Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Summary & Analysis

Author: Tom Stoppard
   Born in Czechoslovakia, Stoppard is a playwright, in which his themes usually involve human rights, censorship, and political freedom. Rosencrantz & Guildenstern became his first well-known piece and created the term "Stoppardian" referring to the wit and comedy he used while addressing philosophical issues. His use of existentialism, word-playing, and allusion to Hamlet gained him acknowledgement.
   Written in 1964, published in 1967 and won Tony Award for best play in 1968 after being performed on Broadway.

Setting: The entire play takes place on and off of a plain stage, throughout the play this stage represents different locations. Firstly it is a open space in the wilderness, then Elsinore, and then lastly the boat on the way to England. This occurs during the Elizabethan Era which can be concluded from the clothing worn and some of the depictions.

Characters:
   Rosentcrantz- Childhood friend of Hamlet, summoned by the court to find the reasoning of Hamlet's madness. Known as the more oblivious and happier of the two, he is carefree and his aloof attitude essentially represents his fear of his fate.
   Guildenstern- Childhood friend of Hamlet, summoned by the court to find the reasoning of Hamlet's madness. Known to be more analytic, he questions everything but is still not able to easily come to conclusions. He seeks for the meaning of his life and thinks that he has a fairly good grasp and understanding.
   The Player- Leads the Tragedian actors. He's known for his wit, and his awareness of the setting and plot, throughout the play he subtly drops hints of Ros and Guild's fate.
    Tragedians- traveling actors that specialize at dramatic and emotional plays, will perform sexual performances if for the right price and are good at fake dying.
   Hamlet- Prince of Denmark, childhood friend of Ros and Guild. Recently gone mad and others are unaware of the cause. True reasoning is due to his father's recent death (seeks to avenge) and his mother's quick recovery and marriage to his father's brother, Claudius.
   Claudius- Brother to the old Hamlet, now new King of Denmark. Summons Ros and Guild to uncover what is wrong with Hamlet.

Plot:

• Ros and Guild are wandering throughout the woods playing a game of flipping coins. The coin always lands on heads so Ros continues to win, all while Guild considers the rule of probability and the reasoning to this phenomenon. They are on a journey however they cannot remember their task.
• They come across a group of Tragedians. The Player offers to allow Ros and Guild participate in a sexual play, involving the young boy, Alfred, however Ros and Guild are unaware of the Player's intent. Guild invites the Player to play a game of flipping coins and the Player loses and claims he cannot play because the Tragedians don't like the odds. As the Tragedians are leaving Ros grabs the coin and it is tails, saying it was lucky.
• Ros and Guild go to Elsinore where they first witness Ophelia and Hamlet have an argument. They are then welcomed by Claudius. Claudius clarifies that they were sent for to undercover what is wrong with Hamlet and to report it back to him.
• To prepare for meeting Hamlet, Ros and Guild play a game of question and answer, which eventually just confuses them more. They are able to come to the conclusion that Hamlet is upset because his father was murdered and the throne was taken over by his father's brother by marrying Hamlet's mother.
• Ros and Guild meet up with Hamlet, he confuses them with a speech and is interrupted by Polonius announcing the arrival of the Tragedians. Hamlet requests that the players part perform the play the Murder of Gonzago; will portray the situatiom at court. Hamlet then leaves and Ros, Guild, and the Player discuss the reasoning of Hamlet's madness.

• Ros and Guild are alone and Ros brings up the idea of life after death. 
• Ros and Guild overhear Hamlet's soliloquy debating suicide until Ophelia enters, they both exit.
• Hamlet kills polonius and Claudius and Gertrude ask ros and guild to go find the body.
• Ros and guild escort Hamlet on the boat to take him to England. They contemplate what life is and afterlife and afterwards find a letter to be delivered to the king of England that requests the execution of Hamlet. 
• While ros and guild are asleep Hamlet finds the letter and edits it to request the murder of ros and guild instead.
• When ros and guild wake they find the tragedians hiding in barrels running away because Claudius did not like their play. Pirates attack the ship and everyone hides in the barrels.
• The lights go out and the barrel Hamlet was in disappears. Ros and guild reread the letter and are shocked to find what it now says. 
• Ros and guild and the tragedians exit from the barrels and discuss their expertise of dying. Guil stabs the player and he falls to the ground,dead
• A moment later the player rises and everyone is impressed. 
• Ros thinks about why they are condemned to death but eventually gives up and exits. Guild thinks of the messenger who gave the message but then dismisses the thought and claims he'll know better next time and exits.
• The stage is lit and the king of England is announcing the deaths of ros and guild. Dead bodies lie all around the stage and Horatio orders that they are taken care of.

Motifs:

• Lack of identity
• Extientilism
• Death
• Luck/probability
• Games
• Religion

Author's Style:

• Point of View - Told from the view of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, two confused men on a mission for the court. Due to their lack of understanding of what is happening around them, this forces the reader to draw conclusions from the characters interactions and subliminal hints from the dialogue and minimum stage directions. 
• Tone - The tone is somewhat dreary and unfortunate. The reader is away that the character's are destined to die but have to suffer through the character's obliviousness to their set fate. The character's often discuss death and the unknown giving a dismal feeling.  
• Imagery - There is not much to say about the imagery. The stage decorations and directions are minimal and bare for the most part, there's only enough to get the basics of what is occurring.
• Symbolism - Several objects and things play an important role as a symbol in this play. Many of the things described by Stoppard may be interpreted in many different ways, each time concluding a different meaning. Some of the symbols that most stood out to me include;
• Money and Coins - Rosencrantz and Guildenstern compare their fate to the probability of the coin game they play. Guild is often scared due to understanding the chances when playing the game and applies it to his own life, hence worrying that their is something unfortunate coming for him. 
• The Boat - Ros and Guild compare death to being like a boat, this is ironic because the readers know that the boat is ultimately going to bring Ros and Guild to their deaths. 
• Wind - The wind, especially in the movie is symbolic for direction and lack of a sense of it. When Ros and Guild are trying to determine which way they came to court they try to use the wind direction to figure it out. Later on the Player claims he knows which way the wind is blowing, therefore also meaning he knows what everything means and what is going on. This shows specifically that Ros and Guild are clueless to what is happening.  

Quotes:

1. In that case, the origin. Trace it so its course and it might give us a rough idea of the way we came in--which might give us a rough idea of south, for further reference (59). This clearly displays that Ros and Guild have no sense of direction or a clear understanding of what is going on. I have an urge to conclude something about the mentioning of the direction South using How to Read Lit...however, I don't think in this case the true meaning would apply.
2. Death followed by eternity...the worst of both worlds. It is a terrible thought. (72). Ros and Guild are completely unaware of their fate, they know they will die eventually but not when. They demonstrate the idea that it is better to live at all and be confused then to face the ultimate worst thing, death. 

Theme Statement: 

    Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead differentiates between life and art and states that in life every person has the power to take control of their life and choose their fate, whereas in art one's fate is already determined and one has no control or ability to choose what happens. 

    Stoppard emphasizes this point many times throughout the play by exaggerating Ros and Guild's confusion and unawareness of what is occurring in their lives and in the world around them. The contrast between 

Ros and Guild and the Player is significant and emphasizes theory of life vs art. The characters are aware they are actor's but when they discuss it they are still confused and not exactly sure what their purposes are. The Player shows how a character acts different when he actually knows what is going to occur. The Character's overall represent people in general having a need and desire to know the meaning of life and what their ultimate purpose is. This a compelling topic, life vs. art, and one is not truly able to come to a conclusion on what each of them mean but Stoppard does a good job of using the confused characters to emphasize his opinion.