Rosencrantz is a minor fictional character from William Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet. He is also, however, a major character in Tom Stoppard's Waiting for Godot/Hamlet pastiche, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead.

The protagonists in Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead often stumble upon deep philosophical truths through their nonsensical ramblings, however they depart from these ideas as quickly as they come to them. At times one appears to be more enlightened than the other; however this light is traded-off throughout the course of the drama. Because of Dead's similarity with Waiting for Godot, Rosencrantz is sometimes compared with Estragon (one of the tramps who are "waiting" for Godot), who shares his dim perception of reality.