In Shakespeare's Hamlet, the characters of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are nearly indistinguishable from each other. In one scene they may be referred to as "gentle Rosencrantz and Guildenstern" and in another "Rosencrantz and gentle Guildenstern". In the beginning, they appear to be great friends with Hamlet but eventually this appears to be a facade, as Hamlet rewrites a letter from Claudius to the English King to say that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern should be killed and not Hamlet. And then when their ship is attacked by pirates, Hamlet flees and leaves them to die.
Discuss the meaning behind the co-identity of the two noblemen--is there significance between their indistinguishability?
Second, discuss the implications on the character Hamlet if A: he discarded friendship for petty reasons; B: he allowed his friends to die in his place; and C: he wasn't friends with them at all and he was merely manipulating them the same way the rest of the Danish court was.