Rosencrantz and Guildenstern

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
Hamlet characters
A lithograph of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in the flute scene from Hamlet by Eugène Delacroix
Created by	William Shakespeare
In-universe information
Affiliation	Hamlet (formerly), Claudius

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are characters in William Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet. They are childhood friends of Hamlet, summoned by King Claudius to distract the prince from his apparent madness and if possible to ascertain the cause of it. The characters were revived in W. S. Gilbert's satire, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and as the alienated heroes of Tom Stoppard's absurdist play, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, which was adapted into a film.