Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
GUILDENSTERN SAYS THERE MUST HAVE BEEN A MOMENT AT THE BEGINNING, WHER WE COULD HAVE SAID NO BUT SOMEHOW WE MISSED IT... WHAT DO U THINK
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Only at the last moment, just before he disappears from view, Guildenstern, reviewing the story one last time ("Our
names shouted in a certain dawn . . . a message . . . a summons . . ."), says: "There must have been a moment, at the beginning, where we could have said—no. But
somehow we missed it."
This quote holds implications for a world concerned with the creation of values and the shaping of a humane, decent way of life. For one thing, Guildenstern's words imply that it would
have mattered if they had said no. For another, they suggest that the irresponsibility bred of indifference may be a function of the feeling of powerlessness—of being nothing, mere shells, hollow men.
Ha that's funny! Certainly when Rosencrantz and Guilderndtern are getting their heads chopped off would have been the perfect place to say this. Tom Stoppard's play follows the rather clueless duo as they are being played throughout the play of Hamlet.