Ros and Guil and Macbeth

To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury
Signifying nothing." — Macbeth (Act 5, Scene 5, lines 19-28)
It seems that throughout the reading of the absurdist play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead by Tom Stoppard, there has been mention of life being a play in which we as humans march across the stage portraying our character to the world. Along with this reading comes the fact that we are all but ordered to do every action we make in life or are at least influenced to do it just as actors are told to do things in a play. I think it is this fact that is highlighted above all else in the play, at least to the place we have read so far. It seems that Ros and Guil need another character, another personality, on stage to have any type of identity for themselves. They are simply lost without others and rely on others for any individuality of their own. This is ironic because of the fact that they need others for individuality, which essentially defeats the purpose of the thing, and the identity they create for themselves is ambiguous within itself. This is no more apparent than in the scene where the two are talking to a Player about Greek tragedies and whether or not one needs an audience to have a purpose. Once the player leaves, Ros and Guil have no idea what to do with themselves. They yell “Next” off stage expecting somebody to come and once again give them their identities. But, despite getting identities from others, Ros and Guil are unable to differentiate between each other almost as if they are two parts to one whole.
You may be wondering why I included the soliloquy from Macbeth in this blog, because I have made no mention of it thus far in the writing. You can either think of it as me leaving the reader in suspense or as me not being able to remember why I typed the soliloquy. One thing we have repeatedly discussed in class though is the connection between the soliloquy and the way Ro and Guil go through their respective lives. Macbeth, in uttering the speech, is rather existentialist in stating that life is “a tale told by an idiot” that signifies “nothing.” It is also in this manner that Ros and Guil go through their lives. They see no meaning in what they are doing and rather go through life as directed by others. Once the direction they have been given is done, they are then “heard no more.” I have just read through what I have written in this blog, and everything is rather convoluted and confusing. I didn’t mean for it to be this way as I am having trouble voicing my opinions on the very confusing way, but when you think about it, the confusing manner of my writing kind of fits with the play as most things seem to happen for no reason. All this said, the play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead is one of the most interesting plays I have ever read, from the nonsensical happenings to the extremely crude humor that is present, it is a truly entertaining experience.