Discernment vs. Erudition
In Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, Tom Stoppard not only expanded on the themes and motifs of Hamlet by William Shakespeare, but also uniquely redefined them to fit his story. An example of this would be with the presence of a seemingly omniscient character who not only, “knows which way the wind is blowing” (66), but also acts as a voice of reason in a turbulent world. In Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, this character would be that of the Player, and in Hamlet, it would be that of Horatio. The Player acts as the only character who has a direct connection with the journey at hand; he has pages upon which the story is written before it is even told. Similarly, Horatio, due to his erudite nature, has all …show more content…
In response to the idea of a Ghost Horatio says, "Before my God, I might not this believe without the sensible and true avouch of mine own eyes"(I, i, 54-56). This is testament to his ideology that seeing is believing, that is until he can be proven otherwise. And proven otherwise he was, and as a result recalculates his outlook on the situation saying, "But in the gross and scope of mine opinion this bodes some strange eruption to our state" (I, i, 68-69). He recognizes that the presence of a Ghost is no occurrence to be taken lightly and as a result, even though it is against his being to believe in such beings, he still remains true to his character. He is always rational to the situation at hand. The Player takes a similar approach however, due to his background, he comes from another angle. He comes from the more generalized area of reasoning that has to deal with philosophy rather than the more precise reason that Horatio applies to a situation. "Relax. Respond. That's what people do. You can't go through life questioning your situation at every turn" (66). The Player attempts to use logic and convert it into something that most people can relate to. He tries to not just realize the gears behind a situation but tries to help others see them as well, especially Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. "For all anyone knows, nothing is. Everything has to be taken on trust; truth is only that which is taken …show more content…
However, before one becomes a conscience, one must first be completely trusted by another. This is achieved for Horatio when Hamlet says, "Horatio, thou art e'en as just a man as e'er my conversation coped withal" (III, ii, 45-47). Horatio is given virtually unfettered access into the psyche of Hamlet, and because of this, he is allowed the chance to make a difference in Hamlet life, given a chance to guide him when he might stray. Evidence of this is when Horatio asks in reference to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern heading to their own death, "So Guildenstern and Rosencrantz go to 't" (V, ii, 60). Hamlet then responds with "Why, man, they did make love to this employment" (V, ii, 61-62). Even though Horatio has access to Hamlet, and of all the characters in the play, would be the most-likely candidate for impacting his thought and actions, he is not always successful. This, however, does not mean that Horatio's attempts are futile, simply the act of trying to change the path of Hamlet is enough to deem this skill respectible. The Player on the other hand, has a different skill entirely, "I extract significance from melodrama, a significance which it does not in fact
In Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, Tom Stoppard not only expanded on the themes and motifs of Hamlet by William Shakespeare, but also uniquely redefined them to fit his story. An example of this would be with the presence of a seemingly omniscient character who not only, “knows which way the wind is blowing” (66), but also acts as a voice of reason in a turbulent world. In Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, this character would be that of the Player, and in Hamlet, it would be that of Horatio. The Player acts as the only character who has a direct connection with the journey at hand; he has pages upon which the story is written before it is even told. Similarly, Horatio, due to his erudite nature, has all …show more content…
In response to the idea of a Ghost Horatio says, "Before my God, I might not this believe without the sensible and true avouch of mine own eyes"(I, i, 54-56). This is testament to his ideology that seeing is believing, that is until he can be proven otherwise. And proven otherwise he was, and as a result recalculates his outlook on the situation saying, "But in the gross and scope of mine opinion this bodes some strange eruption to our state" (I, i, 68-69). He recognizes that the presence of a Ghost is no occurrence to be taken lightly and as a result, even though it is against his being to believe in such beings, he still remains true to his character. He is always rational to the situation at hand. The Player takes a similar approach however, due to his background, he comes from another angle. He comes from the more generalized area of reasoning that has to deal with philosophy rather than the more precise reason that Horatio applies to a situation. "Relax. Respond. That's what people do. You can't go through life questioning your situation at every turn" (66). The Player attempts to use logic and convert it into something that most people can relate to. He tries to not just realize the gears behind a situation but tries to help others see them as well, especially Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. "For all anyone knows, nothing is. Everything has to be taken on trust; truth is only that which is taken …show more content…
However, before one becomes a conscience, one must first be completely trusted by another. This is achieved for Horatio when Hamlet says, "Horatio, thou art e'en as just a man as e'er my conversation coped withal" (III, ii, 45-47). Horatio is given virtually unfettered access into the psyche of Hamlet, and because of this, he is allowed the chance to make a difference in Hamlet life, given a chance to guide him when he might stray. Evidence of this is when Horatio asks in reference to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern heading to their own death, "So Guildenstern and Rosencrantz go to 't" (V, ii, 60). Hamlet then responds with "Why, man, they did make love to this employment" (V, ii, 61-62). Even though Horatio has access to Hamlet, and of all the characters in the play, would be the most-likely candidate for impacting his thought and actions, he is not always successful. This, however, does not mean that Horatio's attempts are futile, simply the act of trying to change the path of Hamlet is enough to deem this skill respectible. The Player on the other hand, has a different skill entirely, "I extract significance from melodrama, a significance which it does not in fact