Similarities Between Ophelia And Fortinbras In Hamlet

Many authors use parallels to compare their characters to one another. The word “parallel” implies similarity, but more importantly, they help to point out differences. In Hamlet, William Shakespeare uses this literary device to show the audience several of Hamlet’s personality traits. The three foils to the character of Hamlet are Fortinbras, Laertes, and Ophelia. Since these four characters are in correlative situations, every reaction Hamlet has says something about his disposition. Many of the situations Hamlet finds himself in can be found in the lives of one of those characters. These parallels show that Hamlet is not a man of action, but also that he is intelligent and strong-willed.

Hamlet is not a man of action, which can be seen

through the parallels between him, Fortinbras, and Laertes. All three of them are in a similar situation: their fathers have been killed in some fashion and they seek revenge. Fortinbras and Laertes actively and violently look for vengeance. Fortinbras’s father was killed in a duel against the old king Hamlet. The prize for the victor was a plot of land, which Fortinbras wants “to recover of [Denmark] by strong hand” (1.1.102) in order to avenge his father. The father of Laertes is also killed; however, he is murdered unlawfully. When he finds out, Laertes has “a riotous head” (4.5.101) and nearly starts a rebellion in his outrage. Hamlet, on the other hand, goes through the most gruesome turn of events, yet he does very little. He suspects that Claudius has killed his father, but even when the ghost of the old king confirms this, the young prince still does nothing. He decides to investigate on his own, but when he discovers the ghost’s words to be true, he still takes no action. Hamlet even finds his uncle praying, with his back to him. This is the perfect opportunity to kill him, but he does not, claiming that he cannot “take him in the purging of his soul” (3.3.85). If Hamlet was a man of action like Fortinbras and Laertes, Claudius would have been dead in that moment. Instead, he prefers thinking to acting.
The way that Hamlet often justifies his lack of action is by thinking of a logical way out.

The parallels between Fortinbras , Laertes, and Hamlet demonstrate Hamlet’s intelligence. When their fathers are killed, Fortinbras and Laertes both rush to get revenge without thinking of the consequences. When the war Fortinbras wants to start with Denmark is subverted, he goes to war with Poland over “a little patch of ground [t]hat hath in it no profit but a name” (4.4.18-19). He is so blinded by a thirst for revenge that he rushes into an unnecessary war. Similarly, Laertes does not think about his actions when he starts a rebellion. He is the son of the king’s advisor, yet he tries to overthrow him before he even bothers to ask who really killed his father. On the contrary, Hamlet tries very hard to deduce the nature of his father’s death before he rushes into action. When the ghost approaches him, he asks it if it is a “spirit of health or goblin damned” (1.4.40). He is intelligent enough to know that he should not trust it, even if it tells him what he wants to hear. Upon hearing that his father was murdered by Claudius, he starts coming up with a cunning plan to “catch the conscience of the king” (2.2.617). These parallel situations show Hamlet’s intellect, which he uses to escape having to make unpleasant

choices.
Hamlet’s ability to think his way out of situations gives him a strong will.

This strong will is demonstrated clearly through the parallels between Ophelia and Hamlet. Both of them go through losing a father and a lover, and their reactions tell of their strength of mind. When Ophelia finds out about her father’s death, combined with the fact that he was murdered by her ex-lover, whom she is still in love with, she goes mad. When a gentleman tells that queen of her madness, he says her words “carry but half sense” (4.5.7). Not much later in the play, Ophelia kills herself. She falls from a tree into a river and “[t]o muddy death” (4.7.183). It is unclear whether this is an accident or on purpose, but it is clear either way that it was caused by her madness. On the other hand, Hamlet goes through the death of his father, loss of his lover, and more, yet he stays sane. In contrast to Ophelia, his madness is just for show. Even so, he is in emotional turmoil, and he tells the audience many times that he wants to kill himself. However, he always finds a reason to stay alive. The first time, it is because God has “fixed His canon ‘gainst self-slaughter” (1.2.131-132). Then it is because no one knows “what dreams may come” after death (3.1.66). When compared to Ophelia’s descent into madness, Hamlets will is much

stronger.
The parallels throughout this play demonstrate that Hamlet is not a man of action, but also they also show that he is intelligent and strong-willed. Many of the events which happen to Hamlet also happen to other characters in the play. The similar situation will usually fall on Fortinbras, Laertes, or Ophelia, or sometimes a combination of the three. These parallels point out many of Hamlet’s characteristics. Authors often use this literary device to pinpoint their characters’ traits.