Rosencrantz and Guildenstern

This article is about the characters in Hamlet. For the play by Gilbert, see Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (play). For the play by Stoppard, see Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
Hamlet characters
A lithograph of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in the flute scene from Hamlet by Eugène Delacroix
Created byWilliam Shakespeare
Based onPossibly named for Frederik Rosenkrantz and Knud Gyldenstierne
Portrayed byRosencrantz:
Guildenstern:
In-universe information
OccupationUniversity students
AffiliationInitially loyal to Prince Hamlet, then switched to King Claudius
NationalityDanish

Rosencrantz (/ˈroʊzənˌkræntz/) and Guildenstern (/ˈɡɪldənˌstɜː(r)n/) are characters in William Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet. They are childhood friends of Hamlet, summoned by King Claudius to distract the prince from his apparent madness and if possible to ascertain the cause of it. The characters were revived in W. S. Gilbert's satire, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and as the alienated heroes of Tom Stoppard's absurdist play, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, which was adapted into a film.

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