A foil is a character who serves as a contrast to another character, usually the protagonist. In Shakespeare's play "Hamlet," there are several foils who serve to highlight the qualities and motivations of the main character, Hamlet.
One of the most prominent foils in the play is Claudius, the new king of Denmark and the uncle of Hamlet. Claudius is depicted as a smooth-talking, cunning politician who has seized the throne through murder and deceit. In contrast, Hamlet is portrayed as a thoughtful, intellectual prince who is struggling to come to terms with the betrayal of his father's death and the corruption of the Danish court.
Another foil to Hamlet is Laertes, the son of the lord chamberlain, Polonius. Laertes is impulsive and hot-headed, willing to take immediate action to avenge his father's death. In contrast, Hamlet is indecisive and hesitant, constantly questioning and contemplating his actions. This contrast between Laertes and Hamlet ultimately leads to their tragic downfall, as their rash behavior leads to their own deaths and the downfall of the Danish royal family.
Fortinbras, the prince of Norway, is also a foil to Hamlet. While Hamlet is hesitant and indecisive, Fortinbras is decisive and ambitious, willing to go to war to reclaim his rightful throne. This contrast serves to highlight Hamlet's internal conflict and inability to take action.
In conclusion, the foils in "Hamlet" serve to highlight the qualities and motivations of the main character and to provide contrast to the action of the play. Claudius, Laertes, and Fortinbras each offer a different perspective on the events of the play and help to create a more well-rounded and complex portrayal of Hamlet's character.
Literature Foils: Contrasting Characters in "Hamlet": [Essay Example], 1109 words GradesFixer
Fortinbras is works out of honor while Hamlet is acting out of pure revenge. Rage is another emotion the characters have in common when it comes to the act of revenge. One major foil is Ophelia. It is simply impossible to characterise Hamlet as good or bad, strong or weak. Hamlet and Laertes are both of the relative same age, and they are both males.
She is foolish to enable the treatment that she has received throughout the play, and has an absence of self-respect. The individual foils fall …show more content… Another foil in the play is seen between Claudius and Polonius. Thus, this shows that Hamlet wanted to give his revenge to Claudius as he is praying. How Does Shakespeare Present Ophelia In Act 2 Of Hamlet 550 Words 3 Pages Once done with that, their father, Polonius, enters in the room just as his son is ready to leave, thus came into the event in which he gives his son a long, extensive list of advice and wisdom to follow. Ophelia can be considered a foil when it once again comes to revenge. In Act two, Scene two, Claudius instructs Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to find out why Hamlet is acting so strangely.
Word about the death of his father got to Laertes who was in England. Shakespeare Use Of Revenge In Hamlet Research Paper 1305 Words 6 Pages By the end of the play, Shakespeare shows how all of the characters attempt to get their revenge and how revenge does not always work out for the best. Fortinbras gets hold of lands he lost, just so that he can honor his father, and his family. However, we do see that in anger both Laertes and Hamlet can be very rash and impulsive and bring problems upon themselves. Similarities Between Hamlet And Machiavelli 910 Words 4 Pages Michael Olufunsho Fafemi Alan Rosiene HUM 2052 February 6 2018 Hamlet, The Claudius similarity and Machiavellism Shakespeare through the play Hamlet portrays many complex themes through the various characters in the play. To see Laertes as a foil for Hamlet, you must first examine the similarities.
Comparing Fennel And Cheating In Shakespeare's Hamlet 458 Words 2 Pages Ophelia expresses foolishness through her ignorant and almost puppetry ways. He realized that Hamlet knows that he killed his father and now manipulates things to destroy Hamlet. Foil characters add Horatio's Deception In Hamlet 1218 Words 5 Pages The tragedy of Hamlet Prince of Denmark by William Shakespeare gives a look into madness and deception. Horatio is sensible, level-headed, and reasonable more often than not. The characteristics of the main character are better revealed, as well as his intentions and motivations. Hamlet is a tragic play that combines revenge with cruelty to develop a timeline of barbaric events that result in utter disaster.
However, this man, the titular character of the play, Hamlet, is indecisive and goes through a variety of problems in his quest for revenge. For instance, Laertes is often considered as the doppelganger archetype of Hamlet. Hamlet is enraged, and he becomes obsessed with the idea of proving the crime so that he can obtain revenge against Claudius Crowther. Moreover, these significant events are categorized as new awakenings, discoveries, and changes in consciousness that set off a mental or psychological effect to the readers. We also see the weakness of her character and the strength of Hamlet. Ophelia goes mad because her father, Polonius, whom she deeply loved, has been killed by Hamlet.
Laertes is quick to action, but irrational. Laertes dies because he was irrational and Hamlet because he was slow to act. Hamlet Precis Analysis 811 Words 4 Pages A Précis of Hamlet: A Tale of Revenge Name: Ahmed Ramzy Hassan Class: 12-A Teacher: Ms. After being told by his dead father that the new king was responsible for his death, Hamlet struggles with the issue of coming up with a plan to counter his uncle. A foil is used by playwrights so that the audience can better understand the main character by comparing to a minor character. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are playing the role of Hamlet 's friends while secretly working for Claudius.
All were in the play so Hamlet would have had someone to interact with. Without thinking, Hamlet thrusts his dagger into the person he thinks is Claudius and kills Polonius instead. This helps makes Hamlet's character more three-dimensional and makes it more appealing to the audience. His inability to kill Claudius and himself is one grand flaw of an epic hero. Another foil to Hamlet is Prince Fortinbras of Norway.
Fortinbras goes to war over a useless piece of territory simply to uphold the honor of his father. Sometime the minor character is in the play so the major character has someone to speak with. These literary experiments are called foils. Laertes and Hamlet both share a common goal, revenge for the murder of their father. The honor of his family is as important to him as it is to Hamlet. This type of relief is needed for a tragic play as this one. This helps to show the strengths and weaknesses of the main character.
In contrast, we see Hamlet consider suicide himself in Act 3 Scene 1 but not go through with it, instead of working towards his goal of revenge. The reason he is included, as a foil of Hamlet, is he also seeks revenge for the death of his father, the king. Some may say that the actions of Prince Hamlet throughout the play are weak and fearful, displaying a tendency to procrastinate and showing an apathetic nature towards his family and peers. The next similarity of Laertes and Hamlet is that they both grieve over a death in the play. Even fair Ophelia, who Hamlet thought honest deceives him in Act 3 scene 1.
Essay on The Foils of Hamlet [Literature Foil Character]
Foils are minor characters that have similarities or differences with a major character and serve to highlight major characteristics of that character. The first difference is that King Hamlet was murdered by poisoning, while King Fortinbras died on the battlefield 1. However, the way they go about this is different. Without her father she was left with nothing. This news drives him mad as Ophelia's news of her father's death does to her. Shakespeare shows through these foils that while he admires both rational thinking and quick action, it is the combination of the two virtues which leads to success.
