He knows his father was killed and he will get his revenge no matter what it takes without even having to think about it. He is so impulsive he rushes in after Claudius without having any proof or idea that Claudius is actually the man that killed his father. Shakespeare writes in 4.5.101-102: “...Laertes, in a riotous head, O’erbears your officers…”. Laertes then goes on to tell the king in 4.5.115: “O thou vile King, Give me my father…”. It does not matter to him, what he has to do, he will follow his impulses to get what he wants.
This worked out in his favor because he was able to put reason behind his actions of sending Hamlet to England. Furthermore, after hearing of his fathers death, Laertes and an angry mob storm into the castle to accuse the king of murder. Claudius is able to convince Laertes that he is innocent and that Laertes should get revenge on Hamlet: “Hamlet comes back: what would you undertake, To show yourself your father’s son in deed More
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."
The Awakening Of Hamlet and Laertes Comparing Laertes and Hamlet. Figuring out how they are alike and dislike in many ways, most of the play they are well alike. After Hamlet kills Polonius, Laertes down the road faces the same problems as Hamlet; a murdered father. In the beginning Laertes and Hamlet didn’t have the same similarities, but since both of there fathers were murdered they both have something in common. While Hamlet, is messing around and playing with the murderer as if he was an animal, Laertes takes immediate action.
Hamlet on the other hand acts alone. He has committed himself and no one else to kill Claudius. Laertes allows himself to be manipulated when he confronts Claudius and is angered when asked, “What would you undertake To show yourself in deed your father’s son More than in words?” (Act 4 Scene7, lines 124-126). He is driven to seek revenge on Hamlet and becomes a pawn to Claudius.
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.
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
He blames everything on Claudius because he is the one that killed Hamlet’s father and now his mother. This give Hamlet peace about all of the events that have lead to this moment. We should learn from this that revenge in haste can be chaotic and unsuccessful. Revenge may not always be the answer, but if that is what you choose, then it needs to be well thought out and tested for flaws. I think that Laertes got the revenge that he wanted and even though it resulted in his own death as well, he got some closure that he needed.
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.
On the other hand, Hamlet, also wanting justice was very indecisive, and found potential excuses for preventing the death of Claudius. Another noted difference between Laertes and Hamlet was the attempt and way they went about acquiring their revenge. Hamlet was ethical, which was visible when he resisted the urge to put a sword through Claudius when the new king was at church, on the contrary, Laertes’s means of acquiring revenge was sordid, because he had poisoned the tip of his sword in a fight that Hamlet thought was fair. Compared to Hamlet, Laertes is faced with similar issues, but reacts very differently making him a foil of
Claudius schemes and manipulates many people for many different reasons whether for his personal protection, sparing someone’s feelings, or to carry out a crime. This motives affect other characters causing them to do things that
Amelia Schriner English 4 Lanning 10/19/2017 In this paper I am going to be comparing Hamlet and Laertes. Laertes is the son of Polonius and the brother of Ophelia. Hamlet is the prince of Denmark and son of Gertrude. Hamlet 's father was killed and he believes Claudius killed him.
In IV, vii,117 “The drop of blood that’s calm proclaims me bastard, cries ‘cuckold’ to my father, broods the ‘harlot’ even here between the chaste unsmirched brow of my true mother.” This quote shows that Laertes is super emotional, and he acts a lot without thinking. He stormed in on Claudius and he was very upset, even though he didn’t know what was going on. Then, in IV, vii, 96 Claudius is buttering Laertes up, saying that not even French fencers could match up to him, also saying that there would be no way Hamlet could even begin to match up with Laertes’ skill at fencing. This shows that Laertes is arrogant, and he can be manipulated.
To begin, Laertes came back to Denmark to charge Claudius for his father’s death, saying, “How come he dead? I’ll not be juggled with./ To hell allegiance! Vow, to the blackest devil!” (4.5.130-131). This statement demonstrates how betrayed Laertes feel towards Claudius and the whole kingdom as he says, “To hell allegiance!
His willingness to conspire with Claudius and deceive Hamlet into thinking that it is a fair fight. Eager to get his revenge, Laertes “[dips] a knife in” the poison so that nothing “can save [Hamlet] from death,” demonstrating the damaging consequences of acting on desires for revenge through deception (IV, vii, 159). In the end, Laertes does end up wounding and therefore killing Hamlet, however, “Laertes, as he himself admits, ‘is justly killed by [his] own treachery’ (5.2.297),” by also getting stabbed by the same poisoned blade
