ipl-logo

Free Will In Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Are Dead

1476 Words6 Pages

Throughout Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, the debate between free will and a predetermined fate are paramount. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are faced with the question of whether they have control of their own situation or whether no matter the action they take a course has already been set them. In Act III, the pair spends the entire act upon a boat that is carrying Hamlet to England. On this boat the two realize that in some way they have stumbled upon a time of freedom. This trip to England offers them a chance to act as they wish and go where they want without being told. However, Guildenstern begins to ponder whether their own actions actually have an effect on the outcome of their story. When one of the players asks the pair if they have spoken to Hamlet, Rosencrantz responds saying, "It's possible," immediately followed by Guildenstern responding, "But it wouldn't make a difference," (116). Stoppard seems to posit that total freedom is not easily …show more content…

The conflict of whether Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are free and if not to what degree do the maintain control of their actions is paramount to understanding the play. Stoppard seems to be illustrating that while life may contain limitations and fixed points, the most important aspect of life is how one spends the moments of freedom within those. The way Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are depicted can make one wonder whether humans could indeed handle complete freedom. Without the guidance of outside forces it seems the play would have been about nothing, but because limits have been set a story was created. While one may not be totally free, Stoppard seems to say that, that is a good thing. People are given freedom in how they live within limitations and that is what is important. The ability to seize the moments of freedom is important and to make sure one takes full advantage of

Show More
Related
1059 Words | 5 Pages

No matter how we try to change our situation or better ourselves in society, variables will obstruct the path we choose. One cannot take control of everything that surrounds us as fate decides what happens to us. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote explains the murder of the Clutter family in the quiet town of Holcomb, Kansas. The murderers, Richard (Dick) Hickock and Perry Smith, try to escape the consequences of their actions, believing that they can get away with what they did. The story tells what the murderers were thinking after and before they committed the crime and their various interactions.

Read More
1436 Words | 6 Pages

Additionally, in scene two act III the scene that may have any effect on the direction of the play is the introduction of the Ghost appearing to Hamlet and telling him that Claudius his uncle and brother to his father killed the king father to Hamlet and asks him to revenge his death. This makes Hamlet to distrust almost everybody around him except Horatio his close friend. From the scene, Rosencrantz asks “Good my lord, what is your cause of distemper? you 338   do, surely, bar the door upon your own liberty, if   you deny your griefs to your friend.”. Hamlet “340   Sir, I lack advancement.”

Read More
258 Words | 2 Pages

Another freedom important to me is being to enjoy myself without any fear of the government. In America you can do what you want as long as it is legal and can 't be punished by the government without a fair trial if you are accused of a crime.

Read More
520 Words | 3 Pages

Hamlet knows something is wrong, but then accepts the

Read More
829 Words | 4 Pages

Almost every character in the tragedy, Hamlet by Shakespeare intentionally or unintentionally deceives others by not showing who they really are or how they really feel. Hamlet is the greatest example of deceiving others because throughout the whole play he is never truly showing who he is or how he feels unless he’s alone and the audience or readers are the only ones who really know who he truly is. How ever what the readers and audience cannot decide on is whether or not hamlet deceives the other characters on purpose for a greater accomplishment or do the events that occur to him really change who he was in the beginning of the play. The plays main focus is based on hamlet’s way of viewing the other characters and how to make them feel like he wants them to feel. Hamlet deceives them so he can get everyone to think the way he wants them to think.

Read More
1771 Words | 8 Pages

Turning now to the absurd world of the two plays. To begin with, Hamlet finds himself in a world of actors where no one is who they seem. Claudius is playing the role of the king though his betrayal would suggest he is not meant to be king. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are playing the role of Hamlet 's friends while secretly working for Claudius. Even fair Ophelia, who Hamlet thought honest deceives him in Act 3 scene 1.

Read More
402 Words | 2 Pages

Throughout the play Hamlet, it is discovered that Hamlet goes through many ordeals in such a short period of time and these ordeals altered his perspective on life. In the play, we learn what Hamlet’s perspective is, how his perspective is formed, and how it affects the meaning of the play. To begin with, through Hamlet soliloquies, we learn what Hamlet’s perspective on life is. At the beginning of the play, it is revealed that Hamlet believes life is worthless. This is evident in his “to be or not to be” soliloquy.

Read More
1533 Words | 7 Pages

One could argue that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were actually sent to check out Hamlet’s behavior and he was right to question them. His tone suggests paranoia more than questioning. Hamlet’s final symptom is his persistent

Read More
679 Words | 3 Pages

“To be or not or not to be - that is the question” (3.1.64). In life, people often have to decide whether to fulfill their desire by harming others or to uphold their conscience. In Hamlet by William Shakespeare, King Claudius chooses to pursue his desires through the suffering of King Hamlet, Queen Gertrude, Hamlet, and his servants. King Claudius’s lust for absolute power, in addition to his deceitful and manipulating tactics, leads to his downfall.

Read More
810 Words | 4 Pages

Hamlet’s hesitant nature is well presented in the play. For one, Hamlet cannot bring forth the strength to end his own life; his indecision of whether or not to commit suicide plagues him for more than half the play.

Read More
261 Words | 2 Pages

Throughout Hamlet, Prince Hamlet is faced against many situations that question his mental stability and ability to make decisions. His indecisiveness comes from the way he reacts to the situations he is put in and the way his mind presents these situations to him. The most important indecisive moments are Hamlet’s suicidal thoughts, his father’s ghost, and his vengeance to Claudius. When Hamlet is told by a ghost that has a resemblance of his father that Claudius had killed him, he vows to take vengeance and revenge his father’s death.

Read More
1007 Words | 5 Pages

Guildenstern knows the influence that actions have on the rest of one's life, which is why he tries to explain to Rosencrantz that Hamlet's actions mean something more. The decisions that Hamlet is making and the actions that he is taking are being analyzed by Guildenstern and Rosencrantz. Existential philosopher Albert Camus explains in "The Myth of Sisyphus" how actions and decisions can affect the rest of someone's life. "You have already grasped that Sisyphus is the absurd hero. He is, as much through his passions as through his torture.

Read More
1627 Words | 7 Pages

Freedom is the right to do what you want, is right to live where you want, is right to choose the religion that you want and freedom is right to eat, learn, drink what you want. There is one thing that limits our freedom: someone else’s freedom. According to a Boğaziçi University student Arda Seyhan, “We can live free by respecting other people’s freedom. We are living in a community which we all need people around us, we can not just ignore other’s freedom and do what we want to do for our freedom.” We should consider other people's rights.

Read More
692 Words | 3 Pages

Though Hamlet is aware of what things may come under the rule of his uncle, he is slow to action, which some might contribute to his"extreme sensitive nature" (Knight 3); however, deep down Hamlet harbors a need to be completely sure of the facts surrounding his father's death before he can convince himself to take action. Hamlet's own insecurities about whether or not he should take action severely halts his efforts at canceling fate, and it may be argued that his insecurities even made it stronger. On the other hand, it can be argued that Hamlet is simply enacting his free will in the way that he chooses to wait and be sure, rather than to take action against Claudius right away as his father's ghost wants him to. This brings about an internal conflict for Hamlet because outwardly, one is able to see that he is nervous of Denmark's fate, comparing it to "an unweeded garden that grows to seed" (Shakespeare 1.2.135-136) under Claudius' reign. Perhaps if Hamlet did not wait so long to take action, he might have been able to save many lives and rule the kingdom himself, thus changing the country's fate.

Read More
943 Words | 4 Pages

Due to himself being too idealistic and restrained, he does not take decisive actions even after using the planned play to test the Claudius's conscience that could possibly expose himself and left himself in unfavorable circumstances. Hamlet’s inability to act is caused by his overanalysis of the situations that further render him from not carrying out actions in response. If Hamlet is not indecisive, he would not be uncertain about the evidence regarding to his uncle’s crime, he would not be delaying his revenge, he would not be having emotional breakdowns and become a tragic figure. Hamlet’s personality ‘borns’ and develops under his royal position and the growing

Read More

More about Free Will In Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Are Dead

Related Topics

Open Document