Normally an author wouldn't say whether or not they have been directly influenced by another author or playwright. When you actually read their work however, it becomes clear that some authors share common views on certain subjects or admire another author or playwright so much that their own style begins to directly reflect the work of another. I believe this is the same connection shared by the modern dramatists and absurdist writers Tom Stoppard and Samuel Beckett. The connection between these two authors is clearly shown through the study of Waiting for Godot and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, from Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, are very similar to Beckett's characters Vladimir and Estragon. Their beliefs and behavior clearly show this. Stoppard's characters parallel Beckett's by inheriting their failing memory, confused identity, uncertainty, lack of decision making skills, and even the use of verbal game playing to pass time. Like Vladimir and Estragon, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern seem to be uncertain of their own identity and especially their own destiny. Both sets of characters are constantly searching for answers. In Waiting for Godot, Didi and Gogo are waiting with constant frustration and uncertainty for possible answers to life's questions. They feel that Godot may hold the answers. They pretty much can't, and don't, make decisions for themselves; instead they'd rather wait and see what Godot would do. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are trying to understand the meaning of the events which they find out are actually carrying them to their own deaths. They exist in an atmosphere of uncertainty and confusion. They're essentially two characters lost in their own play. In a way they are actually waiting for Hamlet. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern also have difficulty in making decisions for themselves. They are essentially the kings pawns, doing everything he says....
