How Does Claudius Manipulate Laertes In Act 5.220-End

Laertes loses his family because of Hamlet’s actions. His father is killed by him and his sister kills herself because of her grief. Laertes and King Claudius begin to plot Hamlet’s murder, planning to poison him, by drink or wound, whichever comes first. However, the plan backfires on the both of them and Laertes dies from his own blade, but not before saying “The King, the King’s to blame.”

    In Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, the characters of Laertes and Hamlet both display impulsive reactions when angered. Once Laertes discovers his father has been murdered, he immediately assumes the slayer is Claudius. As a result of Laertes' speculation, he instinctively moves to avenge Polonius' death. "To hell, allegiance! Vows, to the blackest devil! Conscience and grace, to the profoundest pit! I dare damnation: to this point I stand, that both worlds I give to negligence, let come what comes; only I'll be revenged most thoroughly for my father." Act 4 Scene 5 lines 128-134 provide insight into Laertes' mind, displaying his desire for revenge at any cost.

This quote from Claudius to Laertes is situationally ironic because Claudius tells Laertes that revenge should not have any limits, even though it might be in a church. However, as shown in Claudius’ prayer scene in Act III, Claudius was on the verge to be killed by Hamlet, but Hamlet decides to restrain himself from his revenge since Claudius was in a church facility praying. The audience is aware of the fact that Claudius’ life was saved because of the very place Claudius was in, however, it is ironic since Claudius is telling Laertes that revenge has no place to filter.

To begin with, Laertes is the most similar foil to Hamlet when it comes to circumstance and rage. They both want revenge for their father’s death, though their method of revenge are different. Laertes is a man of action and wants to get revenge right away after learning that his father Polonius has been killed. In contrast to Laertes, Hamlet does not even make public knowledge of his father’s murder. Laertes doesn’t procrastinate his attempt at revenge like Hamlet. However, he is very shallow and Hamlet is a genius in comparison. Hamlet thinks of ways to plan his revenge against Claudius, though it is his tendency to overthink that leads him to his tragic flaw. He himself realizes that Laertes is put in a similar position to himself. “I’ll be your foil, Laertes: in mine ignorance your skill shall, like a star i’ the darkest night, Stick fiery off indeed” (V.ii.5-7). Rage is another emotion the characters have in common. When Laertes learns of his father’s death, he gets enraged and wants to get revenge instantly. "To hell, allegiance! Vows, to the blackest devil! Conscience and grace, to the profoundest pit! I dare damnation: to this point I stand, that both worlds I give to negligence, let come what comes; only I'll be revenged most thoroughly for my father." (Act 4 Scene 5 lines 128-134). Laertes says to Claudius that he will honor his father when he says that he was “in deed his father’s son more than in words” and that he will kill Hamlet. “To cut his throat i’

He shows in the soliloquy that he has done wrong and he feels now after that the guilt that he is witnessing is stronger than the reason for killing his brother. He feels terrible about the death of his brother but he must continue with his plan to obtain the power instead of allowing Hamlet to have it. He manipulates Laertes, who Claudius has turned against Hamlet, to help in Hamlets murder. He coaxes Laertes to have a duel with Hamlet so that Hamlet will be killed, Laertes asks “to cut his throat i’th’ the church” (4.7.123).

Laertes does not think about his actions or reason through them as Hamlet does, but reacts indecisively and quickly to his father’s death with no concern for the results. For instance, when Laertes finds out about his father’s death, when he barges into the castle Elsinore, and demands to see the king, when Claudius convinces Laertes that he did not kill Polonius, answering Claudius’ question whether Laertes would kill even a friend to avenge his father, Laertes answers, “None but his enemies.” (IV, v, 165) The fact that Laertes would kill his own friend to avenge his father shows that he does not care for the consequences that would follow murdering your friend. He is hot headed and does not stop to think, so he does not realize he is being manipulated. Another instance, following the discussion between Claudius and Laertes aforementioned, Claudius starts to flatter Laertes into killing Hamlet for him, as Claudius questions Laertes commitment to avenging his father, Laertes declares, “ To cut his throat i’ th’ church.” (IV, vii, 144) Laertes confesses with this line that he does not believe in the consequences of the after life. He has no regards for the eternal condemnation that taking a life results in.

While Laertes is an individual who demands revenge immediately, Hamlet on the other hand is a prince with morals. In Act 5 scene 2, lines 81-84, “ That to Laertes I forgot myself, / For by the image of my cause I see / The portraiture of his. I’ll court his favors. / But sure the bravery of his grief did put me / into a towering passion.” This quotation explains how Hamlet comes to a realization that he feels sorry for the way he acted because they both are in the same scenario. But unlike Hamlet, Laertes accepts the frustration to build up which causes him to have a bigger urge to avenge his father's

Laertes acts as a foil for Hamlet and develops Hamlet’s character in many ways seen by the audience; Laertes character develops Hamlet’s intelligence. When Laertes comes back to Denmark to get revenge for his father’s death, Claudius easily manipulates him. “To thine own peace. If he be now return'd, As checking at his voyage, and that he means no more to undertake it, I will work him to an exploit, now ripe in my device, under the which he shall not choose but fall. And for his death no wind of blame shall breathe, but even his mother shall un charge the practice and call it accident.” (Act IV Scene VII, Lines 60-70) Claudius comes up with a plan to kill Hamlet without having to be the murderer; therefore it is Laertes that will look guilty

Though this quote is not lengthy, or poetic, it is very influential in its placement in the play. It is at a key time for Claudius, he has to get Laertes on his side, and by not mincing words he is able to trick Laertes into playing for his team. He is able to coerce Laertes into helping him because Laertes, like Hamlet, is looking for

Act 4 Scenes 7. Gertrude enters the room running and panting. Gertrude: “What bad luck do we have, that has one bad news after the other, following each other very quickly!

Since Hamlet is directly responsibility for the death of Polonius, with the encouragement of King Claudius, Laertes sets his mind on “accidentally” killing Hamlet. Little would he know that being a man of action results his own death. On the other hand, although Hamlet and Laertes are liked by the people by Denmark, they want the latter to be king. Additionally, it is revealed in the play that Hamlet has been envious of Laertes’ swordsmanship, as evidenced when King Claudius reveals, “.... He made confession of you/ And gave you such a masterly report/

When Laertes first bursts into the castle, emotions everywhere are high, however Claudius greets Laertes calmly, allowing him to speak his rage. Insecurity and anger often go hand-in-hand, and in his emotionally unstable state Claudius easily changes Laertes’ heart by crediting himself to be “most sensibly in grief for [Laertes’ father’s death]” (Shakespeare 4.5.149). By creating this morally right version of himself in Laertes’ mind,

Hamlet is trying to kill Claudius. Claudius has already taken a step forward by putting Laertes against Hamlet. "To thine own peace. If he be now returned, As checking at his voyage, and that he means No more to undertake it, I will work him To an exploit, now ripe in my devise, Under the which he shall not choose but fall. And for his death no wind of blame shall breathe, But even his mother shall uncharge the practice And call it accident." Laertes wrath towards  Hamlet is as much rage he has towards Claudius. Claudius already knows what is coming towards him, which is why he is using Laertes. Laertes believes that Claudius is being impartial that is why it's an ideal disarray for Hamlet. Hamlet has two powerful enemies on him and it makes it complicated to get justice on Claudius. It's not going to be easy for neither of the rivals.

Laertes serves a foil to Hamlet, although they are not similar in birth, they are similar in that they both have a dear father murdered. Using this parallel, Shakespeare uses Laertes to show what Hamlet should be doing, contrasting Laertes’s words of action to Hamlet’s own words of action. We see this most clearly when Laertes is talking with Claudius and he says that he will “cut [Hamlet’s] throat i' th' church” to avenge his father, this contrasts directly with Hamlet who decides not to kill a praying Claudius when he has the chance (4.7.144). Laertes also serves as external conflict as he challenges Hamlet to a fight and is convinced by Claudius to kill Hamlet with a poisoned sword. Without this fight, who knows if Hamlet would have gotten around to kill Claudius? But when we really look at Laertes’ words and consequent action, we see another similarity with Hamlet, both are rash and passionate. This is significant because

Towards the beginning of Hamlet Laertes is leaving Denmark to make his place in the world. At the beginning of the play, Polonius speaks to his son and gives him advice because he knows his son's character very well. Famously Polonius tells his boy, "This above all: to thine own self be true" (I. iii. 78). He is told to do what he feels to be right, indicating that if he listens and thinks then maybe he will not err in his actions. Laertes is hot-headed and quick to act, rash behaviors which his father worries will get him into trouble. Physically, no description of Laertes is given, but he is usually played by an