It is often said that characters who are in constant conflict are different in nature. Although this is often true, it does not apply to William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, as characters who are very similar to each other are also involved in constant conflict. While some may argue that Hamlet and Laertes have distinct differences, it is evident that there are noticeable similarities between them. These similarities are evident when looking at their deep love for Ophelia, their desire to leave Denmark, and their domineering attitude towards females throughout the play.
Some may argue that Hamlet and Laertes are nothing alike, pointing to the different lengths of time they take to act. After Hamlet sees the ghost for the first time and discovers that his father was murdered, he says "haste me to know 't; that I, with wings as swift as meditation or the thoughts of love, may sweep to my revenge" (1.5.29-31). Hamlet wants the ghost to hurry and tell him what happened, so that he may take his revenge right away. This suggests that Hamlet is determined to kill Claudius as soon as he can, but weeks later when Hamlet watches the play in the castle, Hamlet thinks “yet I, a dull and muddy-mettled rascal, peak, like John-a-dreams, unpregnant of my cause” (2.2.562-564). Earlier, Hamlet seemed determined to take action, but is now dull-spirited and without any plans for revenge. Laertes, on the other hand, is willing to take action right away. After discovering that his father, Polonius, has been murdered, Laertes rushes to
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When Hamlet firsts sees Rosencrantz and Guildenstern for the first time since school, Hamlet asks them “what have you […] deserved at the hands of Fortune, that she sends you to prison hither?” (2.2.239-241). Hamlet considers Denmark to be a prison with “many confines, wards, and dungeons” (2.2.245-246). Hamlet clearly does not have much respect for Denmark as he is comparing it to a
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.
...e story. Indeed, if Hamlet acts quickly, there would be only one act of Hamlet. Laertes, upon hearing of his father’s demise wants swift and fervent justice. Although he is the more impassioned of the two, it is this incisiveness that leads to Laertes’ demise. He allows himself to be manipulated, enamored by the king’s rhetoric. Laertes, suddenly realizing the plot at hand, repents for his killing of Hamlet, true to his character even in the face of death. Hamlet seeks to blame his "madness" for the death of Polonius, and never admits fault for the fate of his schoolmates.
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.
Although similar in age, class and ambition to destroy their fathers killers, Hamlet, Laertes and Fortinbras each have characteristics that make them different from each other and show how each acted unlike the others when carrying out their plans. Hamlet seems to be the one who lets things dwell in his mind before taking any action or making an attempt at trying to get on with things. He shows this after the death of his father when he remains in morning and a depressed state for three months without trying to get on with his life. Laertes seems to be the more quick minded of the three as he makes hasty judgements about Hamlet and is quick to force his opinion upon his sister, Ophelia about his fears for her if she stays in the relationship. “For Hamlet and the trifling of his favor, hold it a fashion and a toy in blood, a violet in the youth of primy nature, forward, not permanent, sweet, not lasting, the perfume and suppliance of a minute—No more.
In the play, Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, the titular character of Hamlet’s character traits and characteristics are emphasized by the other characters within the play that act as a foil to him. One of Hamlet’s most prominent foils is Laertes, the son of Polymious, whom Hamlet has killed, and the brother of Ophelia, Hamlet’s love interest throughout the story. Laertes’ position as a foil to Hamlet means that as the audience begins to understand how Laertes’ would respond to the situations he is presented with; they can reevaluate how they perceive Hamlet and the actions he chooses to take. Hamlet and Laertes both respond to their grief, with differing approaches to revenge with one favoring violence and another favoring deep planning,
Acting and thinking about acting are very different; in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Laertes and Hamlet are complete opposites when it comes to the matter. Inadvertently, Laertes is a literary foil to Hamlet, acting brashly and boldly when need be. It seems to stutter Hamlet’s conscience when Laertes is quarrelsome in regards to the death of his father and sister. Laertes is the cause of Hamlets dismay, Laertes’ anger is what drives Hamlet to finally do something and act, to kill and acquire revenge, equal revenge.
"Laertes is a mirror to Hamlet. Shakespeare has made them similar in many aspects to provide a greater base for comparison when avenging their respective fathers' deaths" (Nardo, 90). Both Hamlet and Laertes love Ophelia in different ways. Hamlet wishes Ophelia to become his wife, Laertes loves Ophelia as a sister. Hamlet is a scholar at Wittenberg; Laertes is also a scholar at France. Both were brought up under this royal family of Denmark. And both are admired for their swordsmenship. But most important of all, both of them loved and respected their fathers greatly, and showed great devotion when plotting to avenge their fathers' deaths.
It’s an ultimate tragedy in which Hamlet and Laertes never took advantage of their similarities to combine their skills and rule the monarchial kingdom together. Despite their differences, they both were images of each other from the very start as their families displayed similar characteristics. They triggered the same intensity of emotions after learning of their fathers and have the same motives steering them for vengeance. Moreover, their love for Ophelia remained unconditional, despite the decision she made. Although they both couldn’t be there when she was suffering, Hamlet and Laertes fought with each other to prove the amount of love they had towards her. Getting closer to the resolution, the duel between the two of them is where they
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.
Claudius instructs Laertes to kill Hamlet and further states, “And for his death no wind of blame shall breathe, But even his mother shall uncharge the practice And call it accident” (4.7.73-75). Laertes follows Claudius’ instructions and prepares for the fencing match. Claudius is thrilled; Hamlet will die a slow death to the sword and it will be Laertes who kills him. No blood on Claudius’ hands and his secret will be safe from the people of Denmark. Throughout Act V, Scene II Laertes is performing the kings dirty work without realizing until it's too late. After the fencing match takes a turn for the worse Laertes and Hamlet both fall with a sword to the chest. However, Hamlet stabs Claudius ending his reign as king of Denmark. Realizing the sick truth to Claudius, Laertes proudly says, “Exchange forgiveness with me, noble Hamlet. Mine and my father’s death come not upon thee, Nor thine on me!” (5.2.350-352). Through it all, Claudius the mastermind, used Laertes anger to kill Hamlet to his own sword and also kill Laertes all in one
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
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. As described earlier, Hamlet is slow to act. Laertes, on the other hand, acts quickly and with precision, wasting no time in acquiring his target and formulating a plan. Robert Palfrey Utter, Jr., puts it best, Hamlet and Laertes both come to the same conclusion that murder must be carried out, but Hamlet reaches that conclusion only “after he has had a few minutes to think it over.” (140) Once Laertes finds out that the man who killed his father was Hamlet he is ready to charge in and kill him as soon as possible. He is only stopped by Claudius, who advises him on a more subtle approach. Straight off the bat it is clear how efficient Laertes is compared to Hamlet. Hamlet wastes a large amount of time scheming up complex ideas on how to get a confession out of Claudius and how to kill him. Laertes on the other hand wastes no time in getting a straight and to the point plan that he can execute immediately. After spending more than half the play watching Hamlet squirm around on the stage getting almost nothing accomplished, the audience would be acutely aware of the stark difference between Hamlet and Laertes even though they share the same motivations. Laertes has his speed but he shares in Hamlets lack of critical thinking when he gets hot headed. He is in such a blind rage that he doesn’t think on what he is agreeing to do with Claudius. Just like Hamlet, his brash actions cost those around him his life. In carrying out the plan, the King, the Queen, Hamlet, and he all die to the poison that was used in the duel. Hamlet was slow and reckless while Laertes was quick and reckless. Wilds sums up the relationship between Hamlet and Laertes perfectly, “Laertes and Hamlet have been foils to each other
Hamlet is the epitome of indecisiveness and inconsistency. For example, the depth of Hamlet’s love for Ophelia varies drastically throughout the play. First he tells Ophelia that he once loved her, but in the same speech proclaims that he did not (3.1.100-161). When at her funeral, Hamlet fights Ophelia’s brother Laertes, and says to him,“I loved Ophelia. Forty thousand brothers / Could not with all their quantity of love / Make up my sum,” yet he does not grieve again for the remainder of the play (5.1.280-82). In contrast, Horatio remains a loyal friend to Hamlet and logical character throughout the play, never wavering in his support, love, and concern for Hamlet. Horatio’s stability as a character highlights Hamlet’s instability because he is a “normal” person with which the audience can compare to
This conflict makes Laertes a foil also. Laertes and Hamlet were similar, in that both of their fathers had been killed. They were both looking to revenge the murders. Both men loved their families and were loyal to them, as shown by their need for revenge. Also, at the end of the play, before Hamlet dies, they both know that Claudius has killed the king. [What evidence is there that Laertes knew that Claudius killed his brother?] Hamlet differed from Laertes in that he did much plotting and scheming to seek his revenge. He almost drove himself mad plotting revenge. [You need a transition here.] Hamlet wanted Claudius dead and purposely killed him without any regret. Although Laertes' plan was simple, and he killed Hamlet, he regretted it in the end. The most important difference here was Laertes lived while Hamlet died. [Ouch! Laertes doesn't live.]
Comparing Laertes and Hamlet Laertes and Hamlet both display impulsive reactions when angered. Once Laertes discovers his father has been murdered Laertes immediately assumes the slayer is Claudius. As a result of Laertes's speculation he instinctively moves to avenge Polonius's death. " To hell, allegiance!