In Hamlet, Shakespeare uses foils to enhance the characters namely to enhance Hamlet. A foil is a minor character who with their similarities and differences reveals character traits, that of another character opposite to them. The character may also be put in place by the author to give the main character a person to talk to, through this conversation useful information can be received about either the main character or the plot in general. This can be shown through Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, also the Ghost of King Hamlet, Ophelia, and Laertes.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are foils to Hamlet. The two are introduced as friends to Hamlet. But also they are like messengers for the king. Hamlet learns of their treachery to him, there dual loyalty to he and the king. This is introduced in his conversation with the queen where he says, “My two-school fellows, whom I will trust as adders fanged”. They obey whatever the King’s orders not thinking of what there outcome is in the bigger picture. The men are foolish in this way, not thinking about what is really hap...
Although the play Hamlet is largely centered around the “tragic hero” Hamlet, it is the minor foil characters that gives us a deeper understanding of the text and a more conscious understanding of the internal struggles experienced by Hamlet. Each of these characters contrasts a specific aspect of Hamlet that would otherwise be overlooked. Horatio consolidates all of the desirable features that Hamlet wants to be into one person. Fortinbras, although in the exact same situation as Hamlet with his father dead and his uncle on the throne, is the complete opposite of Hamlet by choosing action over inaction. Finally, Ophelia personifies Hamlet’s innocence and the death of his innocence after the death of his father. Despite being opposites of each other, each of these characters bring a new outlook on the tragedy of Hamlet.
Foils are the minor characters in a play that aid in developing the more important characters. By using the similarities and differences between two characters, the audience can get a better understanding of that major character. In Hamlet, Shakespeare uses many foils to develop the major characters of his play. Two foils that Shakespeare used to develop Hamlet's character were Laertes and Polonius.
In Shakespeare's play, Hamlet, the young Prince Hamlet must deal with murder, corruption and incest. The foils to Prince Hamlet, give the reader a basis to summarize his character within the play. Such foils include Laertes, son of Polonius, Claudius, current king of Denmark and stepfather of Hamlet, and Fortinbras, the prince of Norway.
Of the four young men who occupy a place in the life of Hamlet, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern appear, at least initially, to be his closest friends. They are schoolmates at Wittenburg, and Hamlet greets them both amicably, remarking, " My excellent good friends! How dost thou,....." Queen Gertrude affirms the status of their relationship when she says, "And sure I am two men there is not living to whom he more adheres." Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are unaware, however, of the real story behind the death of Hamlet’s Father. They do not have the benefit of seeing his ghost, as Hamlet has. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are very loyal to the new King. Unlike Hamlet, they initially have no reason not to trust Claudius. But they become unwitting and unknowing pawns for both factions. Their relationship with Hamlet begins to sour. Hamlet realizes what the King is up to, and he becomes distrustful of the two. "’Sblood, do you think I am easier to be played on than a pipe?...
1. William Shakespeare, the most popular playwright of all time, experiments with comedy, mystery, betrayal, romance, and tragedy in his play, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. The author uses a variety of characters from different social backgrounds to give us an elaborate picture of deception. From the opening line of "Who’s there?" the reader gets the impression that people are not what they seem in this play. The interrelationships between the royalty and people of the court are well-developed to illustrate the major and minor similarities and differences between the characters. Shakespeare reveals the deceptive nature of man and the ruin it causes through his use of foils. [Many of the other essays did not follow the directions and used the definition of foils as the introduction. This writer understood that the essay was to be about the use of foils in the play. The introduction, therefore, is about the play, and it leads up to a thesis which briefly states the function (meaning) of the foils within the play. The thesis, in other words, does not simply state that the essay will discuss foils in the play, but rather that the essay will show how the foils help reveal the deceptive nature of man and the resulting ruin. This is, I believe, also the only writer who alludes to "Who's there?" and thereby nicely connects the essay -- and thus the foils -- to much of what I emphasized in class discussions of the play.]
Foils are used in plays so that the readers are better able to understand the major character (Hamlet). In a foil, the minor character is similar in many ways to the main character so that we will compare the two. However, it is through these similarities that we are able to see the more important differences between the two.
Act four places a special emphasis on Hamlet's intelligence. In scene two, Hamlet is very insolent and rude towards Rosencrantz and Guildenstern with such phrases as, "That I can keep your counsel and not, mine own. Beside, to be demanded of a sponge, what replication should be made by the son of a king" (IV, ii, 12-14)? The reference to the sponge reflects the fact that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are easily ordered by the king and do not have minds of their own. Hamlet does not like Rosencrantz and Guildenstern since they are servants of the Claudius, Hamlet's mortal enemy. The reader does not like Rosencrantz and Guildenstern either which causes the reader to side with Hamlet.
2. Why are foils required to understand and develop the play? A foil is a minor character used to help develop or understand a major character. The foil must have some similarities with the major character in order to create a link with him. A foil must also be different in order to show or distinguish something about the major character. The foil does not always have an active role. Sometimes the foil is just someone for the major character to talk to. This allows his ideas to come through to the audience without a narrator; therefore, the foil is a kind of prop to help develop the role of the major character. Without a foil, there is no one to help develop or understand the major character, [;] thus his ideas cannot be revealed to the audience. Polonius was an important foil for Hamlet.
Stoppard gives Rosencrantz and Guildenstern an existence outside ‘Hamlet’, although it is one of little significance and they idle away their time only having a purpose to their lives when the play rejoins the ‘Hamlet’ plot, after they have been called by the King’s messenger: “There was a messenger...that’s right. We were sent for.” Their lives end tragically due to this connection with ‘Hamlet’, predetermined by the title, but the role provided them with a purpose to their otherwise futile lives, making them bearable. Their deaths evoke sadness and sympathy leaving the reader grieving for them.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were acting unnaturally when conversing with Hamlet; and while claiming they were there to see him, Hamlet sensed something suspicious, and a result, confronted them on the matter, and consequently learned that they were sent to see him by the King and Queen.
Juxtaposition is a device that is often used to enhance and relate certain aspects of a writing piece. William Shakespeare uses this device in his plays to emphasize characteristics, themes and even scenes. He does this so that the elements that are being highlighted show major significance throughout the tragedy. In Shakespeare’s Hamlet juxtaposition is evident in the circumstances of the characters as well as their morals. Characters in the play that are juxtaposed against each other are Hamlet with Laertes, Hamlet again with Fortinbras and Ophelia with Gertrude. Overall they are parallel to each other and are considered foil characters due to their similarities and even differences.
1. Plays have foils to help the audience understand important characters in the play. Foils are minor characters that have similarities and differences with a more important character in the play. Sometimes the minor character is just there for the character to talk to; this is the basis for being a foil. In the play "Hamlet," [Titles] by William Shakespeare, the character Ophelia is a foil to Hamlet.
Foil's [No ' H-50] are minor character's [No '] in a story who by their similarities and differences with more important characters, helps [SV - 1] the audience to better understand the main character in that story. Also another purpose of a foil is to provide the more meaningful character with simply someone to talk to. In "Hamlet" [Titles] there are many foils used but I am going to only speak of those who lend to the fact that Hamlet and Claudius represent good and evil. [3 sic] One of Hamlet's foil's is [No '] The Ghost of his father, the former King of Denmark. One of their similarities is their relation and knowledge of one another by being father and son. When Hamlet and The Ghost meet (Act 1, Scene 2, Line 10) the reader learns that the ghost is in fact Hamlet[']s father when he says "I am thy father's spirit." Another similarity is their intelligence. The play gives many examples of Hamlet's quick witted yet smart way of speaking. And when we meet the ghost he speaks with the same intellect, only without the sarcasm used frequently by Hamlet. The main similarity is their longing for revenge. The ghost beg's [No '] Hamlet to revenge his death[,] and at the time Hamlet seems to honorably agree. By this honor the audience instantly stereotypes Hamlet as being heroic and good.
Throughout the play Hamlet, there are many symbols, characters, themes and motifs which have very significant roles. Within the context of characters, those with the greatest impact are more often the major characters than the less significant. However, in the case of one pair of characters, it is rather the opposite. The use of the characters Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in Hamlet is for more than just comic relief. They are a representation of the betrayal and dishonesty that runs deep within the play.
In Hamlet two characters tend to stand out as people who have become accustomed to self fashioning. These two characters are Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. When these two men are introduced in the story, they both have just arrived at the castle to meet with King Claudius and Queen Gertrude. King Claudius and Queen Gertrude know these men are good friends with Hamlet, and know they can be used to diagnose the problem afflicting Hamlet. When you first meet these two men you realize they are not coming for wealth or riches. They are coming to serve orders of their King and Queen and to visit their good friend. Soon though you can see these men’s personalities shift. They begin to fashion themselves in a way that it is visible that they are just looking for a gain over their current situation. Claudius and Gertrude quickly offer wealth if the two, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, help find out what troubles Hamlet. The men see this as a way to make money, and this ultimately leads to their down fall. Greed begins to creep into their lives. Instead of just being good friends, they look at this as an opportunity for gain. They begin to transform from friends and men with dignity, to men who want to make a dollar. This is very clear when Hamlet asks if they have been beckoned for or if they have come on their own accord. Instead of saying yes we were sent for they pause and stumble on their words. Hamlet knows these are not the men who were once his fri...