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Analysis Of Laertes As A Character Foil For Hamlet

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Serving as a character foil for Hamlet, Laertes is a very unique character. His character throughout the play is very impulsive, through thinking and acting. His father Polonius even tells him that he must be careful on how he acts and gives him advice on how he must act. (Act 1 Scene 3) Besides being impulsive, Laertes is a caring person as well. When his father died, he returned home in vengeance. When his sister went crazy, his first reaction was anger and pain, but it then turned to anger seeing how affected she was by her father’s death. Later on when she dies, he storms out filled with rage and at her funeral, he was crying so much that Hamlet fought him to prove he was affected more. Hamlet and Laertes are character foils for one another.
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After the death of his father, Laertes becomes consumed with anger and willing to do whatever it takes to avenge his father's death. He bargains with Claudius, hoping to use his loyalty to gain the power to take revenge. Laertes falls into depression as he realizes the consequences of his actions, ultimately leading to his tragic end. Laertes' story shows how grief can drive individuals to extremes as they seek justice for their loss. "Exchange forgiveness with me, noble Hamlet; Mine and my father's death come not upon thee, Nor thine on me."

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Comparing Laertes and Hamlets loyalty, is very appealing to the crowd. Having loyalty for them can be considered as a good thing, but it can also lead into a negative impact. Hamlet is one of the leading characters in the play, his part that he plays is; is representing him to be a man who is very loyal to his words and vows. Hamlet was the king’s son, and being a son of the king can be a struggle at times.

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Throughout the last two acts of the novel, we see Laertes change from an impulsive instigator into a more wise and rational person who realizes he is in the wrong. After he first learns of his father’s death, Laertes is seething due to his misery, and consequently, strives for immediate retaliation. Contrastingly, at the conclusion of the duel scene, he is downcast over his looming death and the fact that he has caused Hamlet’s death, while also being ashamed of how quick he was to murder. Though to some, Laertes may be a seemingly insignificant character, it is Laertes affliction (as a result of his father’s death) that ultimately drives the novel to its grievous climax. Albeit tragic, if the end scene would not have happened, Laertes would not have had the opportunity to discover that he was wrong, and thus change.

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In “The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark”, William Shakespeare uses the sayings and behaviors of many of his minor characters to show his audiences the true characteristics of the protagonist, Prince Hamlet. This literary device is called a foil. A foil is a character whose traits help to clarify the character of the protagonist. In this famous play, Prince Hamlet has many foils. Laertes is the most effective foil to Hamlet because of how his life and reactions compare to that of Hamlet.

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All of his wrongs and faults make hamlet see his issues more clearly.we see the similarities between Hamlet and Laertes gradually grow as the play moves on, proving that Hamlet is not the only one facing adversity. We sometimes get so caught up with our problems and feel that we are the only one dealing with difficulties but in reality, most people are also experiencing a struggle in their own

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Obviously, Hamlet is one of the readers favorite characters and someone the readers can root for throughout the play. We want Hamlet to get the revenge he desires, however, Claudius does not feel the same way the readers do. Thus, Claudius is conversing with Laertes to produce a plan to end our protagonist Hamlet once and for all. (4.7.107-139) Laertes has agreed to this plan because he wants payback for the death of his father Polonius and sister Ophelia. Meanwhile, Hamlet and Laertes

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Throughout the play Hamlet continues to act insane and even dies with the act continuing. Even after Hamlet gathers all the evidence that proves Claudius is the murder, Hamlet continues to behave in a strange way. When he mistakenly murders Polonius he does not react as a sane person would. This act enrages Laertes, who then wants to avenge his father’s death. Driven to madness by the murder of his father, Laertes, with the help of Claudius conspires to kill Hamlet.

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Laertes was worried about his and his dad’s pride so he decide to murder hamlet. Laertes plans the big fencing match with Hamlet. He tricked hamlet and poisoned the tip of his sword. After he poisoned the tip of his sword everything went downhill. Laertes was being greedy because he wanted his dad to be king and stay king.

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First, Hamlet is very intelligent and knows when someone is using him, but Laertes is not very intelligent and is easily tricked. Laertes is very gullible. Second, Hamlet is indecisive although, Laertes will not hesitate to do what he wants to do in order to get his revenge. Clearly, Hamlet and Laertes have similarities and differences. It is important that we recognize the the differences and similarities of these characters that I described.

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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”(4.7.98). Laertes here claims he would go as far as kill Hamlet in the church, something almost unheard of for the

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In the play called Hamlet, characters like Laertes and Hamlet have both experienced their father’s murder. Their reactions display either right or wrong justifications throughout the play. Their reactions caused deaths, violence, and miscommunications to foil their plans of vengeance. Despite Laertes and Hamlet seeking vengeance, Hamlet’s reaction was worse than Laertes’s reaction.

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To be a foil character, one must “contrast with other characters in order to highlight particular qualities of the other characters.” Throughout Hamlet, four prominent characters are foil characters to Hamlet: Laertes, Fortinbras, Horatio and Claudius. In many cases, Hamlet and the foil characters react differently for each other in varying situations but yet show similarities in their reactions. The relationship created between Hamlet and Laertes takes a shift from the beginning of the book towards the end.

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He is Hamlet’s love interest’s brother who implicates Hamlet’s success through conflict. Hamlet sparks the rivalry between the two families by killing some of the family members. By executing Laertes father and Polonius, this causes Polonius’ son, Laertes, to seek vengeance for his father. Consequently, Hamlet’s family goes against him and his love, Ophelia, kills herself. This demonstrates that family ties, even if not blood related, have serious impacts on Hamlet’s life which causes misery to overwhelm his life; this misery prohibits his success.

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Laertes and Hamlet are both sons who are trying to avenge their father’s death. Both men desire to achieve this goal by killing the man that killed their father. However, the two men carry out their revenge plot in different ways. Laertes is much more incisive and hot-headed while Hamlet is much more of an overthinker and is considered a more decent person than Laertes. So, Laertes acts as a foil to Hamlet because he is: sharp, impulsive, and makes a shift to become a more noble man.

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Hamlet’s flaws are shown through other contrasting characters that always act and show no restraint like Hamlet does. One of these foil characters is Laertes who wants revenge for his father’s, Polonius, death. Laertes tells Claudius that he is so determined for revenge that, “To cut his throat I’ the church” (4.7), which directly contrasts Hamlet. Hamlet was not willing to act and cut Claudius’s throat in the church, but Laertes is so willing to kill him in the church if that’s what it

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