Thoughts?

Free will is an illusion in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. Instead of true choice, they are presented with limited alternatives. In Shakespeare's Hamlet, the two characters are not given distinct identities. When Rosencrantz becomes frustrated about never knowing for sure whether his name is Rosencrantz or Guildenstern, Guildenstern replies, "We are comparatively fortunate; we might have been left to sift the whole field of human nomenclature, like two blind men looting a bazaar for their own portraits...At least we are presented with alternatives." In other words, their freedom has significant limits. When Rosencrantz attempts to talk to Hamlet on his own terms ("off-script"), he is unable to do so. When Rosencrantz attempts to play with the Queen, his efforts are averted when he realizes that his target is actually Alfred dressed in women's clothing. In many ways, England represents freedom to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. They believe that once they arrive they will be rid of Hamlet and free to continue on as they please, having completed their royal duties. On the surface, the boat becomes the means by which they gain their freedom, an escape from the demands of the court. The characters are led to believe that they have choice, but it ultimately emerges that they only have alternatives. By the end of the play, they realize that what they thought would bring them freedom actually is actually a vessel carrying them towards the inevitable: death.