At first glance, one might think that the only things Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead have in common with William Shakespeare's Hamlet are Rosencrantz, Guildenstern and the segments of Hamlet Stoppard stuck his piece together. However, on closer inspection, one would notice that the most extreme absurdities in Stoppard's play derive from Shakespeare's Hamlet. Details of Stoppard's play that might at first seem merely ridiculous implausibilities (such as the fact that they cannot remember their own name and the acceptance that they see their own death with them) make then surface as a mockery of Hamlet's disturbing details. The derivation from Shakespeare's Hamlet that Stoppard gives to his play, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, is the lack of identity that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern share. In Hamlet, these characters are identified only as Hamlet's childhood friends, are interchangeable with respect to characterization, and it is unclear whether they were aware of the fact that they were sending Hamlet to his death. In Stoppard's play, Rosencrantz introduces himself and his friend by saying, "My name is Guildenstern and this is Rosencrantz." » The lack of definition between the characters persists to the point that the reader has difficulty telling the difference between the two. Stoppard's emphasis on this lack of characterization seems to indicate that these deaths, meaningless to Hamlet, should have been able to mean something to the audience (as far as Hamlet's character is concerned). Rosencrantz and Guildenstern could have at least been more clearly defined in their intent, whether it was malicious or simply ignorant of the truth. Another detail of Shakespeare's Hamlet that Stoppard capitalizes on in his play is the unconditional manner in which Rosencrantz and Guildenstern accept the directives of the king. In Hamlet, these two are summoned; they come. They are asked to delve into the life of a childhood friend with whom they have had no contact for some time; they try.