Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Hamlet

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The theme of mortality is recurrent in “Hamlet” and “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.” In both plays, not only do the main characters try to problem solve what death looks like upon arrival but characters also pass away. In “Hamlet”, after his father dies, Hamlet does not go a day without thinking about what happens after death. However, in “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead”, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern explore the probability of life and death by flipping coins. The unavoidability of death and the curiosity concerning death is intensely observed by the main characters of “Hamlet” and those of “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.”
In the play, “Hamlet”, Hamlet is constantly trying to figure out what death looks like, as supported by this quote, when he says “To be, or not to be: that is the question…” (3.1.56) Similarly, in …show more content…

Hamlet is bombarded with the idea of suicide as seen in Act I when he says “O that this too too solid flesh would melt…”(1.22.129) and “or that the Everlasting had not fix’d this canon against self-slaughter.” (1.22.131-132) Hamlet is torn between living a miserable life and participating in a sin by committing suicide. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are more troubled by the fact that death is inevitable. The quote “Life is a gamble, at terrible odds” (3.242) meaning that there really is not a 50% chance of living and a 50% chance of dying considering everyone dies. This would make the chance of dying 100%. The flipping of coins in the beginning of “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead” shows how it is possible to get heads twenty times in a row instead of tails. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern observe how people struggle with death even when they know it is going to happen for sure by the quote “…if it was a bet you wouldn’t take it.”

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