Life Is Indeed A Gamble: Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
“Is there a choice” (Stoppard 43)? Based on Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Stoppard’s tragicomedy, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, expands on the existential queries of two naive minor characters in Hamlet. In the opening act of the play, the pair are wandering aimlessly through a forest until they encounter an unusual group of travelling actors, known as the Tragedians. Led by an ominous character named the Player, the Tragedians reenact various scenarios for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. The clever Player engages the two in different gambles, including one where Rosencrantz eventually circumvents him. After being summoned to Elsinore by king Claudius to ascertain …show more content…
When first introducing himself and his troupe of actors, he presents them as conquerors of their fate. For the Tragedians, theater and reality are closely intertwined as they “do on stage the things that are supposed to happen off” (28). Actors may become trapped inside the inescapable aspects of mortality, but are able to confront this truth by controlling the variables through their artform. Introducing himself to the protagonists, the Player describes theater as “for some it is a performance, for others, patronage” (23). Despite the probability of reality, theater can be what the actor chooses it to be. He continues, “they are two sides of the same coin or, let us say, being as there are so many of us, the same side of two coins” (23). Drama can either provide an outlet for those who partake in it, or it can embody the harsh truth that reality is absurd. Thus, the Tragedians take on the role of major characters in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern because they are capable of facing probability, while Rosencrantz and Guildenstern passively allow themselves to become minor characters in their own …show more content…
Particularly, the Player, who is secure in his own fate, observes that “everything has to be taken on trust; truth is only that which is taken to be true” (67). With the understanding that his destiny is in his own hands, he can encourage Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to reevaluate their truths. However, Guildenstern does not have this epiphany until it is far too late, when he finally understands that “we move idly towards eternity, without possibility of reprieve or hope of explanation” (121). Shattering their identities, this hopelessness only dawns on the pair once they ascertain that they are victims of their own passivity. On the other hand, the Player has realized this truth all along, stating, “we’re actors… We pledged our identities, secure in the convictions of our trade, that someone would be watching” (64). With the innate understanding that aspects of their existence are beyond their control, they can also grasp their true identities. Embracing their roles as major characters on stage, the Tragedians demonstrate that one can only be fully secure in their identity if they allow themselves to be subject to fate at
“Is there a choice” (Stoppard 43)? Based on Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Stoppard’s tragicomedy, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, expands on the existential queries of two naive minor characters in Hamlet. In the opening act of the play, the pair are wandering aimlessly through a forest until they encounter an unusual group of travelling actors, known as the Tragedians. Led by an ominous character named the Player, the Tragedians reenact various scenarios for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. The clever Player engages the two in different gambles, including one where Rosencrantz eventually circumvents him. After being summoned to Elsinore by king Claudius to ascertain …show more content…
When first introducing himself and his troupe of actors, he presents them as conquerors of their fate. For the Tragedians, theater and reality are closely intertwined as they “do on stage the things that are supposed to happen off” (28). Actors may become trapped inside the inescapable aspects of mortality, but are able to confront this truth by controlling the variables through their artform. Introducing himself to the protagonists, the Player describes theater as “for some it is a performance, for others, patronage” (23). Despite the probability of reality, theater can be what the actor chooses it to be. He continues, “they are two sides of the same coin or, let us say, being as there are so many of us, the same side of two coins” (23). Drama can either provide an outlet for those who partake in it, or it can embody the harsh truth that reality is absurd. Thus, the Tragedians take on the role of major characters in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern because they are capable of facing probability, while Rosencrantz and Guildenstern passively allow themselves to become minor characters in their own …show more content…
Particularly, the Player, who is secure in his own fate, observes that “everything has to be taken on trust; truth is only that which is taken to be true” (67). With the understanding that his destiny is in his own hands, he can encourage Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to reevaluate their truths. However, Guildenstern does not have this epiphany until it is far too late, when he finally understands that “we move idly towards eternity, without possibility of reprieve or hope of explanation” (121). Shattering their identities, this hopelessness only dawns on the pair once they ascertain that they are victims of their own passivity. On the other hand, the Player has realized this truth all along, stating, “we’re actors… We pledged our identities, secure in the convictions of our trade, that someone would be watching” (64). With the innate understanding that aspects of their existence are beyond their control, they can also grasp their true identities. Embracing their roles as major characters on stage, the Tragedians demonstrate that one can only be fully secure in their identity if they allow themselves to be subject to fate at