Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead

Hamlet, Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern engage in a conversation that is unintelligible to the audience until Hamlet remarks, “S’blood, there is something in this more than natural, if philosophy could find it out” (49). Guildenstern notices that the Tragedians are nearby. Hamlet tells Rosencrantz and Guildenstern that they must keep up appearances and asserts that Claudius and Gertrude are mistaken about his mental state. Hamlet believes himself to be mad only when the wind blows “north north-west”; he is far more lucid when it blows south (49). Polonius enters the scene to tell Hamlet that the Tragedians have arrived, but Hamlet proceeds to mock him.

After Polonius and Hamlet exit, Guildenstern confidently declares that he and Rosencrantz “made some headway” in deducing the cause of Hamlet’s strange behavior. Rosencrantz disagrees. He says that Hamlet practically “murdered [them]” by asking 27 questions and evading all but three of their own questions (50). Rosencrantz despairingly insists that the two of them know nothing about Hamlet aside from his symptoms, which leaves Rosencrantz more confused than ever.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern remember Hamlet’s comments regarding the direction of the wind and attempt to determine which way is south. They look in the direction of the audience and try to orient themselves based on the location of the sun and the direction in which they came. Guildenstern commands Rosencrantz to lick his toe to figure out the direction of the wind; Rosencrantz suggests that Guildenstern should lick it for him. Guildenstern is bothered by Rosencrantz’s statement, but Rosencrantz presses Guildenstern further and offers to lick his toe as a “friendly” gesture (53). Guildenstern laments that the two of them are “condemned” to be cogs in fate’s machine (53). Rosencrantz looks at the audience and shouts, “Fire!” as a way of “demonstrating the misuse of free speech” (54). He then tosses a coin but does not specify whether it lands on heads or tails. Guildenstern muses about the vagueness of memory.

Polonius, Hamlet, and the Tragedians enter. Hamlet decrees that the troupe will perform The Murder of Gonzago the next night and asks the Player to insert a speech he wrote into the play. Hamlet leaves, and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern talk to the Player, who angrily tells them that they left him and the troupe without an audience earlier. He launches into a tirade about how actors cannot possibly exist if they are not being watched, and Guildenstern claps and praises him. Both Rosencrantz and Guildenstern believe they are responsible for getting the Tragedians an audience, but the Player declares that the troupe already had an opening and have experience in playing at Elsinore.

As the Player turns to go, Guildenstern asks where he is going. The Player says that he can wander through Elsinore as he pleases since he has been there before. His sense of direction impresses Guildenstern, who admits that he and Rosencrantz are still “finding [their] feet” and have no idea what to do in their predicament (59). The Player advises them to stay sharp and act naturally. Guildenstern confesses that he does not know if he and Rosencrantz can trust the information Claudius gives them. In response, the Player remarks that everybody must operate based on their assumptions and asks the two friends what they assume. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern describe Hamlet’s emotional state and paradoxically conclude that Hamlet is “stark raving sane” (61). Once Rosencrantz and Guildenstern settle on a diagnosis for Hamlet, the Player quizzes them on the cause of Hamlet’s sane insanity. Rosencrantz cries out that he does not know the cause. The Player informs them that “the old man thinks he’s in love with his daughter” (62), but the pronouns confuse Rosencrantz, who does not understand that The Player is referring to Polonius, Hamlet, and Ophelia respectively.

After Guildenstern finally lets the Player leave, Rosencrantz asks him if he ever imagines being “actually dead” and inside a coffin. Guildenstern admits that he does not think about such things. Rosencrantz then muses on whether it would be better to be dead or to be alive but trapped in a box. Guildenstern tells him to stop, but Rosencrantz continues, stating that “eternity is a terrible thought” (64). Rosencrantz becomes paranoid about other characters coming onstage and cries out into the wings, “Keep out then! I forbid anyone to enter…that’s better” (65).

Claudius, Gertrude, Polonius, and Ophelia join Rosencrantz and Guildenstern onstage, and the five characters recite the lines from Act III, Scene 1 of Hamlet. When Gertrude asks how Hamlet received Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, they profess that Hamlet acted as a gentleman and seemed excited about the play. This answer pleases Claudius, who reveals his plan to have Hamlet confront Ophelia. After Claudius, Gertrude, Polonius, and Ophelia leave, Rosencrantz expresses anguish at constantly being accosted by the members of court as they walk on and off the stage. As Hamlet walks on stage, Rosencrantz feels the need to speak to him but loses his nerve and falters. Ophelia enters and begins talking to Hamlet. Rosencrantz once more falls into a fit of rage because the constant comings and goings remind him of “living in a public park” (68).

A queenly figure enters. Rosencrantz assumes this newly arrived character is Gertrude, but the character is actually Alfred dressed as a queen. The rest of the Tragedians join Alfred in a silent dress rehearsal, or dumbshow, narrated by the Player. The dumbshow depicts a king being poisoned by his brother and the murderous brother’s marriage to the widowed queen. Hamlet and Ophelia enter the scene, and Hamlet begins to shout hysterically at a saddened Ophelia. Hamlet exits, and Claudius and Polonius enter. Claudius weighs the possibility of sending Hamlet to England.

As the Tragedians resume their dumbshow, the Player tells Guildenstern that “events must play themselves out to aesthetic, moral, and logical conclusion” and every event must occur as it does because “it is written” (72). Guildenstern likes plays that mirror real life. In Act III of the dumbshow, the Poisoner/King decides to send his nephew away with two spies who uncannily resemble Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Although Rosencrantz recognizes that something is familiar about these characters, he does not understand that they are supposed to represent him and Guildenstern. The Poisoner/King gives the spy characters a letter ordering the English king to kill his nephew, but the nephew switches the letter after he disembarks with the spies, and the spies are killed in his stead. The dumbshow ends with “eight corpses all told” (75).

Guildenstern criticizes the Tragedians’ ability to act out death scenes, but the Player insists that dying is “what actors do best” (75). When Guildenstern argues that death scenes in melodramatic plays are not convincing, the Player refutes his argument by saying that theatrical deaths are “the only kind [audiences] do believe” and come to expect (77).

The stage lights go out and come back on “as a sunrise” (77). Rosencrantz and Guildenstern rise up from the position the spy characters previously occupied. Claudius and Gertrude enter the scene to inform Rosencrantz and Guildenstern that Hamlet murdered Polonius. Claudius also orders them to find Hamlet and bring Polonius’s body to the chapel. Unsure how they will capture Hamlet, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern procrastinate. Hamlet comes to them but does not tell them where he hid Polonius’s body. Hamlet calls Rosencrantz a “sponge” (83) and accuses him and Guildenstern of colluding with Claudius. A guard seizes Hamlet and carries him away.

The lighting changes to indicate the characters are outdoors, and Guildenstern expresses bewilderment: “And yet it doesn’t seem enough; to have breathed such significance” (84). Relieved to have completed their task, Rosencrantz does not exhibit the same distress as Guildenstern. Guildenstern reminds him that Claudius wants them to accompany Hamlet to England. They find Hamlet talking to himself. Rosencrantz mutters, “They’ll have us hanging about till we’re dead” (85). He asks Hamlet if he is ready to go, but Hamlet orders them to start out ahead of him before resuming his inaudible monologue. Guildenstern exhibits trepidation about leaving for England, but Rosencrantz reassures him that by saying they will be free if they go.