Rosencrantz Guildenstern Are Dead, A Satirical Piece...

The purpose of satire is to point out human flaws in a humorous way in order to instruct and possibly change humanity. A parody is a literary or artistic work that imitates the characteristic styles of an author or a work for comic affect or ridicule. Rosencrantz Guildenstern Are Dead is a satirical piece of work that parodies Hamlet, especially in terms of death, a common theme in both. These two plays take different views on death portrayed by the protagonists of each: either Hamlet or Rosencrantz Guildenstern. Hamlet is a tragedy with comedy elements in it. It is about a prince who seeks revenge for his father’s assassination, but in the end, he dies. Throughout the entire play, Hamlet is in constant conflict within his†¦show more content†¦The audience sees this when Hamlet attends Ophelia’s funeral; it is a serious matter and one that upsets him. In addition, he refuses to kill Claudius while he is praying because he thinks he will go directly to heaven. Once again, Hamlet is choosing when to kill Claudius. He knows death can come whenever. It is not up to fate to take someone; Hamlet can use his free will to kill Claudius whenever he wants. In Rosencrantz Guildenstern Are Dead, death is viewed as a less serious matter; one that is not fussed about because it is will come no matter what and is determined by fate. Black humor is used in this play to highlight the absurdist nature of the play. Rosencrantz Guildenstern can never remember where they are and why they are there. In a world of confusion, that is their internal conflict: they are trying to figure out who they are and their purpose in life. They know they are trying to cheer up Hamlet, but they don’t know why. In fact, they didn’t even know they were his friends before the queen told them. Rosencrantz Guildenstern have to constantly remind themselves of their journey thus far. They represent the lay person. Just like them, many people a re or feel powerless in the world. They have an external locus of control and believe they have no control over their fate. This is the opposite of Hamlet. Hamlet chose his fate; he chose revenge. Rosencrantz Guildenstern are mere pawns that go with the flow and follow