Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead

The stage is pitch dark, and the audience can hear ocean sounds. Guildenstern calls out to Rosencrantz, who says, “We’re not finished, then?” (89). He assures Rosencrantz that they are still alive because they can think, talk, and feel. Rosencrantz says that he can feel one of his legs, but the leg feels dead. Guildenstern orders him to give the leg a pinch, only to find out that Rosencrantz has his hand on Guildenstern’s leg instead of his own. The sounds of the sea build, and the voices of sailors emerge. Realizing they are on a boat, Guildenstern concludes that boat is heading north based on the darkness during the day.

Hamlet, hidden from view, shines a lantern on the deck, and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern see “three large man-sized casks” (91) and a large beach umbrella obscuring whatever is behind it. Rosencrantz builds upon Guildenstern’s assumption regarding the boat’s course, deducing that it must be nighttime now that he can see some light. Guildenstern expresses his fondness for boats; he says that boats provide safety and allow for freedom. Rosencrantz walks upstage and notices Hamlet sleeping behind the umbrella. The pair agree to let him sleep.

Rosencrantz annoys Guildenstern by asking what they should do next. To cheer Guildenstern up, Rosencrantz sneaks two coins out of his moneybag, places a coin in each hand, and asks Guildenstern to pick the hand with a coin. Unaware of Rosencrantz’s trick, Guildenstern continuously wins the game. Rosencrantz reveals the secret behind his trick and admits that the point of his game is to make Guildenstern happy. Guildenstern wants to know how much money Claudius gave Rosencrantz. Rosencrantz insists that they were paid the same amount since Claudius “wouldn’t discriminate between [them]” (95). Guildenstern remarks that Claudius would never even realize if he mixed Rosencrantz and Guildenstern up and rages at Rosencrantz when he repeats what Guildenstern says “in a different order” (96).

Unsure of what will happen to the two of them, Rosencrantz begins to cry. He laments that they have “nothing to go on” since they are “out on [their] own” (96). Guildenstern reminds him that Claudius wants them to take Hamlet to England and bring him to the King. He also reveals that one of them is carrying Claudius’s letter to the King of England, and he asserts that the letter contains all the information they need to know to complete their task. Rosencrantz thinks that Claudius must have given him the letter and becomes distraught at not being able to find it. Guildenstern pulls the letter out of his own pocket and shows it to Rosencrantz.

Rosencrantz does not believe they are actually going to England since he cannot picture them arriving. Guildenstern tries to stay positive by reminding Rosencrantz that he has trouble believing things until they happen. When Rosencrantz suggests that “death could possibly be a boat” (100), Guildenstern refutes him, saying that death is not-being while being on a boat is being. Rosencrantz contemplates jumping overboard as a way of foiling Claudius and Hamlet’s plans but reconsiders when Guildenstern suggests that they might be expecting Rosencrantz to do that. He rages over the futility of his situation and repeats his earlier statement regarding the existence of England. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern practice what they will tell the King once they arrive and read Claudius’s letter, which calls for Hamlet’s beheading. Rosencrantz feels guilty about playing a role in Hamlet’s execution since he is supposedly their friend, but Guildenstern reminds him that their friendship with Hamlet is only hearsay. He justifies Hamlet’s death by saying that death might not be as bad as Rosencrantz thinks.

As Rosencrantz and Guildenstern sleep, Hamlet blows out his letter, creeps over to the pair, and switches their letter with one of his own. The next morning, despite his plans to assume nothing, Rosencrantz launches into a list of assumptions regarding the predicament he and Guildenstern are in. They hear a recorder coming “out of the void” (104) and search for its origin. After wandering for a period, Rosencrantz discovers that the Tragedians, sitting in the three barrels, are responsible for the music. The Player pops out of the middle barrel, excited to see Rosencrantz and Guildenstern again. Having offended Claudius with their play, the Tragedians hid in the barrels to escape his wrath.

The Player asks Rosencrantz and Guildenstern if they have spoken to Hamlet. They reply that doing so is pointless despite the fact they are unrestricted and free to do as they please “within limits” (107). Hamlet emerges, looks directly at the audience, and spits at it. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern analyze Hamlet’s character, diagnosing him with a long list of symptoms. They then run through a list of things they have recently learned about the Player, and Rosencrantz remarks that he would rather have “a little sustained action” (109) than incidents. Pirates immediately board the ship and launch an attack. Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, Hamlet, and the Player rush to fight the pirates, but they lose their nerves and decide to hide in the barrels instead. Hamlet and the Player hide in the left-hand and right-hand barrels respectively while Rosencrantz and Guildenstern hide in the middle barrel.

The lights dim and come up again, revealing only the left and right barrels. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern emerge from the barrel on the right while the Player emerges from the barrel on the left. They quickly discover that Hamlet is missing. Guildenstern laments, “We’ve had our instructions—the whole thing’s pointless without [Hamlet]” (111). The Player tells him that he and Rosencrantz should keep heading towards England and deliver the letter to the King. Rosencrantz’s attempts to break the tension through conversation and betting games only infuriate Guildenstern, who states that the two of them have nothing to say to the King and that he does not believe in England. Rosencrantz points out that they still have the letter, which might come in handy. The two friends discover that the original letter has been replaced with a new one that calls for their own execution instead of Hamlet’s.

Deeply distraught, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern ask the Player why they are significant enough to be sentenced to death. The Player states, “In [actors’] experience, most things end in death” (114). Unsettled by the Player’s blasé response, Guildenstern retorts, “I’m talking about death—and you’ve never experienced that” (114) and stabs the Player with a dagger. The Player does not die, however, since the dagger is a prop. As the Tragedians mime other kinds of deaths, Guildenstern insists that death is not a romantic game.

The light goes upstage, and the audience can only see Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Rosencrantz wonders if the two of them could “just stay put” (116). Guildenstern mournfully remarks that they missed their opportunity to escape their fate and looks around to see that Rosencrantz is no longer on stage with him. He says that the two of them will “know better next time” (117). Guildenstern disappears, and the entire stage is lit up to reveal the corpses of Claudius, Gertrude, Laertes, and Hamlet lying on the floor of Elsinore. Horatio is cradling Hamlet’s body. Two ambassadors enter, and one of them tells Horatio that “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead” (117). The play ends with Horatio reciting the last lines of Hamlet as the music swells to the point of drowning out his monologue.