom Stoppard, is a theater of the absurd existentialism play written in the 1960s. The story starts out with a scene between R and G where G is flipping a coin and every time he flips it, it lands on heads. From there they discuss the fact that the coin has landed heads up an improbable amount of times, hence defying the likelihood that it wouldn’t. They also discuss how neither of them can remember anything, even the questions that prompt their discussion. At which point the Tragedians, a troop of actors, arrive and offer R&G sexual acts with their youngest member Edward, who plays all the women in their plays. G extends the coin flipping bet to the Player (the head honcho of the troop). After the improbable heads-up streak, the coin finally lands tails-up, hence ending the streak. The lights fade out and fade back in to show R&G in the lands of Elsinore with Claudius and Gertrude. They all talk about the potential causes of Hamlet’s madness but come to no firm resolution. After Claudius and Gertrude leave R&G to start a game of questions, where you are to only answer/ask questions and it is scored like tennis. They just end up confusing one another and begin to question who is who and begin a role-playing game where one is one and the other is Hamlet. They get more confused.


Act two, R&G are with Hamlet and he is claiming to only be mad when the wind blows a certain direction. The talk of wind prompts a conversation between R&G, when Hamlet leaves, about the wind and how they can tell where the wind is blowing and what they could do to figure it out. Claudius reintroduces the tragedians who talk about how their work only has meaning when there are people there to watch them. When the player leaves to go practice his lines, R&G discuss death and what it means to be dead and what influence you have when gone. Later while the play is being rehearsed, the player talks about the “dumb play” and how it is better used to show the meaning of the work, because words mean nothing and carry minimal communication. Continuing the rehearsal R stops it shortly after because he notices the two spies in the play. The two spies in the play are dressed in the same clothes as R&G, and R thinks he recognizes them but cannot quite place them, ultimately giving up. The play that was being rehearsed is the story of R&G and Hamlet played out and showing all that is going to happen, all the while R&G have no clue what is going to happen. In the next scene, Hamlet is seen dragging Polonius’ body away (as to hide him), and R&G try to trap him with their belts. The scene provides comic relief to the intense nature of Hamlet’s act. When Hamlet leaves, Claudius appears and says that they are to find Polonius’ body. Shortly after, Claudius tells R&G that they will be escorting Hamlet to England, not giving them a choice in the matter.


Act three, the lights fade in and they are all on a boat. R&G are talking and end up role playing again and in the heat of the moment open the letter that Claudius had sent for the guards of England in regards to Hamlet’s arrival. R&G are shocked to see that the letter is sentencing Hamlet’s immediate execution. R&G argue if they can do it or not, escort him to his death, but ultimately end up sleeping. Hamlet slips into their room and forges the same letter, but sentencing R&G instead. The next morning, it is made clear that the tragedians are on the boat as well and were cast there when the king became so infuriated with their performance that they had to escape. Quickly after, there is an attack scene with pirates, and Hamlet manages to escape the boat leaving the players and R&G behind. Lost at what is happening G stabs the player and the player dies. Well… pretends to die and shows R&G that death can be faked and it can be done all through acting and pretend. R realizes their end is near and wonders how they were caught up in the situation. He asks if they could remain on the ship to avoid their executions. He asks G if they went wrong somewhere, neither can remember. R announces that he is done with it all, and leaves the stage. G does not notice, and instead, he tries to remember their actions, believing that they must have had an opportunity to prevent all that has happened. Suddenly, G realizes he is alone and begins crying out for R, but he is unable to remember if he is G or R. He says that they will be better off the next time around, and he leaves the stage in darkness.

Quotes:

“Rosencrantz: What are you playing at?/ Guildenstern: Words, words. They’re all we have to go on.”

This quote discusses the futility of words and how they can commonly mean nothing because they lack context. In the case of the play, they do rely on words and that is the root of their shallow meanings and lack of understanding.

“Life is a gamble, at terrible odds—if it was a bet you wouldn’t take it.”

A major motif in the play is both futility of life, and gambling. They are saying that life is not worth betting on, it will never go the way you want because the world is indifferent to your will.

Theme Statement:

In "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead", Stoppard comments on the futility of human purpose in a work where people are confined to a role that they do not have control over.

Characters:

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern- 

Both serve as interchangeable means of presentation for Stoppard's work. They are simply shallow characters that are lost without the writing and direction of the author. If they were given depth then they would have been deep, but they remained as Shakespeare wrote them, shallow and to serve their purpose in the story of Hamlet. They are purposely confused and upset to show their lack of meaning and purpose.

Player-

 Used to show them how a character can be defined by their role, and embrace that. The player is one of the few, if not only, self-aware characters within this play. His self-awareness contrasts the lostness that R&G feel throughout the play.

Motifs:

Gambling

Loose papers

Music (specifically the tragedians)

Science experiments (ie. the paper airplane)