Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead characters

Appears from the start

A minor courtier summoned with Guildenstern to Elsinore by a royal message neither man fully understands. He is more inclined to accept immediate appearances and practical comforts, though he shares his companion's uncertainty about their identity, purpose, and freedom.

Appears from the start

Rosencrantz's companion and fellow courtier, called to the Danish court to assist an old acquaintance. More analytical and anxious than Rosencrantz, he tries to use logic, probability, and language to understand a world whose rules keep shifting around them.

Also known as The Player King

Appears from the start

The leader of a traveling company of Tragedians. He treats performance as a trade and regards entrances, exits, violence, and death as patterns an experienced actor can recognize. His theatrical certainty challenges Guildenstern's demand for a reality outside performance.

Appears from the start

A young member of the Tragedians whom the Player presents as part of the company's available entertainment. He participates in the troupe's performances and demonstrations.

Appears from the start

The prince of Denmark and an old acquaintance of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. At Elsinore he appears disturbed and speaks in ways they cannot interpret, while the royal court asks them to discover the cause of his behavior.

Appears from the start

The king of Denmark, who has summoned Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to learn what troubles Hamlet. He welcomes them as useful friends of the prince and gives their uncertain journey an official purpose.

Appears from the start

The queen of Denmark and Hamlet's mother. Alongside Claudius, she asks the two courtiers to use their old friendship with her son to discover why he has changed.

Appears from the start

A royal counsellor whose confident explanations and directions are part of the court business that repeatedly sweeps the two protagonists into events they barely comprehend.

Appears from the start

Polonius's daughter, caught in Hamlet's troubled relationship with the court. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern see fragments of her distress but never gain the context needed to help her.