The foil is a person whose traits, by differences and similarities, help to emphasize and enhances the qualities and actions of the protagonist. Many characters, such as King Claudius, Fortinbras, and Laertes, in William Shakespeare’s “The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark” qualify as foils for Hamlet, the protagonist. However, Laertes is the most appropriate foil for Hamlet. Laertes’ similarities and differences with Hamlet along with his actions and traits allow him to be an effective foil for Hamlet.
Readers often see Laertes and Hamlet as complete opposites, but they are not as different as they may seem. Both Laertes and Hamlet take a life of another character in the play. Laertes takes Hamlet’s life while he is being used by Claudius
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in a duel with Hamlet.
Laertes “anoints his sword” with poison so “if I [Laertes] gall him [Hamlet] slightly. It may be death” (IV, vii, 149-151). In the duel between Laertes and Hamlet, this plan works when Laertes cuts Hamlet and he slowly starts to die. Hamlet takes a life when he accidentally kills Polonius, Laertes’ father. Hamlet thinks the person behind a tapestry in the Queen’s bedroom is Claudius, the person he wants to kill, so Hamlet sticks his sword straight through it stabbing and killing Polonius. Hamlet also takes the lives of Ophelia, Claudius, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, and Laertes. Another factor in Hamlet taking lives is his obsession with revenge. Hamlet becomes obsessed with revenge when he is introduced to a ghost who tells him “I am thy father’s spirit/ revenge his [Hamlet‘s father] foul and most unnatural murder” (I, v, 10-26), and Hamlet declares to “sweep to my …show more content…
revenge” (I, v, 31). Like Hamlet, Laertes is obsessed with revenge and becomes obsessed when he learns of his father’s murder. Both of their fathers were killed by Denmark’s royalty; Claudius killed Hamlet’s father and Hamlet killed Laertes’ father. At the end of the play both characters have no one and lose their lives. Their love and sister, Ophelia, drowns, Hamlet’s mother and uncle drink poison, both of their fathers are dead, and they both take the poisoned sword across the other’s cut killing each other. Although Hamlet and Laertes have similarities, they have differences too. One example being how quick they are in getting revenge. When hearing about his father’s death, Laertes immediately storms Denmark’s castle hoping to kill the one responsible for the murder, whereas Hamlet is slow in action and taking the entire play to get his revenge. These characters’ social status differ also. Hamlet is royalty and heir to the throne of Denmark; while Laertes is only the son of a lord and servant to the king making him a lower class than Hamlet. Another example is their thoughts about the consequences of their actions.
Hamlet desires to think situations and the consequences of his actions through completely, causing his delay in getting revenge for the death of his father. Hamlet shows readers just how thoroughly he think about consequences when he states “to be or not to be - that is the question: whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles and, by opposing, end them” (III, i, 57-61). Laertes, on the other hand, does not think anything of or care about the consequences of his actions. Laertes proves his careless attitude when he says “to hell, allegiance! Vows, to the blackest devil! Conscience and grace, to the profoundest pit! I dare damnation” (IV, v, 136-138). He only wants revenge for the death of his father quickly so his father’s killer will not live while his father is dead. This shows another difference between Hamlet and Laertes; Laertes is more angry and passionate about the murder than
Hamlet. The details and plot of “Hamlet” create a better understanding of Laertes and Hamlet. Without the foil, it is often difficult to understand the true nature of the protagonist. The similarities and differences between Hamlet and Laertes provide the motives and personalities of both characters to further develop the play and their characters.
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.
Lets Foil In the play Hamlet written by William Shakespeare, the character Hamlet is a multi-dimensional character with multiple personalities that give the play a greater depth and perspective. Through his monologues and soliloquies, many different personalities of Hamlet are exposed, including his three basic contrasting personalities: clear-minded vs. troubled, action vs. inaction, and obedience/innocence vs. revenge. Throughout the story, both contrasting personalities are depicted by both Hamlet himself and other similar foil characters who are in similar circumstances but react in drastically different ways. Three such foil characters are Horatio, who shows a clear mind in the midst of his troubles, Fortinbras, who chooses action over inaction, and Ophelia, who depicts innocence throughout the midst of the chaos of the play.
One of the foils important to the play is Laertes. Although Laertes does not appear often in the play, he brings much to the plot and to Hamlet's character. These two are similar in many ways. They both seem to be about the same age, are well educated, and gentleman. One main thing that they have in common is they both are seeking revenge for their father's deaths. Both of their fathers were unnecessarily killed. Hamlet's father was killed by his father's brother for the crown and his wife, and Hamlet killed Laertes' father over mistaken identity. It was the revenge of these two that made up the plot of the story. Because of Laertes, the two could finally fulfill their revenge in the battle at the end that killed both Hamlet and the new king. If Laertes had not challenged Hamlet, the king would have died by some other way; however, the king died by poisoning just as he had killed his brother.
Throughout the play, Laertes is as an extremely caring member of his family. His strong emotions for family have an opposing side to it, a shadow that has repressed feelings of anger which cause him to add to the disaster in Denmark. An example that depicts this is when Laertes attempts to request more rites for Ophelia’s funeral. After he is denied, he starts a commotion by calling the priest “churlish”, explaining that Ophelia will be “A ministering angel” while the priest will “liest howling”(5.1.217-218). His compliments to Ophelia shows how much he loved her, while his nasty insults to the priest show his repressed rage. While this is occuring, Hamlet hears Laertes’s mention of Ophelia during the commotion and throws himself into a brawl with Laertes. It is the conflict built up from there that causes Claudius to target Laertes as his next weapon to kill Hamlet with. Laertes’s deep anger for Hamlet makes himself the best candidate for Claudius’s manipulation. Once Laertes’s sides with Claudius, he shows his dark intent by requesting Claudius to not “o'errule me to a peace”(4.7.58). On the day of the duel, Laertes undergoes a confrontation of his shadow while he clashes with Hamlet. His realization of his shadow comes too late into the duel when both Hamlet and Laertes are struck by poison, as this happens he declares that he is “ justly killed with mine own treachery (5.2.337).” In the moments that he is still alive, he dismisses his shadow and ends the circle of murder by announcing the true nature of Claudius. Laertes’s repressed anger guides the play into the duel where many deaths occur including Hamlet’s.
Basically Hamlet's character is going through a tough time, he’s upset, disgusted, depressed, moody, and also indecisive.Laertes foils Hamlet’s character. He is the son of Polonius and the brother to Ophelia. He is described as a passionate and a quick of action person. The most important thing about him is that he is a doer not a thinker. Being quick on his feet to problems is what got him killed. Laertes warns his loving sister about Hamlet but also boys in general “ My bags are already on board. Farewell, my sister. Please write often. As for Hamlet, and his attentions to you, Do not take them to seriously. They are like violets in the spring, Fast-blooming and sweet, but not long-lasting” ( Act I, Scene 3). The beginning of the play he leaves Denmark and goes to France. Due to the killing of Ophelia and Polonius he returns back and seeks revenge. Claudius and Laertes team up and plot to kill Hamlet.Hamlet and Laertes has a lot of similarities and differences. They are different because Hamlet gets forced to be sent away while Laertes wanted to get sent away. Hamlet is more of a responsible person while Laertes is more bold and reckless. Laertes provide contrast to Hamlet's character. They are similar in multiple ways starting with the love they had for
In The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, there are two young men: Laertes and Hamlet. Laertes is the son of the King’s advisor, Polonius, and the brother of Ophelia. Hamlet is the son of the deceased King Hamlet and present Queen Gertrude. Although both men are in the royal circle and would seem to have the same lifestyle, Laertes is the perfect foil for Hamlet. A foil is a character that shows qualities that are in contrast with the qualities of another character, intended to highlight the traits of the other character. Laertes is the immaculate foil of Hamlet because he takes immediate action to revenge his father instead of only speaking of it, he does not have fluctuating feelings whether to kill his father’s murderer or not, and takes
One of the most evident cases of a foil character is Hamlet and Fortinbras., for both these men have lost their fathers,
Laertes has the ability to perform tasks that may be unpleasant or dangerous. Laertes does not simply try to kill someone by thinking cautiously the whole time, but by directly confronting them and facing them head-on. When Laertes returns home to Denmark he even confronts Claudius about the death of his father. Swearing Laertes says “I dare damnation. To this point I stand,/That both the worlds I give to negligence,/Let come what comes, only I’ll be reveng’d/Most thoroughly for my father.” (IV. v. 133-136). With this declaration Laertes plots with Claudius to kill Hamlet and they construct a plan to have Laertes fence with Hamlet and for him to kill him. They instrument a plot of revenge for the death of Polonius, quickly coming up with three ways to kill Hamlet: stabbing him with an unblunted sword, placing poison on the sword, and poisoning Hamlet’s drink (IV. vii.). After they construct this plan they swiftly utilize the plan. Laertes did not wait for the perfect moment, at the perfect time, and at the perfect place. He created the place, time, and moment to carry out the dangerous task. Hamlet, however, waited and waited for what he thought one day would be the perfect moment in which he could kill his uncle. Even when Hamlet had an opportunity to kill Claudius, he talked himself out of it. When compared to Laertes, Hamlet is a coward because of his inability
What is the point of foil characters? It may seem useless as it is, but it can assist readers potentially perceive the flaws of various characters and their potentials. The story, Hamlet, shows multiple types of similarities and differences for each character. Each foil that Shakespeare shares in Hamlet slowly shows young Hamlet’s flaws throughout the story. Starting with the prominent one what shares likewise qualities with Hamlet is Young Fortinbras, Laertes, and then King Claudius.
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.
Shakespeare's play Hamlet has FOILS throughout the play, drawing comparisons and allusions to elements of life. The elements of a foil are used to display the complexity and deeper elements of a character, revealing characteristics of certain characters like Hamlet and Laertes, and the idea that while similarities rest within people, how different and similar their lives can be. Hamlet, our main character and sole point of view, is obviously the character that the audience is given the most information and traits about. Hamlet had been dealing with his father’s death in a rather poor manner- in the view of Claudius and Gertrude- Hamlet was taking too long to grieve, as “the survivor bound, In filial obligation for some term, To do obsequious sorrow.” (1.2, lines 7-9)
Each man deals with grief in extremely distinct manners, when looking at Laertes in comparison to Hamlet you can swiftly see their great contrast to one another. Hamlet would rather create reason before madness; he is the type to use his brain before his fist. Whereas Laertes is always caught up in his anger that he sees no means to absolve the actions of others.
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.
He has the ability to perform tasks that may be unpleasant or dangerous. Laertes does not simply try to kill someone by thinking cautiously the whole time, but by directly confronting them and facing them head-on. When Laertes returns home to Denmark he even confronts Claudius about the death of his father. Swearing Laertes says “I dare damnation. To this point I stand,/That both the worlds I give to negligence,/Let come what comes, only I’ll be reveng’d/Most throughly for my father.” (IV. v. 133-136). With this declaration Laertes plots with Claudius to kill Hamlet and they construct a plan to have Laertes fence with Hamlet and for him to kill him. They instrument a plot of revenge for the death of Polonius, quickly coming up with three ways to kill Hamlet: stabbing him with an unblunted sword, placing poison on the sword, and poisoning Hamlet’s drink (IV. vii.). After they construct this plan they swiftly utilize the plan. Laertes did not wait for the perfect moment, at the perfect time, and at the perfect place. He created the place, time, and moment to carry out the dangerous task. Hamlet, however, waited and waited for what he thought one day would be the perfect moment in which he could kill his uncle. Even when Hamlet had an opportunity to kill Claudius, he talked himself out of it. When compared to Laertes, Hamlet is a coward because of his inability to
”(153) It becomes clear that the parallels presented throughout the play are there to further illuminate the flaws of Hamlet’s character. Laertes is a hot-headed man looking for revenge. His father was killed by Hamlet and his sister was driven insane due to the series of events that took place because of Hamlet. Like Hamlet, Laertes wants to avenge his father by killing the man who killed Polonius.