Lorrayne Broach. Dr. Guerra. Long Assignment . 5/05/2017.

Lorrayne Broach Dr. Guerra Long Assignment 5/05/2017 In Shakespeare s Hamlet, the construction of the joined at the hip characters, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, is based off of the ideas of determinism and passivity. Within the text, they have proven to be nothing more than young Hamlet’s former friends who mindlessly act on the orders of the king. Shakespeare writes them as transparent character at the hand of Hamlet’s mockery and pen. The idea that Hamlet hesitates to kill Claudius who arguably deserves it, but easily writes Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to death further exemplifies the idea that they are simply pawns of Denmark’s royalty; slaves to the orders of those above them, mere puppets under the manipulation of Hamlet’s hand.†¦show more content†¦To further this idea, Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead creates a reflection of the uncertainty and lack of control present in the lives of these characters. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern have been dropped in an unfamiliar set ting where they given no context as to where they are or what they are doing, and no rules to follow. They are simply left to find their own way and are constantly bothered by the feeling that they should be acting on some order, but they are never given instructions. The title pair spends much of their time waiting for someone to give them instructions on what to do. They are lost without the outside influence or guidance, and within the parameters of this play they are living in complete uncertainty without direction or answers. From the title of the play, the reader/audience is aware of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern’s fate though it is clear through the acts of confusion, the characters themselves are not. Stoppard skillfully sets up the idea of uncertainty within this play with the opening scene. The tossing of coins should represent a fifty-fifty probability of it landing on either head or tails; however, in this instance the coins prove the opposite. The coins continue to land heads up throughout the play, defying the expectations of the characters as well as the reader/audience. From the beginning of the first act it becomes evident to the reader/audience that the outcome of something as simple as