Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead

In their reactions to the letter ordering the death of Hamlet there is a sense of cleverness not natural innocence- Guildenstern makes a sweetly reasonably speech excusing them from doing anything about it. Athis my be partly because on Guildenstern they cause ‘fright’ but his compassion for Alfred is clearly evident. Rosencrantz is not a fool but is more easily fooled (eg by the player pg. But mostly, Guildenstern is descent. hey need to be as they have to carry almost all of the action of the play, and although the main drama is about their common situation, there had to be some tension between them if only at the level of a comic double act. 49/50) and he prefers to get back to basics, even if they include a basic fear of death (pg. He can be exasperated by Rosencrantz but also can be gentle and concerned. Stoppard’s theatrical instinct has transformed Shakespeare’s bland, sycophantic courtiers, not quite into straight-men and idiot, but into a cerebral Guildenstern (thinking more abstractedly, trying to reason beyond his direct experience) and a more down-to-earth Rosencrantz.

Guildenstern is disgusted by the players whereas Rosencrantz is tempted. After Guildenstern has spent 2 pages playing at abstract philosophy, Rosencrantz is more interested in his toenails. Unlike other double-act straight men, he takes no joy in scoring points off his partner, if only because he feels their joint situation is too worrying for that; he is, rather always the one trying to interpret their situation. One si sharp-witted, or at least imagines he is; the other more simple or silly, though sometimes his may be the final victory- the essential basic for comedy (or drama)( is that they must differ.

Stoppard has spoken of them as ‘carrying out a dialogue which I carry out with myself.