The Foils of Young Hamlet
Makynzie Zimmer
Eagle High School
Abstract
There is a great variety of characters in this story, many of which at one point or another act as a character foil to Hamlet. A foil is a character that is used to contrasts the main character, giving us a better view of some of his various traits, the reasoning behind their decisions or other differences. In Hamlet, his character traits are revealed and better seen when compared and contrasted to that of other characters. In this paper we take a close look at the character foils in Hamlet. These minor characters give us a deeper understanding of Hamlet and the reasoning behind his actions. These characters include Laertes, Ophelia, Roazencrantz and Guildenstern,
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and Fortinbras. The Foils of Young Hamlet Introduction In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, we see a young man driven to revenge after the murder of his father. Hamlet, the main character of this play, struggles on his quest to avenge his father’s death. There is a great variety of characters in this story, many of which at one point or another act as a character foil to Hamlet. A foil is a character that is used to contrast the main character, giving us a better view of some of his various traits, the reasoning behind their decisions or other differences. In Hamlet, his character traits are revealed and better seen when compared and contrasted to that of the other characters. Laertes One of the main foils to Hamlet is the character of Laertes. Both of which share the same goal, revenge for their fathers murders. Nevertheless, they both go about it in very different ways. Laertes is very passionate and hasty, and will act at the drop of a hat without putting much thought into anything. This is the opposite of Hamlet. He is very indecisive and requires a lot of thought into his actions. Hamlet is brilliant in comparison to Laertes, with his shallow thoughts and actions. Although, it is Hamlet’s intelligence and ability to over think that tend to be his tragic flaws.Yet, we do see more than once that both Laertes and Hamlet can be very impulsive and act out in anger. This usually ends up bringing more problems in the future. For example, Laertes learns of the death of Polonius, he immediately assumes it was Claudius and wishes to get revenge by killing him. Hamlet also reacts in rage when he thinks that King Claudius is behind the curtain in his mother’s room, he stabs through the curtain without thinking and kills Polonius instead. Ophelia Another important foil to Hamlet is Ophelia. She is the love interest of Hamlet, and he is seen confessing his love for her and pining over her at many points in the story(Shakespeare 65). Near the end of the play, in death we see her as a character foil for Hamlet. After the death of her father, she goes mad in every sense of the word. This fact is clearly shown, when she is singing and babbling making absolutely no sense(Shakespeare Act 4 Scene 3) . This goes to show that Hamlet in fact hadn’t gone truly mad, which is one of the most controversial topics when it comes to Hamlet. It is only an illusion invented by Hamlet to obscure the views of the other characters. It shows that after seeing Ophelia as a character foil, in a state of real madness, Hamlet never truly went mad, and was in control the whole time. Viewing her as a character foil also focuses on the strength of Hamlet’s character. In the end she commits suicide by drowning herself in the creek, which is something that only a weak and/or mad person would do. In the play Hamlet considers suicide but overcomes the idea and decides not to go through with it (Shakespeare Act 3 Scene 1). Although, this may be because he wished to get his revenge, by any means, he didn’t give in. And that says something about his strength and sanity as a person. Ophelia is one of the most important characters in exposing Hamlet as a person, and is one of the most important foils in the play. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern The characters of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern act as foils to Hamlet too. They are basically viewed as one person. They are always seen together, addressed together, and work together. This is an obvious difference from Hamlet, who always acts alone. Hamlet is constantly by himself and has accomplished a majority of things on his own. He does have his best friend Horatio, but other than that he frequently acts on his own. At the beginning of the story Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were also viewed as friends of Hamlet, but in the end they betrayed him. They are also much less sophisticated than Hamlet and belong to a lower class. They have a much less eloquent way of speaking which is emphasized when they are talking to Hamlet. In addition to all of these stark differences, they also act as the kings personal pawns. They do whatever he wishes, which is a blatant difference to Hamlet’s independence. Fortinbras The last character foil to appear in Hamlet is Fortinbras.
Both Hamlet and Fortinbras’ fathers were killed and their uncles then took their thrones. They are both noble princes seeking to avenge their fathers deaths. They go about their revenge in completely different manners, even though they share a common goal. They are very similar and have a lot of traits in common but, various differences put emphasis on Hamlet’s weaknesses. The difference is in their motives, Hamlet wants to kill Claudius for personal revenge without any greater reason. Fortinbras works to restore honor to Norway in his father’s name. Even though Hamlet is acting for personal reasons; he is bound by his conscience and hesitates to kill Claudius. Even when he has an opportunity in the chapel, he does not kill him. He tells himself that if he died right then, he would be sent to heaven rather than hell because he had repented all of his sins. Since Fortinbras is not seeking personal revenge, he is not slowed by moral dilemmas. Hamlet struggles with his anger throughout the story and finds difficulty in killing, even those who are guilty. He becomes jealous of Fortinbras’ ability to lead his country and his ability to control his anger when he was retaking his country's lost land. Hamlet is jealous of his ability to have no problem in killing the innocent. Hamlet wishes to be Fortinbras and because of this, it is easy to pick out Hamlet’s fatal flaws, his indecisiveness and inability to act on his
thoughts. Conclusion The tragic flaw of Hamlet, is clearly his indecisiveness. It is easy to see his most important character traits after a good taking a good look at his character foils. When compared to Laertes and Fortinbras, Hamlet’s indecisiveness is obvious. After looking at Ophelia, it is easy to see that he hasn't actually gone mad. And finally, with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Hamlet’s independence is clearly visible. Even though some of them are minor characters, their influence on the major characters is great. It is the minor characters that help to obtain a further understanding of Hamlet as a character. References Shakespeare, W. (1971). Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Baltimore, Md.: Penguin Books. Shmoop Editorial Team. (2008, November 11). Foil in Hamlet. Retrieved January 6, 2015 from http://www.shmoop.com/hamlet/foil.html
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.
Let’s begin by talking about how Shakespeare uses other characters in the play as foils to Hamlet’s character. There are three distinct characters that are used as...
In the play, Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, the character of Fortinbras, has been used as a foil for the main character, Hamlet. Hamlet and Fortinbras have lost their fathers to untimely deaths. Claudius killed Hamlet's father, King Hamlet, and King Hamlet killed Fortinbras' father. Both Hamlet and Fortinbras have vowed to seek revenge for the deaths of their fathers. Since the revenge tactics of Hamlet and Fortinbras are completely different, Hamlet perceives the actions of Fortinbras as better than his own and the actions of Fortinbras, then, encourage Hamlet to act without hesitating.
Hamlet, the major character in the Shakespeare play of the same name, was faced with a decision upon learning that Claudius murdered his father. Should he believe the ghost, and avenge his father's murder? Or is the ghost evil, trying to coerce him into killing Claudius? Throughout the play, we see Hamlet's struggle with this issue. Many opportunities arise for him to kill Claudius, but he is unable to act because he cannot convince himself to believe the Ghost. Shakespeare uses Laertes and Fortinbras as foils to Hamlet, in order to help us understand why Hamlet acts the way he does.
... and for the betterment of society. King Hamlet was able to be avenged by the killing of Claudius, and Fortinbras was crowned the king of Denmark. In contrast, Claudius, who used his power for personal reasons, did not succeed in the end, but rather died while he still needed to confess his sins, a fate similar to that of his brother.
The relation between these two characters is a lot like the juxtaposition with Hamlet and Laertes. Just like Hamlet and Laertes, Fortinbras’ father, King Fortinbras, was also killed but the way he died was in a battle with King Hamlet. Hamlet and Fortinbras’ circumstances are almost identical. Their fathers were both murdered, both their uncles are on the throne and they are both princes of their countries. Revenge is the motive for both of these princes because of their dead fathers, but the way and the reason they seek it is extremely different. Hamlet wants revenge because the ghost of his father told him to and Fortinbras wants revenge to reclaim the land that his father lost when he died. Fortinbras is more focused on the honour of his country, Norway, but all Hamlet cares about is killing his fathers murderer. Hamlet’s morals slow down the process of his revenge whereas Fortinbras’ firm attitude makes him act faster. Hamlet later develops some jealously towards Fortinbras, he says, “Rightly to be great/Is not to stir without great argument/But greatly to find quarrel in a straw/When honor’s at the stake” (Shakespeare 4.4.53-56). Hamlet is saying that if Fortinbras is taking such quick action for a little bit of land that means nothing then what does that make Hamlet? He says in order for him to be great like Fortinbras he must take violent action. Hamlet and Fortinbras are both equally rebellious
Hamlet, Laertes and Fortinbras are similar in the fact that each had love, or at least respect their fathers. Enough to make an attempt to wreak revenge upon their fathers murderers at the risk of their own reputation, freedom, and souls. Each characters father had a substantially high social class in their respective countries, which in turn gives them high social class as well. With Hamlet and Fortinbras as sons of kings and Laertes as the son of an aristocrat of high regard in the Danish court, all had a lot to loose if unsuccessful in their ploy. Each of the sons believed that the killers had dishonored their fathers as well as themselves. Each acts in a way that they consider to be an attempt at restoring it to the family, as honor was a significant thing to uphold in this day.
In Hamlet, Shakespeare introduces us to Fortinbras and Hamlet. Both characters are bent on avenging the death of their fathers who were murdered. In Act I, two different revenge plots by these two men are revealed, and while Fortinbras is very open and bold about killing Claudius, Hamlet is sly and quiet about his plan. Fortinbras is also dead set on attacking Denmark no matter what but Hamlet is indecisive about killing Claudius. Fortinbras plans to lead an army to attack Denmark while Hamlet’s plan of attack is to act crazy.
In the play, the background stories of Fortinbras and Hamlet are similar. Both of their uncles are king, when the rightful throne should be theirs; however, the two princes deal with the aftermath differently. While Fortinbras deals by going out and conquering other countries, Hamlet distracts himself with thinking and plotting against Claudius. In Hamlet's soliloquy in Act 4, he compares and contrasts the differences between himself and Fortinbras. Hamlet explains that he would be more like Fortinbras with his actions.
The theme of vengeance is apparent within the tragedy before the tragedy even begins. King Fortinbras is defeated by King Hamlet, leaving Prince Fortinbras orphaned. This naturally brings about bitterness between Prince Fortinbras and King Hamlet. Prince Fortinbras is angry, within reason. His father was just killed, his lands stolen, and now he is the person to whom all of the duty is left. These feelings lead Fortinbras to a state of angered reactions. He prepares an army to march into Poland and Denmark to recover the lands that his father had lost. He takes action, leaving the rest of his life behind, and marching over to get retaliation against the man who killed his father. He sets his mind on what he has to do, and sets off, away from his home, in a strong, purposeful manner. When Fortinbras prepares to march through Denmark, his address to King Claudius is direct, purposeful, and unemotional.
Shakespeare’s Hamlet is arguably one of the best plays known to English literature. It presents the protagonist, Hamlet, and his increasingly complex path through self discovery. His character is of an abnormally complex nature, the likes of which not often found in plays, and many different theses have been put forward about Hamlet's dynamic disposition. One such thesis is that Hamlet is a young man with an identity crisis living in a world of conflicting values.
Good versus evil is a common theme in literature. Often, the reader learns about the characteristics of the good and the evil through less important characters. These characters are sometimes referred to as “foils”. In William Shakespeare's Hamlet foils are used primarily to reveal Hamlet and Claudius as good vs. evil. These two foils help us piece the puzzle together.
In William Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet, Laertes, Fortinbras and Hamlet find themselves in similar situations. While Hamlet waits for the right time to avenge his father's death, Laertes learns of his father's death and immediately wants vengeance, and Fortinbras awaits his chance to recapture land that used to belong to his father. Laertes and Fortinbras go about accomplishing their desires quite differently than Hamlet. While Hamlet acts slowly and carefully, Laertes and Fortinbras seek their revenge with haste. Although Laertes and Fortinbras are minor characters, Shakespeare molds them in order to contrast with Hamlet. Fortinbras and, to a greater extent, Laertes act as foils to Hamlet with respect to their motives for revenge, execution of their plans and behavior while carrying out their plans.
Revenge has caused the downfall of many a person. Its consuming nature causes one to act recklessly through anger rather than reason. Revenge is an emotion easily rationalized; one turn deserves another. However, this is a very dangerous theory to live by. Throughout Hamlet, revenge is a dominant theme. Fortinbras, Laertes, and Hamlet all seek to avenge the deaths of their fathers. But in so doing, all three rely more on emotion than thought, and take a very big gamble, a gamble which eventually leads to the downfall and death of all but one of them. King Fortinbras was slain by King Hamlet in a sword battle. This entitled King Hamlet to the land that was possessed by Fortinbras because it was written in a seal'd compact. "…our valiant Hamlet-for so this side of our known world esteem'd him-did slay this Fortinbras." Young Fortinbras was enraged by his father’s murder and sought revenge against Denmark. He wanted to reclaim the land that had been lost to Denmark when his father was killed. "…Now sir, young Fortinbras…as it doth well appear unto our state-but to recover of us, by strong hand and terms compulsative, those foresaid lands so by his father lost…" Claudius becomes aware of Fortinbras’ plans, and in an evasive move, sends a message to the new King of Norway, Fortinbras’ uncle.
As the play’s tragic hero, Hamlet exhibits a combination of good and bad traits. A complex character, he displays a variety of characteristics throughout the play’s development. When he is first introduced in Act I- Scene 2, one sees Hamlet as a sensitive young prince who is mourning the death of his father, the King. In addition, his mother’s immediate marriage to his uncle has left him in even greater despair. Mixed in with this immense sense of grief, are obvious feelings of anger and frustration. The combination of these emotions leaves one feeling sympathetic to Hamlet; he becomes a very “human” character. One sees from the very beginning that he is a very complex and conflicted man, and that his tragedy has already begun.