Memorable quotes for Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Are Dead
The Player: We're actors! We're the opposite of people!
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The Player: For a handful of coin I happen to have a private and uncut performance of "The Rape of the Sabine Women," or rather woman, or rather Alfred, and for eight you can participate.
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The Player: We're more of the love, blood, and rhetoric school. Well, we can do you blood and love without the rhetoric, and we can do you blood and rhetoric without the love, and we can do you all three concurrent or consecutive. But we can't give you love and rhetoric without the blood. Blood is compulsory. They're all blood, you see.
Guildenstern: Is that what people want?
The Player: It's what we do.
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The Player: The old man thinks he's in love with his daughter.
Rosencrantz: Good God. We're out of our depths here.
The Player: No, no, no! He hasn't got a daughter! The old man thinks he's in love with his daughter.
Rosencrantz: The old man is?
The Player: Hamlet... in love... with the old man's daughter... the old man... thinks.
Rosencrantz: Ah.
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The Player: Generally speaking, things have gone about as far as they can possibly go, when things have gotten about as bad as they can reasonably get.
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The Player: We are tragedians, you see? We follow directions. There is no choice involved. The bad end unhappily, the good, unluckily. That is what tragedy means.
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The Player: We can do rapiers... or rape... or both!
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The Player: [after the performance in front of the servants] Are you familiar with this play?
Guildenstern: No.
The Player: A slaughterhouse, eight corpses all told.
Guildenstern: [does a quick mental recount, then] Six.
The Player: Eight.
[the two tragedians who resemble Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are "hanged"]
Guildenstern: Who are they?
The Player: They're dead.
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The Player: Why?
Guildenstern: Ah, why?
Rosencrantz: Exactly!
Guildenstern: Exactly what?
Rosencrantz: Exactly why?
Guildenstern: Exactly why what?
Rosencrantz: What?
Guildenstern: Why?
Rosencrantz: Why what exactly?
Guildenstern: WHY IS HE MAD?
Rosencrantz: I DON'T KNOW!
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