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Rosencrantz and Guildenstern - wikipedia Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Jump to : navigation , search <Th_colspan="2"> Rosencrantz and Guildenstern <Td_colspan="2"> Hamlet characters <Td_colspan="2"> A lithograph of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in the flute scene from Hamlet by Eugène Delacroix Created by William Shakespeare Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are characters in William Shakespeare 's tragedy Hamlet . They are childhood friends of Hamlet , summoned by King Claudius to distract the prince from his apparent madness and if possible to ascertain the cause of it . The characters were revived in W.S. Gilbert 's satire , Rosencrantz and Guildenstern , and as the alienated heroes of Tom Stoppard 's absurdist play , Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead , which was adapted into a film . Rosencrantz ( `` rosary '' ) and Gyldenstjerne / Gyllenstierna ( `` golden star '' ) were names of Danish ( and Norwegian , and Swedish ) noble families of the 16th century ; records of the Danish royal coronation of 1596 show that one tenth of the aristocrats participating bore one or the other name . James Voelkel suggests that the characters were named after Frederik Rosenkrantz and Knud Gyldenstierne , cousins of Tycho Brahe who had visited England in 1592 . Contents ( hide ) 1 Shakespeare 's Hamlet 2 Gilbert 's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern 3 Stoppard 's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead 4 Other portrayals 5 References Shakespeare 's Hamlet ( edit ) The majority of characters in Hamlet have classical names , in contrast to the `` particularly Danish '' ones of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern . The names were common in the court of Frederick II and Christian IV , and also at the University of Wittenberg , an institution where Hamlet is mentioned as having studied ( he refers to them as `` my two schoolfellows '' ) . In Hamlet , Rosencrantz and Guildenstern first appear in Act II , Scene 2 , where they attempt to place themselves in the confidence of Prince Hamlet , their childhood friend . The smooth and courtly language they employ immediately establishes them as sycophants who are really serving as spies for the corrupt King Claudius , Hamlet 's uncle , who usurped the throne and constantly attempts to check his nephew . Hamlet welcomes them as `` excellent good friends '' , but , seeing through their guise , comments that they wo n't `` deal justly '' with him about their mission . Realising that he lacks allies except for Horatio , Hamlet gives the speech `` What a piece of work is a man '' to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern . In Act III , Hamlet drops the pretense of friendship , coldly dismissing the two in Scene 2 by his only use of the royal `` we '' in the play . To his mother , he comments in Scene 4 that `` I will trust ( them ) as I will adders fang 'd '' . When Hamlet kills Polonius , Claudius recruits Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to escort Hamlet to England , providing them with a letter for the King of England instructing him to have Hamlet killed . ( They are apparently unaware of what is in the letter , though Shakespeare never explicitly says so . ) Along the journey , the distrustful Hamlet finds and rewrites the letter , instructing the executioner to kill Rosencrantz and Guildenstern instead . When their ship is attacked by pirates , Hamlet returns to Denmark , leaving Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to die ; he comments in Act V , Scene 2 that `` They are not near my conscience ; their defeat / Does by their own insinuation grow '' . Ambassadors returning later report that `` Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead . '' As agents of the corruption infecting the court , the two contribute to setting up the confrontation between Hamlet and Claudius . Shakespeare expects the audience to appreciate the poetic justice of their deaths : while they are very likely ignorant of the deadly contents of the letter they carry to England and are , to that extent , innocent victims of Hamlet 's retaliation , they are seen as having received their just deserts for their participation in Claudius 's intrigues . The courtiers always appear as a pair , except in editions following the First Folio text , where Guildenstern enters four lines after Rosencrantz in Act IV , Scene 3 . Gilbert 's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern ( edit ) Main article : Rosencrantz and Guildenstern ( play ) W.S. Gilbert 's play ( 1874 ) is a comedy in which Rosencrantz plots with his friend Guildenstern to get rid of Hamlet , so that Rosencrantz can marry Ophelia . They discover that Claudius has written a play . The king 's literary work is so embarrassingly bad that Claudius has decreed that anyone who mentions it must be executed . They obtain the manuscript and convince Hamlet to perform it . When he does , Claudius decrees that he must die , but is eventually persuaded to banish him to England . Rosencrantz and Ophelia can now be together . Stoppard 's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead ( edit ) Main article : Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead See also : Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead ( film ) As the protagonists of Tom Stoppard 's play and film , they are confused by the events of Hamlet and seem unaware of their role in the larger drama . The play is primarily a comedy , but they often stumble upon deep philosophical truths through their nonsensical ramblings . In the movie , Rosencrantz invents the sandwich , and discovers gravity and volume displacement , among other things . The characters depart from their epiphanies as quickly as they come to them . At times , one appears more enlightened than the other -- but they trade this enlightenment back and forth throughout the drama . Stoppard also littered his play with jokes that refer to the common thespian tendency to swap Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in the midst of the play because the characters are basically identical . He does this by making Rosencrantz and Guildenstern unsure of who is who , as well as having the other players ( Claudius , Hamlet , Gertrude ) refer to them frequently by the wrong names . Because of the play 's similarity to Waiting for Godot , Rosencrantz is sometimes compared to Estragon ( one of the tramps who wait for Godot ) , and who shares his dim perception of reality , while Guildenstern parallels Vladimir , who shares his analytical perception . Other portrayals ( edit ) The film Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Undead includes a fictitious play - within - the - movie , which is a comic reinterpretation of Hamlet and its aftermath . In The Simpsons episode `` Tales from the Public Domain '' , Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are parodied by Lenny and Carl as Rosencarl and Guildenlenny . In the 1983 movie Strange Brew , the characters Bob and Doug McKenzie are modeled on Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in a plot loosely based on Hamlet . References ( edit ) England portal Theatre portal Fictional characters portal ^ Jump up to : Boyce , Charles ( 2005 ) . Critical Companion to William Shakespeare : A Literary Reference to His Life and Work . Facts On File , Inc. p. 154 . ISBN 0 - 8160 - 5373 - 1 . Jump up ^ Voelkel , James ( 1999 ) . Johannes Kepler and the new astronomy . Oxford University Press , USA . p. 53 . ISBN 0 - 19 - 515021 - X . Jump up ^ Harold Jenkins ( 1982 ) . `` Longer Notes '' . Hamlet . Arden Shakespeare . Methuen . p. 422 . ISBN 0 - 416 - 17920 - 7 . Jump up ^ Official film website Archived 8 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine . <Th_colspan="2"> William Shakespeare 's Hamlet Characters Hamlet Claudius Gertrude Ghost Polonius Laertes Ophelia Horatio Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Fortinbras The Gravediggers Yorick Soliloquies `` To be , or not to be '' `` Mortal coil '' `` What a piece of work is a man '' `` Speak the speech '' Words and phrases `` The lady doth protest too much , methinks '' `` Thy name is '' `` Primrose path '' Terminology Dumbshow Induction Quiddity Substitution Sources Criticism Legend of Hamlet The Spanish Tragedy Ur - Hamlet Critical approaches Bibliographies Horwendill Saxo Grammaticus House of Gonzaga Damon and Pythias Influence Common phrases from Hamlet Hamlet in popular culture References to Ophelia Language of flowers Human skull symbolism Performances Moscow Art Theatre ( 1911 -- 1912 ) Richard Burton ( 1964 ) On screen 1900 1907 1908 1912 1913 1917 1921 1935 1948 1954 1961 1964 1969 2000 2011 Adaptations Films The Rest Is Silence ( 1959 ) The Bad Sleep Well ( 1960 ) Ophelia ( 1963 ) Johnny Hamlet ( 1968 ) One Hamlet Less ( 1973 ) The Angel of Vengeance -- The Female Hamlet ( 1977 ) Strange Brew ( 1983 ) Hamlet Goes Business ( 1987 ) The Lion King ( 1994 ) Let the Devil Wear Black ( 1999 ) The Banquet ( 2006 ) Tardid ( 2009 ) Karmayogi ( 2012 ) Haider ( 2014 ) Hamlet A.D.D. ( 2014 ) The Lion King ( 2019 ) Novels Gertrude and Claudius ( 2000 ) Dating Hamlet ( 2002 ) Ophelia 's Revenge ( 2003 ) The Dead Fathers Club ( 2006 ) Something Rotten ( 2007 ) Hamlet 's Father ( 2008 ) The Story of Edgar Sawtelle ( 2008 ) Plays Hamletmachine ( 1977 ) Dogg 's Hamlet ( 1979 ) Fortinbras ( 1991 ) Musicals Rockabye Hamlet ( 1973 ) The Lion King ( 1997 ) Television Hamlet ( Australian TV , 1959 ) Hamlet at Elsinore ( BBC , 1964 ) Hamlet , Prince of Denmark ( BBC , 1980 ) Hamlet ( BBC 2 , animated , 1992 ) Hamlet ( BBC 2 , 2009 ) Parodies 15 - Minute Hamlet The Complete Works of William Shakespeare ( Abridged ) Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Io , Amleto The Klingon Hamlet `` Lyle the Kindly Viking '' To Be or Not to Be : That is the Adventure Songs `` My Robin is to the Greenwood Gone '' ( 16th century ) `` Pull Me Under '' ( 1992 ) `` Song for Athene '' ( 1997 ) Opera / classical Hamlet ( Thomas ) Amleto ( Faccio ) Hamlet ( Tchaikovsky ) Tristia ( Berlioz ) Die Hamletmaschine ( Rihm ) Hamlet ( Dean ) Story within a story Films To Be or Not to Be ( 1942 ) Acting Hamlet in the Village of Mrdusa Donja ( 1973 ) To Be or Not to Be ( 1983 ) Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead ( 1990 ) Renaissance Man ( 1994 ) In the Bleak Midwinter ( 1995 ) Hamlet 2 ( 2008 ) Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Undead ( 2009 ) Three Days ( 2012 ) Plays Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead ( 1966 ) Stage Blood ( 1974 ) I Hate Hamlet ( 1991 ) To Be or Not to Be ( 2008 ) Novels Hamlet , Revenge ! ( 1937 ) Theatre of War ( 1994 ) `` The Undiscovered '' ( 1997 ) The Shakespeare Stealer ( 1998 ) Interred with Their Bones ( 2007 ) Television `` The Producer '' ( 1966 ) Slings & Arrows ( 2003 ) Art Ophelia Affe mit Schädel Video game Last Action Hero ( 1993 ) Hamlet ( 2010 ) Intertextuality Asterix and the Great Crossing The Seagull Sharpe 's Havoc Related Hamlet and Oedipus Hamlet Had an Uncle Hamlet and His Problems Hebenon Hamlet Q1 Ostalo je ćutanje The Chronicles of Amber `` Symphony No. 65 '' ( Haydn ) War Highlander II : The Quickening The Hobart Shakespeareans Gertrude -- The Cry Poor Murderer Something Rotten ! `` The Conscience of the King '' `` Born to Be King '' Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rosencrantz_and_Guildenstern&oldid=816274585 '' Categories : Characters in Hamlet Literary duos Fictional nobility Fictional Danish people Male Shakespearean characters Comedy film characters Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links Pages using deprecated image syntax Articles using Infobox character with multiple unlabeled fields All articles that may contain original research Articles that may contain original research from September 2010 All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from February 2017 Use dmy dates from September 2010 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Français Italiano Magyar 日本 語 Norsk Polski Edit links This page was last edited on 20 December 2017 , at 09 : 44 . 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