Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead Summary & Analysis Famous playwright Tom Stoppard’s comedy Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (named for a line in Hamlet’s final scene) portrays events in Hamlet from the point of view of two minor characters, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. In Stoppard’s brilliant takeoff, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are totally baffled by the events that occur in the play and have no idea they’re part of a larger drama.