What could it mean? Oh bother...

The Writer's Hand in Sight

After having watched the play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, I can say that I find myself along with most others who have seen it, which is to say I am very confused. How do you define the meaning of a play which has so many different meanings running through it? The play is like a ragged old carpet; it has so many loose threads to pull on that will all unravel differently.

But what does the play mean? This question is a hard one to answer, but I have my own idea of the meaning behind it that I have been thinking about for a while. I believe that this play is about minorities and how they are viewed and affected by the majority party. I know it’s kind of a stretch, but hear me out.

The two main characters in this play are a minority in themselves. Within the play Hamlet, they are minor characters with minor action and focus. The purpose of the play we watched in class was to show how not only did the major characters not consider what affected the two or pay much mind when there were consequences, but also that the pair could not escape what had been written for them if they tried. No matter what they do, they can’t escape everything that is happening around them. Even more, they hardly seem to exist outside of the action.

This is ultimately the message that the leader of the performers impresses on the two men. He walks above the casualties and confusion undisturbed. He knows that whatever will happen will happen regardless of his action.