Another one of Shakespeare’s plays, Henry IV, contains several examples of foils for multiple characters. One example is Prince Hal. He is the Prince of Wales and heir to the British throne though this isn’t made obvious by his behavior at the beginning of the play as Hal. In our first encounters with Hal, he is at his apartment in London and a sleazy tavern in Eastcheap, where he parties with his drinking buddies, plans a robbery, and takes every opportunity to stick it to authority. He has become a pain for his father, King Henry IV, who worries about Hal's serious shortage of propriety and questions what will happen to his kingdom when his wild son gets ahold of the crown. Prince Hal acts as a foil to his own character of Prince Harry in …show more content…
the play by establishing a reputation as a wild child with a penchant for hanging out with criminals and commoners. As stated by Hal, his plan is to establish low expectations in the minds of his future subjects and his father: So when this loose behavior I throw off And pay the debt I never promised, By how much better than my word I am, By so much shall I falsify men’s hopes; And like bright metal on a sullen ground, My reformation, glitt’ring o’er my fault, Shall show more goodly and attract more eyes Than that which hath no foil to set it off.
I’ll so offend to make offence a skill, Redeeming time when men think least I will. (1.3.186-195) When Hal later defeats Hotspur in battle and saves his father's life, he redeems his reputation, shocks the kingdom, and establishes himself as one fit to be a ruler. It can be said that Harry Percy, or Hotspur, and Prince Hal act as foils of one another. Hotspur is the son of the Earl of Northumberland and leads the rebellion against King Henry IV. He is a daring and spirited young leader with a hot temper. He is inarguably an honorable character who stands in sharp contrast to the more apathetic Hal. This is especially true in scenes where King Henry unfavorably compares his son to the noble young Hotspur: In envy that my Lord Northumberland Should be the father to so blest a son— A son who is the theme of honour’s tongue, Amongst a grove the very straightest plant, Who is sweet Fortune’s minion and her pride— Whilst I, by looking on the praise of him See riot and dishonor stain the …show more content…
brow Of my young Harry. O, that it could be proved That some night-tripping fairy had exchanged In cradle clothes our children where they lay, And called mine Percy, his Plantagenet! (1.1.78-88) While Hotspur is praised for being the "theme of honour's tongue," Prince Hal is said to have the "stain" of "dishonour" on his "brow," and Shakespeare makes a great effort in establishing this sense of rivalry throughout the play.
Hal shows his perceptiveness when he recognizes the strength his rival character possesses: "I do not think a braver gentleman, more active-violent or more valiant-young, more daring or more bold, is now alive to grace this latter age with noble deeds" (5.1.89-92). He also accurately distinguishes Hotspur's tragic flaw; although Hotspur is exceedingly noble and complex, he does not have the ability to live in the real world of his time, which Hal describes as "the vilest earth"
(5.4.90). Another foil of Hotspur is Falstaff, an old, fat, shamed knight and Prince Hal's Eastcheap buddy. Despite his technical knight status, Falstaff’s lifestyle clearly renders him incompatible with the ideals of courtly chivalry that one typically associates with the knighthood. For instance, Falstaff is willing to commit robbery for the money and entertainment of it. He also enjoys eating, drinking, trash-talking, and taking naps in between. As Falstaff himself notes at some length, honor is useless to him: “Can honour set-to a leg? No. Or an arm? No. Or take away the grief of a wound? No. . . . What is honour? A word” (5.1.130–133). He considers honor to be a mere word, a concept that has no real significance to practical matters. This contrasts greatly to Hotspur’s character, as he is actually referenced to by King Henry the first time we even hear the word “honour” in the play: The Earl of Douglas is discomfited; Ten thousand bold Scots, two-and-twenty knights, Balked in their own blood, did Sir Walter see On Holmedon's plains. Of prisoners Hotspur took Mordake, the Earl of Fife and eldest son To beaten Douglas, and the Earl of Athol, Of Murray, Angus, and Menteith. And is not this an honorable spoil? A gallant prize? Ha, cousin, is it not? (1.1.67-75) Falstaff’s boisterous, immoral, and gutless behavior pretty clearly acts as a foil to Hotspur’s character, whose upright actions, besides the rebelling against the king issue, and courage on the battlefield offer the perfect model for gallantry and honor. Foil characters move the story, providing rivals and opposing characters for the protagonists or other important characters to have to deal with alongside the initial problem introduced within the story. The author of the work is able to enhance the tension, which always seems to make for a more enjoyable storyline. A foil character has become an important incorporation into Shakespeare’s plays, as he has shown in much of his work including Hamlet and Henry IV.
Hal’s remark to his father indicates a now strong, independent mind, predicting that Douglas and Hotspur will not accept Henry’s offer because of their love for fighting. Henry’s reply in turn indicates a change in attitude towards his son, a newfound respect. Acknowledging Hal’s prediction, the king orders preparations to begin, and we see he has his own set of solid moral values: knowing that their ‘cause is just’ helps him to reconcile with his highly honourable conscience that there is indeed cause for war. Still maintained is the conflict between the very format of the text, with Hal and Henry’s conversation held in formal verse typical of the court world, in which Hal is now firmly embedded. Falstaff, however, sustains his equally typical prose speech, which indicates to the audience the enduring division between the court and tavern worlds.
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.
Prince Hal is initially portrayed as being incapable of princely responsibilities in light of his drinking, robbery and trickery. Yet, Shakespeare reveals that Hal is in fact only constructing this false impression for the purpose of deceit. Prince Hal’s manipulative nature is evident in his first soliloquy, when he professes his intention to “imitate the sun” and “break through the foul and ugly mists”. The ‘sun’ Prince Hal seeks to ‘imitate’ can in this case be understood as his true capacity, as opposed to the false impression of his incapacity, which is symbolised by the ‘foul and ugly mists’. The differentiation of Hal’s capacity into two categories of that which is false and that which is true reveals the duplicity of his character. Moreover, Hal is further shown to be manipulative in the same soliloquy by explaining his tactic of using the “foil” of a lowly reputation against his true capacity to “attract more eyes” and “show more goodly”. The diction of “eyes” symbolically represents public deception, concluding political actions are based on strategy. It is through representation and textual form that we obtain insight into this
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.
If you have the Harry Potter series, or almost any other story you have been introduced to this literary device that instantly makes your story attention-grabbing, and page-turning. This writing tool is known as a character foil. A character foil is a character that displays contrary, or opposite character traits. An example of a character foil is Draco Malfoy, and Harry Potter. Their rival relationship and other conflicts are the perfect example to showcase foils at work. To continue, in the iconic “Romeo and Juliet” written by William Shakespeare, there are two known character foils in the first Act: Benvolio and Tybalt, and the Nurse and Lady Capulet.
A foil is a character who serves as a contrast to another character. Writers often use foils to emphasize differences and traits of characters. Such an author would be William Shakespeare, author to many plays, including “The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet”. William Shakespeare uses foiling to emphasize one of the main character’s traits and differences. This “ foiling” relationship is between the main character Romeo and Paris.
Hal isn’t as interested in gaining honor for its own sake as he is in forcing Hotspur to render up all of his. This scene displays how Hal is honorable for himself and for himself only.
Hamlet by William Shakespeare is a well known play. Shakespeare uses foils in Hamlet to further create and explain Hamlet’s character. Foils are created in a play to help the audience better understand a major character by giving the character someone to talk to and compare the major character to. [Using the definition as the thesis was not a good idea in this paper. The assignment said not in the first paragraph, i.e., the paper was to be about how foils affect the meaning of this 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.
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.
In act 2 Scene 2 Shakespeare shows Henry as cunning, when he cleverly manages to catch Scroop, Cambridge and Gray trying to plot treason against him.
The relationship between a father and his son is an important theme in Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part One, as it relates to the two main characters of the play, Prince Hal and Hotspur. These two characters, considered as youths and future rulers to the reader, are exposed to father-figures whose actions will influence their actions in later years. Both characters have two such father-figures; Henry IV and Falstaff for Prince Hal, and the Earl of Northumberland and the Earl of Worcester for Hotspur. Both father-figures for Hal and Hotspur have obvious good and bad connotations in their influence on the character. For example, Falstaff, in his drinking and reveling, is clearly a poor influence for a future ruler such as Prince Hal, and Worcester, who shares Hotspur's temper, encourages Hotspur to make rash decisions. The entire plot of the play is based on which father-figure these characters choose to follow: had they chosen the other, the outcome would have been wholly different.
In order for one to keep their political status and please their country, there are some qualities, traits and skills required. For some, political skills may be a natural or intuitive trait. For others, it feels uncomfortable and takes excessive effort. In either case, political skills must be practiced and honed in order to recap its benefits. For instance, one may naturally possess skills such as listening to others, communicating and commitment. On the other hand, one may not possess those skills and it may require excessive effort to possess those skills. Prince Hal realizes that he must learn to possess these characteristics if he wants to be a successful king. Henry IV, Part 1 by Shakespeare deals with the struggle of King Henry IV to maintain his control of the English throne which he usurped from Richard II. The play deals with the conflict between King Henry IV and his son, Prince Harry, and their tense relationship. King Henry is the ruling king of England. He is worn down by worries and guilty feelings about having won his throne through a civil war. Hal, the Prince of Wales who demonstrates his ability to manipulate others to complete his selfish goals. Hal is an effective leader because unlike his father, his mastery of language shows that he will be a virtuous ruler, able to understand lower and upper class and manipulate them to believe his words.
Hal understands that those of high birth have a greater responsibility to be honorable. The jealousy that comes with the persistent protection of one’s honor is a characteristic seen in almost every noble figure, but Hal’s attitude toward honor is different than those around him- especially Hotspur. Unlike Hotspur, who serves the code of honor, Hal intends to abuse it by postponing his acquisition of honor so that when he eventually attains it his reputation will seem greater than it would’ve originally.
One of the most famous scenes in Henry IV: Part I is the scene in which Prince Hal and Falstaff put on a play extempore. This is often cited as the most famous scene because it is Hal’s turning point in the play. However, the scene is much more than that. The play extempore is a moment of prophecy, not epiphany because is cues the reader in to the play’s major themes, and allows readers to explore the possibilities of the play’s continuance.