Death Of Life In Stoppard's Rosencrantz And Guildenstern

The Death of Life Throughout our lives the biggest adventure is defining ourselves and what life is really about.In Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead, both characters are forced to ponder these life altering questions in a place that does not seem to exist. Rather a place that is fictional in nature but logical in progression. As the story develops we meet the Player who seems to exemplify a true actor. Yet, through the mystery of the Player’s beliefs and lifestyle we are able to view our own insecurities alongside Rosencrantz and Guildenstern while realizing that we are all players in the biggest risk of all: life. The Player represents our own feelings of doubt and insecurity. Within the story the Player is a character who is down on his luck. After being thrown out of the King’s court for acting a play at Hamlet’s request that upset King Claudius. Through this tragedy, the Player comes to the conclusion that “One acts on
The Player explains further in the statement that “Life is a gamble, at terrible odds – if it was a bet you wouldn't take it. Did you know that any number doubled is even?”(). The main implication behind this statement is that whether life is fate or choice it is never in our favor. No matter what we do we will eventually reach our demise. To explain in song verse “Here but now they're gone... they looked backward and said goodbye... she had become like they are” (Blue Oyster Cult, Don’t Fear the Reaper). We all face the same side of the coin: death. This idea is shown by Rosencrantz and Guildenstern when stating “All right! We don’t question, we don’t doubt. We perform. But a line must be drawn somewhere” (Stoppard, 108). The final line to be drawn is our own demise. When the stage curtain is closed and the performance is over it will all be meaningless. No matter how hard we try or how many chances we take, we will lose the