Hamlet vs Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead

William Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a classic play that deals with a conflict and how the main character attempts to solve the conflict. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead is a spin-off of Hamlet where the characters have to deal with many conflicts while concurrently trying to figure out how and why these conflicts are occurring. The world in Hamlet is depicted as chaotic and troubling, but with Hamlet still in control and able to make decisions toward determining his fate. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead is also very chaotic, but the characters have absolutely no control over their lives and are allowed no information or personal input about what will happen to them next. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern’s strange encounters play up and exaggerate what Hamlet goes through in his story, seen from a different, more complicated, and less involved viewpoint.  By doing so the audience, assuming they have read or viewed both versions, may be able to understand and observe both texts in a new light.

One main point behind Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead is to tell the story of Prince Hamlet through different eyes. By doing this, certain ambiguities are explained, and other things that may have seemed completely normal in Hamlet’s world are conveyed abnormally. Throughout Hamlet, Hamlet often recites soliloquies when he is feeling most confused. At one point during Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern see Hamlet during one of his soliloquies. Seeing him do this further convinces them of King Hamlet’s notion that Prince Hamlet has gone mad. Observing the same scenes from a different viewpoint makes the audience question the normalcy of what is occurring. In this case, Hamlet talking to himself in Hamlet seems completely normal, and the audience doesn’t question it at all. Shown in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead through Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead, Hamlet does appear to be slightly crazy talking to himself.

Both plays involve much confusion, but the contexts of these confusions vary significantly. In Hamlet, the audience mostly sees Prince Hamlet trying to accept the idea of his father’s murder and figure out a way to deal with it. Until the end of act 2, he is very confused of what his course of action will be. He eventually does resolve it when he decides that “The play’s the thing wherein [he’ll] catch the conscience of the king”. (2.2.591-92) In Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are confused about every single aspect of their lives, so much so that they are not even certain about their own identities. During their game of questions they ask each other things such as “what in the hell is going on?”, “who do you think you are?”, and “what’s your name?” to try and defeat their confusion. They eventually do discover which one is which, but the rest of their journey remains mostly unexplained to them. Hamlet presents a world of confusion with a possible solution. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead presents a world of extreme confusion with no opportunity for clarity.

 Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead manipulate the story of Hamlet by showing the original story in pieces, and adding other scenes with just Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. It acts as a “behind the scenes” look at the story to show it with a different opinion. In Hamlet, although there is confusion regarding the main character’s well being and course of action, the play itself is very structured. While the audience does not see every act being discussed, such as Hamlet’s mad displays toward Ophelia, the audience is not confused about the time sequence or the events taking place. The confusion and chaos is only internal within the characters, not external in the whole play and within the scenes. In Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, both internal and external chaos is presented. The internal occurs with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern questioning where they are and why. Also, relating more to the original Hamlet, they question how they will try and help Hamlet escape his madness. In addition, the external chaos of the echoes, the strange and abrupt scene transitions and the overall obscurity of what is going on creates confusion within the audience as well as the characters.

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