Shakespeare's Hamlet: compare and contrast Hamlet vs. Laertes

Laertes also brings revenge and betrayal out of Hamlet. Though an enemy, Laertes is a foil to Hamlet. Laertes helps in the development of Hamlet through the similarities they share. These include anger over the death of their fathers, and desire to exact revenge. Betrayal is also relevant because Laertes betrays Claudius in the end, revealing his plan to kill Hamlet. Hamlet betrays his father by verbally abusing his mother, against the wishes of his father. The differences between the two men are very strong. Hamlet would not kill Claudius in the church because he was praying. Laertes, however stated that he would kill Hamlet in a church, praying or not. Another difference is that Hamlet cannot be a man of action and a man of thought at the same time. He does not use his mind when he acts. He just acts. When he is pondering something, he is unable to act out his thoughts, and keeps quiet. Laertes, however, is able to act while thinking. He finds out that Hamlet killed his father and immediately devises a plan to kill him. This flaw makes Hamlet dangerous to himself, and is ultimately his downfall.

The Ghost’s appearance troubles Hamlet again in a different way at the end of Act Two, when Hamlet questions whether or not the apparition he has seen is really the ghost of his father. He believes that it is likely that what he saw was really an evil spirit trying to trick him into sinning, for, as he says, “the devil hath power / T’assume a pleasing shape; yea, and perhaps…abuses me to damn me” (2.2.628-32). His concern is legitimate; however, it causes him to delay further due to his worries about sin and what could happen to him should he decide to take action if the Ghost is in fact evil. When Hamlet attempts to work himself into a frenzy by insulting himself and climactically cursing Claudius with caustic epithets, he is incapable of maintaining his emotion and he orders his brains to turn about, bringing himself back down to logic and reason. He feels that he cannot act without some sort of proof of the truth of what the Ghost has said, and therefore he arranges to “catch the conscience

Hamlet (prince of Denmark) can be greatly compared to Laertes (son of a noble), and Fortinbras (prince of Norway) in the play. They all are very similar but yet different at the same time. They all had love and respect for their fathers and felt the need to avenge their deaths, which all were brutally killed. All three believed that the murderers had dishonoured their fathers as well as themselves. They all reacted and took different approaches in attempt to restore honour in their families.

    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.

In the play by William Shakespeare, the ghost of King Hamlet approaches his mourning and depressed son, Hamlet, who is still affected by his death. The ghost explains to Hamlet how he died and demands that Hamlet avenge his death. Note how the ghost approaches Hamlet when he’s the weakest and still mourning to persuade and manipulate him into taking revenge for him. In Act one Scene 5 the ghost states, “If thou didst ever thy dear father love-/ Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder.” The way King Hamlet words his request is more as a challenge; in which Hamlet’s love for his dead father can only be proven by carrying out whatever his father wishes. The ghost influences most Hamlet’s behavior, which not only affects the plot, but also the relationships with other characters. The ghost influences the relationship between Hamlet and his mother, Gertrude. He becomes angry at Gertrude because of her fast marriage with his uncle Claudius. Through the use of innuendos, antic disposition, and metamorphic plays, Hamlet makes it his duty to get King Claudius back for killing his father. Hamlet agreed to avenge his father without second thought. As the play advances, Hamlet begins to doubt the apparition. In act 3 Hamlet begins to have second thoughts and states, “The spirit that I have seen/ May be a devil…” This shows Hamlet’s inner conflict between listening to his father and avenging his death or following his ethics. To be sure that Claudius

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’

      The difference in the time spent on revenge by the characters is significant because it shows the reader what is expected from a son according to standards of the time. In Act one, Scene three, Laertes is being told the responsibilities of a young man and the importance of protecting the family’s honor. Part of protecting the family’s honor is revenging any wrongful deaths. If one is truly concerned with protecting the family name, seeking vengeance would most likely be a top priority; not something delayed for months on end. Therefore Laertes as a foil for Hamlet is significant because Laertes is a more dutiful son and seeks his vengeance quickly. Since he delays his vengeance for so many months, Hamlet is not a dutiful son. [This is a nice idea, but Fortinbras would be an even better foil to make this point.]

Hamlet and Laertes are two people with almost all the same aspects in the Shakespeare's Hamlet. They both want to avenge the death of their father's and they both love Ophelia. Hamlet's and Laerte's similarities can be described in many ways but one can talk about the main ones: being the love they have for Ophelia, the death of their father's and how they associate with their families.

In Shakespeare’s famous tragedy, Hamlet there are similarities between Hamlet, Fortinbras, and Laertes. They do have some character differences but they face many of the same challenges and are put in similar situations. All three of the men have lost their fathers and are seeking to avenge their deaths in some way. Hamlet is contemplating killing Claudius, Fortinbras has gathered an army to reclaim lands that his father lost, and Laertes will do whatever it takes to get revenge for Polonius’ death. The main difference between the three men is that Fortinbras and Laertes are willing to do whatever it takes to reach their goal while Hamlet spends the majority of his time in thought trying to decide the right thing to do.

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

Betrayal was also a similarity shared by the two.  Hamlet betrayed his father when he speaks spitefully toward his mother in her chambers.  Laertes betrays King Claudius in the end when he tells of the plot to kill Hamlet.  The two characters had many things in common but they also had differences.  The biggest difference between the two was their haste at revenging their fathers.  Hamlet thought a lot about how and when to kill Claudius.  Hamlet was concerned about much more than just the revenge of his father.  He was worried about his own salvation and the salvation of King Claudius.  Laertes did not contemplate at all about the revenge of his father.  He first thought it was King Claudius that killed his father and brought a rebellion to the castle to kill the King.  When Laertes found out that it was Hamlet he just wanted to kill him, it was King Claudius who devised a plan and thought out the murder of Hamlet.  The biggest difference in their attitudes toward revenge is shown by the fact that Hamlet would not kill Claudius in prayer because he might go to heaven, but Laertes didn't care and said that he would kill Hamlet in the church.  This clearly differentiates the amount of thought put into revenge between the two characters.  The similarities between the characters allow the audience to compare them, but the more important use of this foil is the difference.  Aristotle

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

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

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

No two people are the same, however they can have similar characteristics. In the play Hamlet Laertes is a foil to Hamlet because they bring out the differences in each others character’s. The differences between Hamlet and Laertes are striking, and they deserve thorough examination. Although they bear some minor similarities, the differences between their two characters is clear. Through this essay I will provide evidence showing the similarities and differences between Laertes and Hamlet. In the beginning of Hamlet Laertes, Polonius's son, is described as a very short tempered, brave, and passionate young man who is very skillful with a sword. In act 5 scene 1 at Ophelia’s funeral Laertes is upset with the priest because in the christian church her death was viewed as a suicide, so she was not to be buried with all the proper ceremonies. He says “ Lay her n' the earth and from her fair and unpolluted flesh may violets spring! I tell thee, churlish priest, a ministering angel shall my sister be, when thou liest howling”(Act 5, Scene 1). This quote shows that he was very passionate about his sister and believes that she deserved a proper burial because of the women she was and the way she carried herself. In act 4 scene 7 Laertes says “Under the moon, can save the thing from death that is but scratch'd withal: I'll touch my point with this contagion, that, if I gall him slightly, it may be death.”(Act 4, Scene 7). In this Owens 2