Who Is Laertes A Foil In Hamlet

On the other hand, Laertes wants to revenge his father’s death. Therefore this mistake murder leads Hamlet to his downfall as Claudius and Laertes want to kill him.

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.

When Laertes learns that Hamlet has killed his father, he immediately goes along with the king's plan to kill Hamlet. Laertes agrees to "be ruled" by the King so that Hamlet "shall not choose but fall; / And for his death no wind if blame shall breathe, / But even his mother shall…call it accident" (4.7. 69, 65-68). Laertes has lost all form of conscience because of his anger towards Hamlet, he even wants "to cut [Hamlet's] throat i' the church" which is a grave offense that would surely send Laertes to Hell (4.7.127). Hamlet, on the other hand, spends much of his time plotting how he will gain his revenge. He has "heard / That guilty creatures sitting at a play…have proclaimed their malefactions…/ Before mine uncle, I'll observe his looks…If ‘a do blench, / I know my course" (2.2.589-90, 593, 597.598-9). Hamlet chooses to show the King a play, very like that of Claudius' own murderous deed, in order to cause a reaction. When "the King rises" unexpectedly, Hamlet gains some evidence of the King's guilt, beyond the word of a ghost.

In many of Shakespeare’s plays, there is a major character, and a lesser character whose character traits directly contrast those of the major character. This literary device is called a foil. One example of this exists in the play Romeo and Juliet, in which Mercutrio foils Romeo’s character with his disdain for love and belief in man making his own destiny. Another example of foil exists in William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth. The character of Lady Macduff foils Lady Macbeth in her lack ambition, her genuine love of family life and her devotion to her husband.

Laertes acts the most irrationally and rapidly. When Laertes discovers that his father was murdered, he becomes outraged and demonstrates his uncontrolled character as he storms into the castle of Denmark overthrowing the guards and demanding answers about his father's death and questionable funeral. "O thou vile king, give me my father!" (Act 4 Sc.5, 119-120). He is enraged that his father was not buried with his sword and that there was no memorial. When Laertes learns that Hamlet killed his father, he gives no thought to the damnation of his soul as he immediately makes a plan with Claudius to poison and kill Hamlet. Laertes' hatred

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 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.

    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 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.

Hamlet and Laertes are similar in the way they associate with their families. Laertes respects and loves his father Polonius and Hamlet holds a great respect for his dead father, who Hamlet compares his father to the sun god, "Hyperion". After the death of both their fathers, Hamlet and Laertes seek revenge on the murders. Hamlet and Laertes both show different attitudes towards females. Laertes gives Ophelia guidance on her relationship with Hamlet and Hamlet is able to persuade Gertrude that he is not mad and manipulates her to follow his instructions. Hamlet tells his mother to convince Claudius of Hamlet's madness. He is able to make his mother reflect upon her part in the death of his father and feel guilt "Thou turn'st mine eyes into my very soul, and there I see such black and grained spots as will not leave their tinct." (Shakespeare 1997 3.4.90-93). The father's of Laertes and Hamlet both attempted to use spies to gain information on their sons. Claudius hamlets uncle and step-father. Claudius employed Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to gather information on Hamlet and Polonius sends Reynaldo to check up on Laertes. Hamlet becomes outraged that Claudius is spying on him which then results in Hamlet mistakenly killing Polonius. Laertes becomes angered at the death of his father and boldly seeks vengeance against Claudius.

A foil character contrasts the personalities of another character, which particularly enlightens certain characteristics of the individual. This element portrays these characteristics in an obvious manner, as it benefits the reader or audience. By showing the characteristics of one, it directly heightens the character traits of the other, creating a foil illustration of an individual. Nowhere is this element of literature more prudent than in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, as he effectively engages the use of foil characters. In the play, two lovers from opposing, and hateful families fall in love, but the hatred between households lead to their downfall. Characters in the immoral city of Verona are set to represent key themes and

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 -

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

    William Shakespeare wrote the classic play, Hamlet in the sixteenth century.  Hamlet would be a very difficult play to understand without the masterful use of foils.  A foil is a minor character in a literary work that compliments the main character through similarities and differences in personality.  The audience can identify similarities and differences between any of the characters and Hamlet, however, there are two characters that share so much in common with Hamlet that they have to be considered the most important foils in the play.  These two characters are Laertes and Fortinbras.  It is the great similarities between Laertes, Fortinbras, and Hamlet that make the

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