Essay about Horatio and Laertes as Foils in Hamlet

In the 1990 version of Hamlet starring Mel Gibson, Laertes is portrayed in a very poor light. He seems to have no redeeming qualities whatsoever. At certain points during the written play, Laertes's actions may be taken entirely differently than they are conveyed in the movie. In the film version of Hamlet, all of Laertes's negative aspects are much more pronounced.

It is without doubt that William Shakespeare has created many unique, thought - provoking characters. Hamlet is by far Shakespeare's most compelling character. In Shakespeare's play Hamlet, various character traits, exhibited by Hamlet, can be seen through his foils. Similarities with Hamlet and Horatio's education, as well as their levels, can be drawn. However, Hamlet's character is in constant change and even philosophical. Fortinbras, without question encompasses many of Hamlet's qualities. They are both born with nobility, along with a similar lineage. However, Fortinbras is more aggressive and even sneaky. Laertes, Hamlet's late antagonist, is both impulsive and righteous. However, they differ in terms of their nobility, as well as

William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Hamlet relays Hamlet’s quest to avenge the murder of his father, the king of Denmark. The late King Hamlet was murdered by his brother, Claudius, who took the throne and Hamlet’s mother Gertrude for himself. Hamlet is beseeched by the ghost of his father to take vengeance upon Claudius; while he swears to do so, the prince inexplicably delays killing Claudius for months on end. Hamlet’s feeble attempt to first confirm his uncle’s guilt with a play that recounts the murder and his botched excuses for not killing Claudius when the opportunity arises serve as testimony to Hamlet’s true self. Hamlet is riddled with doubt towards the validity of the ghost and his own ability to carry out the act necessary to

Michael Peterson Mr. Rathez English 1 23 November 2015 You may think foil is just that shiny tin used to wrap food or is useless and prefer saran wrap, but Foil as a character is an important aspect to a good story. A Foil character usually is one that contrasts with another character in order to highlight particular qualities of the other character, which in a way makes that character shine. In some cases, even a subplot can be used as a foil to the main plot. Arthur Brook wrote an essay which Shakespeare rewrote into a classic play called Romeo and Juliet.

A foil is a minor character in a literary work that compliments the main character through similarities and differences in personality and plot. In William Shakespeare's play "Hamlet", the main character, Hamlet, has three major foils. These foils are his close friend Horatio, Fortinbras, Prince of Norway, and the brother of his love, Laertes. These three characters contradict and enhance Hamlet's major characteristics.

Hamlet is a play by William Shakespeare that follows Hamlet as his father is murdered by his uncle Claudius, who marries Hamlet’s mother and claims the throne. Hamlet takes a very deliberate and pensive approach to gaining revenge. In this slow process, he accidentally murders Polonius, thinking him to be the King eavesdropping. This leads to the wrath of Laertes, who takes a very different approach to revenge. Through Laertes’ foil of Hamlet, the futility of passionate revenge is revealed.

In William Shakespeare’s, Hamlet, the play is a Renaissance tragedy in Denmark about revenge and cultural identity for Hamlet by the duty of his father and the duties to his society. Hamlet’s father was murdered and Hamlet has been visited by his father’s ghost. The ghost tells Hamlet that he must kill his killer and that his killer is Hamlet’s Uncle Claudius but that he must not kill his mother. Claudius has married Hamlet’s mother only a month after killing her husband, Old King Hamlet. Prince Hamlet is furious with his mother, Gertrude.

Laertes is a foil to Hamlet because he is distracting Hamlet from his final goal. Hamlet and Laertes both want to avenge their father's death. Hamlet lets his opponent know that he is coming after them and Laertes is more unagitated about it.

Although they come from two different families and have different perspectives on some things, there is also a lot that they have in common. On one side of the spectrum, we have a leader. On the other side of the spectrum, we have one who sits back and waits for a lead to show him what he needs to do to take action. The similarities between Hamlet and Laertes are striking, and they deserve thorough examination.

Before examining Horatio and Hamlets friendship, it is important to look at Horatio as a character, if only to see why he offers such good companionship to Hamlet. From the very beginning of the play, Horatio is portrayed as being part of the old regime, meaning he was loyal to the old King Hamlet and does not necessarily works of the new king and the way he acquired the throne. It is understood that Hamlet and Horatio were not old friends but they at least have known of each other and were amicable because of their close relationship to the old King. (Evans 7) Horatio is characterized as being someone that would never break a loyalty no matter what was offered to him and that is why he can never be a close friend to King Claudius and possibly why he offers Hamlet his friendship regardless of how he is acting throughout the play. (Lucking 4) Hamlet and Horatio may share similar interests in that they both disapprove of what is going on and feel like it is a disgrace to the dead king Hamlet and all that he has worked for and stood for. (Doubt 7) Sharing all of these common feelings towards everything is what defines a friendship in the first place. Another possible reason why Hamlet feels inclined to trust Horatio is that he is the only one that still showed support to Hamlet and felt for him

It can be argued that, Hamlet, is one of the greatest tragedy stories written by William Shakespeare during his lifetime. The play provides different conflicts between a variety of personalities all in the pursuit of power leading to their interpretation of moral justice in Denmark. The play encompasses the themes of death and corruption throughout the story. Hamlet, the son of King Hamlet and rightful heir to the throne, has puzzling elements through his personality of the protagonist. In the play, Shakespeare develops the character of Hamlet with the contemplation of death numerous times, along with the corruption going on in Denmark.

     Horatio’s most important role as a foil does not become evident until the end of the play. His conversation with Hamlet just before the fatal duel with Laertes provides us with an insight into Hamlet’s state of mind. Horatio advises Hamlet to back down if he does not like the circumstances, and Horatio will attest to Hamlet’s

Hamlet by William Shakespeare focuses on the title character plotting vengeance against Claudius for his father's murder to capture the Danish crown. The new king is also Hamlet's uncle and now stepdad due to the marriage with his mother, Gertrude. Through a sequence of events, the protagonist eventually avenges his father, although both his mother and himself fall to a tragic fate as well. Throughout the course of the play, the relationship between Hamlet and Gertrude changes from strained to a disrespectful and mistrustful to a bittersweet ending.

William Shakespeare “Hamlet is a poem illustrating a prince seeking revenge over his father tragic death. Hamlet the prince is left clueless who killed his father’s until some night watcher gave him some news about a ghost that looked like his dead father. Hamlet decides to go see the ghost for himself and is shocked what the ghost has said to him. The murder of his father was no accident from a snake, but instead Hamlet father was the murder from his uncle, Claudius, the new king of Denmark. Hamlet becomes angry at Claudius for killing his father and is also angry at his mother, Gertrude, for betraying his and marrying Claudius. Hamlet begins to act insane because he wants to distract the people around him so he can fulfill his revenge of the murder of his father.

To begin with, there are many comparisons between Hamlet and Laertes; which includes revenge, a strong theme throughout Hamlet. Hamlet and Laertes end up wanting revenge at some point during the play because of the death of their fathers. Hamlet devises his plan for revenge down to an intricate step through the play, yet