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Rosencrantz and Guildenstern may be played by two individual actors on stage, but given that they always appear together, they essentially function as a single character. Childhood friends of Hamlet, Claudius and Gertrude summon them to Elsinore with the hope that they can determine why their son is acting strangely. While they may have once been genuine friends with Hamlet, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern’s behavior throughout the play suggests that they care more about themselves than anyone else. The pair first arrives at the castle in Act 2, Scene 2, and in addition to emphasizing what great friends they are to Hamlet, Claudius and Gertrude offer them a substantial reward for spying on their son. The fact that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are willing to betray Hamlet’s trust in exchange for compliments and a bribe highlights their questionable moral code. Unlike Horatio, whom Hamlet trusts completely, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern fail to find a way into their friend’s inner circle. Their pleasantries and expressions of concern are not enough to convince Hamlet of their authenticity, although they are honest enough to admit to him that the king summoned them to Denmark. Moments like this, as well as their decision to bring Hamlet’s favorite acting troupe to the castle, redeem them slightly, but their insistence on remaining involved in the conflict drives them to become part of the rottenness plaguing the kingdom. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern fail in their mission to uncover their friend’s secrets, so Claudius recruits them to accompany Hamlet to England where, unbeknownst to them, he will die. Hamlet once again outsmarts the pair, however, and they end up going to their deaths instead. Their self-interested nature, both in terms of their desire for a reward and their dismissal of Hamlet’s true condition, ultimately lead to their downfall.
