The quick transition between settings in the play also contribute to the disoriented nature of the two protagonists of the play.
Behind the royal and dignified facade of Elsinore lurks an ominous fate for all those involved with Hamlet’s plot. Although the mood appears to be quite festive, with feasts and plays running amok, it masks the point at hand: that there will be imminent and impending death. Deceit and betrayal plague the atmosphere as all the characters involved in this political game either attempt to flaunt their power over another or act as a pawn. The majority of the rising action and the play takes place at Elsinore, where the royal family of Denmark resides.
This mysterious nature that surrounds the setting is reflected within the characters as well, when the two encounter the actors in the woods and confuse themselves with each other as they introduce their names to the performers. Just like the setting itself, the two main protagonists lack strong character or personality, a main conflict within the play consisting of the two trying to discover who they are. The setting is portrayed as a “place without any visible character,” which likewise reflects the identities of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern as well (Stoppard 1). The time period which the events of the play unfold in is the Elizabethan era, as evidenced by the description of the two’s clothing and their initial depictions, which are “Elizabethans” (Stoppard 1).
Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead is set in three settings, an undisclosed location in the wilderness, Elsinore, which Claudius rules over, and the boat ride towards England, on which Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are led to their deaths.
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