Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead Characters

The Dominant PersonalityIf Guil were Batman, Ros would definitely be Robin. Guil is clearly the leader and Ros is the sidekick. The analogy may sound stupid, but there's something more here. Ros an...

The Self-Appointed SidekickRos identifies Guil as the dominant personality. Ros is very open about his reliance on Guil. When Guil yells at him for being unoriginal, he says, "I can't think of anyt...

Just An Actor?The Player is the leader of the Tragedians. He is "just" an actor, but he seems to be more in control of reality than almost anyone else around. In his view, life itself isn't too dif...

Hamlet, the title character of Shakespeare's tragedy, here gets a minor role. It's as if the play were turned on its head, with Ros and Guil getting Hamlet's major role and him taking theirs. He ac...

Claudius is the new King of Denmark, and Hamlet's uncle. He is not a nice guy – he poisoned Hamlet's father, usurped the throne, and then married Hamlet's mother. Now that he knows Hamlet is...

Gertrude has a very minor role here. She is Hamlet's mother, who has married his uncle after her husband was killed. She seems totally oblivious to what's going on, and does not even understand why...

Alfred is the only character amidst the Tragedians. He is often emasculated, and the Player plans to make him wear a skirt for The Rape of the Sabine Women. Ros and Guil seem to have sympathy for...

Ophelia is a super minor character here. She is the daughter of Polonius, and Hamlet may or may not be in love with her. Claudius uses her as a tool (like Ros and Guil) to try to figure out what is...

Polonius is Ophelia's father and Claudius's advisor. He does Claudius's bidding, doesn't seem concerned about the moral ambiguity of the situation, and is most significant to the action of the play...

Horatio (in Hamlet) is Hamlet's friend and confidante. He believes him even when others are saying that he is mad, and corroborates Hamlet when he thinks he sees his father's ghost. He only appears...