Similarities Between Hamlet, Fortinbras, and Laertes in Shakespeare's Hamlet

Next, Hamlet goes on to describes Fortinbras. He asks the audience to: "Witness this army of such mass and charge Led by a delicate and tender prince, Whose spirit with divine ambition puf'd Makes mouths at the invisible event,

Fortinbras is a manly warrior and shows the ability to take action. Similarly, Laertes is known for being a good fighter, a man of action, and having the ability to lead. During the play Laertes states, “To cut his throat i’th’ church”(IV.vii. 98). Laertes here says he would go as far as to kill Hamlet in the church, something almost unheard of. This portrays Laertes’ manly characteristics as being a rash and a well known fighter. The young Prince Hamlet, however, denies a chance to take his own revenge, as shown when he

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.

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 the play, Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, the character of Fortinbras, has been used as a foil for the main character, Hamlet. Hamlet and Fortinbras have lost their fathers to untimely deaths. Claudius killed Hamlet's father, King Hamlet, and King Hamlet killed Fortinbras' father. Both Hamlet and Fortinbras have vowed to seek revenge for the deaths of their fathers. Since the revenge tactics of Hamlet and Fortinbras are completely different, Hamlet perceives the actions of Fortinbras as better than his own and the actions of Fortinbras, then, encourage Hamlet to act without hesitating.

    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.

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’

Throughout Hamlet, not only does the audience gather information about Hamlet’s hamartia through Laertes, they also gather information from the character of Fortinbras and how he acts. The main reason that Fortinbras is such a strong foil for Hamlet’s character is also due to the similarities in both his and Hamlet’s lives. Fortinbras and Hamlet are both princes whose father’s were killed and are now seeking vengeance to achieve justice for their father’s deaths. Due to the deaths of their fathers, they also both now have their uncle’s sitting on the thrones of Denmark and Norway.

In Hamlet, Shakespeare introduces us to Fortinbras and Hamlet. Both characters are bent on avenging the death of their fathers who were murdered. In Act I, two different revenge plots by these two men are revealed, and while Fortinbras is very open and bold about killing Claudius, Hamlet is sly and quiet about his plan. Fortinbras is also dead set on attacking Denmark no matter what but Hamlet is indecisive about killing Claudius. Fortinbras plans to lead an army to attack Denmark while Hamlet’s plan of attack is to act crazy.

It can be said that Fortinbras is an energetic leader and soldier with clear intentions from the way he can quickly assemble his men to attack Poland. Although Fortinbras says that Hamlet was a soldier, too, “and for his passage, the soldier’s music…”(5.2, 444-445), the reader sees Hamlet only as a scholar because he seems to only think things out rather than take action. Though, Fortinbras’ statement helps us understand that Hamlet was once indeed a good soldier. Scene two of the last act of Hamlet reveals the true character of Fortinbras. After arriving at Elsinore, he immediately acts upon seeing the disturbing scene, much like he acts in battle, “Let four captains bear Hamlet like a soldier…”(5.2, 441-450).

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.

No two individuals are alike, regardless of similar upbringing. It is reasonable to assume that even twins brought up in exactly the same environment, sharing the same daily activities, and living practically the same life, will act differently when faced with the same situation. Each individual evolves with his or her own uniqueness, style, and way of life. The audience witnesses this phenomenon in Shakespeare's Hamlet. Lord Hamlet and Laertes experienced similar childhoods, and shared similar family attributes. They were both born into royalty and throughout their lives were treated as such. Hamlet and Laertes were reared with the same forms of schooling, and were taught to abide by the same ethics and morals. Although Hamlet and Laertes

Hamlet, unlike Fortinbras and Laertes, did not follow what his advisor told him without questioning why he should take the advice. As time passes, Hamlet still has not acted out the revenge he promised his father. Out of disgust for his irreverence for his father he says, ?why, what an ass am I! This is most brave, that I, the son of a dear father murdered, prompted to my revenge by heaven and hell, must like a whore, unpack my heart with words and fall a-cursing like a very drab? (II.ii.594-598). This statement prompts one to believe Hamlet has been convinced by his father?s words to act, but does not want to do so hastily. Hamlet questions the validity of his revenge by devising a plan to provide evidence of King Claudius? guilt. Hamlet took advantage of his position at the local theater by instructing his actors

Hamlet’s motivation throughout the play is to kill Claudius and avenge his father’s death, so every action he makes works to accomplish that goal. On the other hand, Fortinbras’ motivation toward action does not lie exclusively for the sake of revenge. Fortinbras, like Hamlet or any other proud prince, feels a certain obligation to exact revenge on his father’s killer. However, whatever he decides to do it would not entirely be accepted as revenge because King Hamlet is already dead when the play starts. Although it is unclear if Fortinbras desires to kill Hamlet in the name of his father, killing Hamlet would not be the same as killing his father, the true murderer. Rather than act as if responding to a vendetta, Fortinbras is motivated to restore honor to his father by reclaiming the parcel land in Norway that is seized after King Hamlet kills King Fortinbras.

Fortinbras and Laertes are parallel characters to Hamlet, and they provide critical points on which to compare the actions and emotions of Hamlet throughout the play. They are also important in Hamlet,