Hamlet Foils Essay

In Shakespeare's “Hamlet”, Laertes is one of Hamlet's greatest foils. Shakespeare uses Hamlet actions to contribute to the play's complexity around revenge and morality, but when compared to Laertes actions it highlights his shortcomings as a character. Laertes' impulsive behavior is the opposite of Hamlet's introspective personality. In the play, both men's fathers were murdered, but only Laertes was eager to take action for revenge. “Hamlet’s desire to avenge his father’s murder is foiled by Laertes’ impulsive attempt to rectify his father’s death” (Barreto). While manipulated by Claudius he planned to kill Hamlet with no regard for the consequences he might face and at the end when all went wrong, he admitted to his crimes and took responsibility for his

His introspection is what leads to his shortcomings. After the ghost reveals Claudius was responsible for his father's death, he swears to avenge his father. He thought heavily on his actions and took time to come up with a plan to find proof of Claudius' hand in his father's death. He states “The play’s the thing / Wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the King” (II.ii.627-634). Hamlet wanted to find visible evidence that he was guilty, which delayed his revenge for his father's death. The “play” is one of the most important scenes. It was crucial for Hamlet to see Cladius' reaction to find out if he was guilty. After seeing his reactions to the play, Hamlet no longer had a reason to delay taking revenge. Even though he had gathered evidence that pointed to Claudius, he still failed to carry out his revenge. Laertes, on the other hand, acted impulsively and did not hesitate once to take revenge. He threatens to kill whoever had a hand in his father's death. He was so angry that “he succumbs to Claudius' temptation to use fraud in gaining his revenge” (Salem Press). He did not think twice about the consequences or Claudius' true motives for wanting Hamlet