The boat symbolizes the trajectory of human life and the fundamentally limited and futile nature of human action. As a boat's passengers are able to move at will within the contained space of the vessel but are ultimately swept up in the greater movement of the boat's motion, so too are a human individual's actions and developments dwarfed by the unstoppable progress of his life towards death. Though Act Three's setting on a boat is in line with Shakespeare's original play, the set also resonates with symbolic significance as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern hurdle helplessly towards their own deaths. As Guildenstern reflects, describing his and Rosencrantz' situation on board, "We can move, of course, change direction, rattle about, but our movement is contained within a larger one that carries us along as inexorably as the wind and current…"
The Boat Quotes in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
The Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead quotes below all refer to the symbol of The Boat. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Act 3
Quotes
Free to move, speak, extemporize, and yet. We have not been cut loose. Our truancy is defined by one fixed star, and our drift represents merely a slight change of angle to it: we may seize the moment, toss it around while the moments pass…but we are brought round full circle to face again the single immutable fact—that we, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, bearing a letter from one king to another, are taking Hamlet to England.
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No, no, no…Death is…not. Death isn't. You take my meaning. Death is the ultimate negative. Not being. You can't not-be on a boat.
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We've travelled too far, and our momentum has taken over; we move idly towards eternity, without possibility of reprieve or hope of explanation.
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The Boat Symbol Timeline in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
The timeline below shows where the symbol The Boat appears in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Act 3
...Guildenstern's. Sounds of sailors rise and it becomes clear Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are on a boat. They reflect that it is "dark for day" but write it off to the assumption...
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..."In where?" Rosencrantz asks. "Out here," Guildenstern explains. They reflect on how much they like boats and Guildenstern is pleased that, on a boat, one needn't "worry about which way to...
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...saying they might as well be dead. He asks Guildenstern if death might be a boat. No, Guildenstern replies, "Death is the ultimate negative. Not-being. You can't not-be on a boat."...
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"Where we went wrong," Guildenstern says quietly, "was getting on a boat. We can move, of course, change direction, rattle about, but our movement is contained within...
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