Examples Of Foils In Romeo And Juliet

Character foils are important to any story or play as they compare and contrast character traits as the story unfolds. The use of character foils allows the audience to understand a characters way of thought and the actions that they take. Character foils show the moral behaviour and can help the audience see contradictory factors that help advance the plot. Although characters may seem similar, the use of character foils can show their differences. In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the use of character foils proves Fortinbras is a stronger political leader over Hamlet, the contrasting view of Laertes as a son in comparison to Hamlet and Horatio being thought of as the better man in contradiction to Hamlet.

In Act I, Scene IV, Romeo and friends are about to crash the party that the Capulets are hosting, but Romeo is still sad from the heartbreak he experienced with Rosaline. As a good friend would, Mercutio tries to look out for and convince Romeo that there are many fish in the sea. “You are a lover. Borrow Cupid’s wings and soar with them above a common bound.” This means that Romeo should try and fly to find someone else instead of Rosaline. As well as this, he gives advice to Romeo for getting over Rosaline and himself. “If love be rough with you, be rough with love. Prick love for pricking, and you beat love down.” This means that if love plays rough with you, you must play rough back. Once you prick love, you will get over your heartbreak and love. Thus, Mercutio looks out for Romeo’s best interests and gives him advice, which aligns him as a good friend to

Romeo is portrayed as an emotional and reckless character. His friend Mercutio and Fr. Lawrence comment on Romeo’s fickle attitude when he immediately falls in love with Juliet completely forgetting about Rosaline, his first love. Romeo quotes,” Did my heart love until now? Foreswear it sight, for I never saw true beauty until this night”. His love for Rosaline was superficial. Juliet transforms Romeo’s immature and erotic infatuation to true and constant love. After meeting Juliet he matures very quickly. Maybe Romeo’s love for Juliet is so intense because unlike Rosaline, Juliet reciprocates his

The relationship that Mercutio has with Romeo is sturdy in all areas except love. This opposition can clearly be seen when Montague talks about Romeo’s depression over Roseline. “And private in his chamber pens himself, shuts up his windows,

In Hamlet, Shakespeare uses foils to enhance the characters namely to enhance Hamlet. A foil is a minor character who with their similarities and differences reveals character traits, that of another character opposite to them. The character may also be put in place by the author to give the main character a person to talk to, through this conversation useful information can be received about either the main character or the plot in general. This can be shown through Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, also the Ghost of King Hamlet, Ophelia, and Laertes.

Nurse and Lady Capulet Foils A foil is a literary element utilized in Shakespeare’s famous plays, such as Romeo and Juliet. A foil is used to put emphasis on stark contrasts in two characters. One of the most prominent foils featured in Romeo and Juliet is Lady Capulet and the Nurse.

He sees it as nothing deeper than the skin and he takes it as a joke. Shakespeare gave Mercutio these character traits in order to represent how most men in the Elizabethan Era saw love. The men seeing the play could relate to Mercutio in his actions and understand that there are other ways of going about things. “You are a lover. Borrow cupid's wings | And soar with them above a common bound” (Act 1 Scene 4 Lines 17 and 18). Here, Mercutio is being sarcastic with Romeo. Romeo feels that he is too heartbroken over Rosaline to go to the party, and Mercutio is mocking him for it. He does not see love as anything greater than physical need. “Throughout lovers’ brains, and then they dream of love” (Act 1 Scene 4 Line 76). Mercutio believes that love is brought on by a fairy called Queen Mab that goes into people's heads as they sleep. Mercutio does not believe in emotional love, simply a physical feeling. Mercutio’s view on love had no attachment, similarly to how men in Shakespeare's time period

In Hamlet, the main character tries to get revenge on his father’s death by plotting the murder of Claudius, but it is his indecisiveness that leads to many problems. He is supported or opposed by characters who are considered foils to him. A foil is when a main character is compared to another character to better reveal the characteristics of the main character, as well as his intentions and motivations. There are many characters who can be considered foils to Hamlet. However, the characters that truly stand as foils to the protagonist are Laertes, Fortinbras, and Claudius. Hamlet and his foils are all put in a similar situation, but it is how they react and deal with their issues that makes them distinct from Hamlet.

They have made worms meat of me,” (3.1, 68-69). This quote exemplifies that although Mercutio is neither a Montague nor a Capulet he still dies in a battle fought between the families. This incident heightens Romeo’s fatal flaw, as his reckless act of heroism turned out to be a burden as it caused the death of Mercutio. Moreover, Mercutio’s plague towards the families also foreshadows further tragedy, as Romeo then gets banished from the Verona, along with additional events which later on result to his death. Last, even after his death, Mercutio acts as a foil character to Romeo by causing a shift in Romeo’s gentle character. For example, after Tybalt slays Mercutio, Romeo avenges his friend by killing Tybalt. This act shows his alteration in character, as he was never seen as a ferocious character in any previous scenes. This is evident in the play when Romeo says, “Away to Heaven, respective lenity, and fire-eyed fury be my conduct now,” (3.1, 125-126). This quote exemplifies Romeo’s new perception, as he claims he is finished with sympathy and gentleness. This change in Romeo’s personality is significant because not only is he going to attack Tybalt, but also he is going to kill him, which then entitles him a murderer. This is significant because it further leads to his banishment, which in all leads to his death. The transition in the persona of Romeo is highlighted by the character Mercutio, which leads to the

This results in Romeo’s fate to be darkened. Second, Mercutio shows how Romeo is constantly dreaming. Mercutio’s realism contrasts Romeo’s head in the clouds. This is revealed when Mercutio says “True, I talk of dreams, which [is] the [child] of an [inactive] brain,” (1.4, 96-97). This quote exemplifies that dreaming cannot be a portent, and that it can change just like the wind. This also shows that Mercutio has a flamboyant imagination, while demonstrating his mocking side. This quote also acts as foreshadowing in which shows that if Romeo keeps his head in the clouds he will make mistakes in life, such as him quickly marring Juliet. Moreover, this quote reveals that Mercutio is an important foil character because his view on love contrasts that of Romeo. Mercutio’s view on love is that it is futile, however Romeo thinks of it as a key component to life. Mercutio’s mocking of the hopeless love, makes Romeo’s view look stronger and more passionate. Third, Mercutio shows how serious Romeo is. Mercutio always talks in a witting and light-hearted way, in which contrasts to Romeo’s seriousness. Mercutio always uses clever wordplay and puns to mock people and bring comic relief into the play. This is emphasized when Mercutio says “And but one word with one of us? ... Make it a word and a blow,” (3.1, 40-41). This quote illustrates the comedy that Mercutio brings. At the edgy moment when Tybalt was about to fight, Mercutio still made a mockery of him.

A foil is a minor character that helps the audience better understand a major character. A foil may exist as a comparison character, with similarities between the two, as well as differences that bring to light an important contrast between the foil and the main character. A foil may also just be someone for the main character to talk to, so we can know and understand their thoughts and feelings. Foils help us understand the obvious as well as the arcane. In the classic tragedy Hamlet, we see William Shakespeare employ foils to illustrate both examples. They become important literary tools that help the reader rationalize the concurrent theme of the play -

In William Shakespeare’s works, there are multiple instances of the protagonist’s key traits that are evidently seen in the behavior of another character. A foil is a character that contrasts with another character, usually to highlight particular qualities of a protagonist. A foil is sometimes completely different from the protagonist, or a foil can share some similarities, yet they would have a key difference from the protagonist. The differences act to emphasize a certain characteristic in a protagonist, revealing to the reader what kind of person he/she is. Several foils to the protagonist can be found in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet: Claudius, Fortinbras, Laertes and Polonius. They are vastly different characters, but they act as foils

William Shakespeare is known for being a marvelous playwright. This is because he used advanced techniques, such as character foil. A well known example of this is in his play, Much Ado About Nothing. The play is of one unlikely love story and another that has an unlikely ending. One main character foil shown in the play would be Claudio and Benedick. This character foil illuminates the story because even though they both change their view on love, they never see eye to eye. Benedick brings out Claudio’s at first lovingness to someone who gives up on love and Benedick from a shallow man that doesn’t care about woman to a caring person who cares about others.

In literature, there is a diversification of names for different individuals who execute a part in the different types of works. The name foil character is used to define a personage who is the pure paradoxical image of another, usually the protagonist. A foil character may be used to accentuate the characteristics and traits of another persona in the piece. In the play, Oedipus The King by Sophocles, there is a foil character that contravenes the main character. Oedipus, king of Thebes, does not share the persistence that ultimately leads him to his foreordination with Creon, who is rather more unflappable. Oedipus is tenacious, ambitious, and temperamental. He did not think twice of letting his hubris get the best of him and heckle poor Teiresias. Creon, in the other hand,

Act 1 scene 4 of Romeo and Juliet starts with Romeo, Mercutio, Benvolio, and other members of the Montague household. The Montague men are venturing to Capulet’s house for the formal dinner they were invited to by the illiterate servant, Peter. Despite of Benvolio’s constant encouragement, Romeo is still in a gloomy mood because of his love life and refuses to participate in the party’s happening. When the men insist that Romeo dance at the party, Romeo he states that “I have soles of lead so stakes me to the ground I cannot move.” (pg. 48). This scene introduces us to Mercutio who is Romeo’s best friend. Mercutio’s witty personality is highlighted multiple times during scene including when his response to Romeo’s refusal to dance, “You are