The player truly has the most charismatic personality present in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, which is humorous because he is one of the most insignificant characters in Hamlet as far as having an opinion of his own. The player arrives for directions from Hamlet and awaits patiently for his turn to speak. The audience figure he is always an upperclass gentleman. Tom Stoppard saw the open space for creativity with this limited character and I respect the imagination it took to grant the player sassy yet clever lines. The player's edgy comedy matched with intelligence and spunk truly make his character intriguing and vital to the plot of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. Although he could be considered as an important character to the plot of Hamlet by convincing Hamlet of his uncle's guilt, it is not the player's own contributions that make Claudius crack, but the contribution of the script. The player recognizes how baffled Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are in their world of disorder and he feeds off of their struggle. He notices the larger life themes questioned by the two helpless characters and aids them with riddles. He understands probability and fate. I admire the hidden intelligence of the player. Although he is basically a pimp, he has wit. The player is my favorite character shared between the two plays because he demonstrates that social class is not parallel to smarts, and a poor street actor can be just as entertaining as a mentally insane king but will generally receive less recognition.
