Still on the "ambition" passage, one aspect that clues Hamlet, is that R & G ought to be supportive of any ambition he has to be King.  It could be quite nice for them, to be the long-time friends of the King.  It's odd they should speak against it.  That goes directly against their own obvious interests.  For them to speak against their own most obvious interest is part of what makes it unmistakable for Hamlet that R & G have been employed by Claudius.

Still on the "ambition" passage, one aspect that clues Hamlet, is that R & G ought to be supportive of any ambition he has to be King.  It could be quite nice for them, to be the long-time friends of the King.  It's odd they should speak against it.  That goes directly against their own obvious interests.  For them to speak against their own most obvious interest is part of what makes it unmistakable for Hamlet that R & G have been employed by Claudius.

R & G are typically viewed as identical, or interchangeable, but they are clearly not, if one attends to the exact dialogue as Shakespeare wrote it.  When asked by they are there, Rosencrantz outright lies to Hamlet, but later, Guildenstern tells Hamlet the truth.  The difference between a character who outright lies, and one who tells the truth, even if it takes him a while, is stark.  Nobody would view such persons as being the same.  Also, it's Guildenstern who makes the "privates" joke.  While not a particularly clever joke, it establishes Guildenstern as the more fun-loving of the two.  Later in the play, G talks more to Hamlet, while R talks more to Claudius.  Most tellingly, it's G whom Hamlet draws aside for the "recorder lesson."  Hamlet doesn't view them the same, obviously, and therefore, neither should we.  Shakespeare may have done characters who are similar, in some ways, but he didn't do cookie cutter characters.  R & G do have individuality.

R & G are typically viewed as identical, or interchangeable, but they are clearly not, if one attends to the exact dialogue as Shakespeare wrote it.  When asked why they are there, Rosencrantz outright lies to Hamlet, but later, Guildenstern tells Hamlet the truth.  The difference between a character who outright lies, and one who tells the truth, even if it takes him a while, is stark.  Nobody would view such persons as being the same.  Also, it's Guildenstern who makes the "privates" joke.  While not a particularly clever joke, it establishes Guildenstern as the more fun-loving of the two.  Later in the play, G talks more to Hamlet, while R talks more to Claudius.  Most tellingly, it's G whom Hamlet draws aside for the "recorder lesson."  Hamlet doesn't view them the same, obviously, and therefore, neither should we.  Shakespeare may have done characters who are similar, in some ways, but he didn't do cookie cutter characters.  R & G do have individuality.

Politically and socially, R & G's only prominence is due to them being in service to the King.  They're both gentlemen, and are properly called "sir."

Politically and socially, R & G's only prominence is due to them being in service to the King.  They're both gentlemen, and are properly called "sir."

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern appear in: [[Scene 7]], [[Scene 8]], [[Scene 9]], [[Scene 10]], [[Scene 12]], [[Scene 13]], and [[Scene 14]].

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern appear in: [[Scene 7]], [[Scene 8]], [[Scene 9]], [[Scene 10]], [[Scene 12]], [[Scene 13]], and [[Scene 14]].