Rosencranz and Guildenstern

[tabbles]

I have to fill out this sheet for English...I don't quite understand this one question...

"What part of the plot is played by Rosencrantz and Guildenstern? Do they successfully carry out the king's designs? If not, what is the reason for their failure?"

I understand that the plan didn't go the way the King and Queen wanted it to - Hamlet never told them what was wrong b/c he knew what they were up to. But what part of the plot is R&G?

[littlemiss89]

What part of the plot is played by Rosencrantz and Guildenstern? Do they successfully carry out the king's designs? If not, what is the reason for their failure?"

R and G were told to send Hamlet to eng to be killed however they were unsuccessful. we are told this in Act5 Scene6 where Horatio is sent a letter from hamlet explaining he has escaped Claudius's plan. we are to assume that Hamlet knew of the plan and tells Horatio that he changed his death order to R and G's death order. therefore they die. R and G are not really that important but they help us understnad the theme - power within hamlet.

[aeroport]

It's been a while since I read it, but I think it was at that point that Hamlet finally kind of realized he was capable of killing (if only obliquely in this case). He stopped being such a pansy, came home and learned how to fight after that.