Fate In Hamlet And Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead

Hugo Marsans
Classic Fate & Modern Plight
Ms. Fan

Role of Fate

Hamlet, Waiting for Godot and Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead all share fate as a recurring an important theme in the developing story plot. In Hamlet, Waiting for Godot and Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead, the characters have no free will as they can only do what the author directs. The plays are different because in Hamlet, a sequence of events set off by fate’s force determines the character’s destiny, in Waiting for Godot, Vladimir and Estragon realize the loop will keep repeating itself, and in Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead, because Ros and Guil realize they have no control over their actions.

In Hamlet, Shakespeare makes use of fate as a tool to steer

Beckett, the author leaves little room for Vlad and Estragon to use free will, instead he chooses their fate. As the reader, we get hints that help point out how their understanding of the situation gets reflected through their actions. On page 13, when Estragon asks Vlad if they are tied to anyone, Vladimir excitedly answers “Tied to Godot!” This thought symbolizes their situation very well. Godot unconsciously controls their fate since they won’t do anything or progress anywhere in life until they realize they have no control over Godot. As the start of the play both main characters are still unaware of the loop they’re living in. “Take the weight off your feet, I implore you, you’ll catch your death.” (Beckett, p. 28) They don’t know much of what will happen the next day, however their routine rarely changes at all. One thing that doesn’t change is how they always wait for the little boy to come back bringing news about Godot. By keeping Vlad and Estragon waiting, Beckett wastes their time willingly getting them closer to their fate. Only towards the end of the play does Vlad notices something suspicious is happening. “Tomorrow, when I wake, or think I do, what shall I say of today? That with Estragon my friend, at this place, until the fall of night, I waited for Godot? … He’ll tell me about the blows he received and I’ll give him a carrot.” (Beckett, p. 81) Vlad realizes that their lives are a repetitive loop, which

This resemblance is primarily due to how both plays are directly connected with the one and other, sharing characters, themes, and essentially the story plot. The story’s main characters Ros and Guil are thrown into a complex plot where both Shakespeare and Stoppard have control over their fate. Since the story plots in the novels are intertwined, both authors have a say in the outcome of the characters’ lives. The Player helps point out the control of the Authors over the characters during a conversation he has with Guil. During this conversation, the Player states that “Events must play themselves out to aesthetic, moral and logical conclusion” (Stoppard, p. 79) and that “It never varies – we aim at the point where everyone who is marked for death dies.” (Stoppard, p. 79) Guil confused at the Player’s declarations asks him “Who decides” (Stoppard, p. 80) to which the Player in a more serious way tells him “It is written”. (Stoppard, p. 80) This conversation between the two characters highlights the power the author has in deciding the fate of Ros and Guil. He decides what events will occur in what order by writing the plot of the play. This makes it much harder for either one to make use of free will in their actions. An excellent example of an object seen in the play that helps depict the role of fate is the coin. This example