Who Is Laertes A Foil To Hamlet

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. Laertes and Hamlet are similar in the sense that they are both fatherless and want to achieve the ultimate form of revenge against the man that killed their father. Laertes says: “...Let come what comes, only I'll be revenged Most thoroughly for my father (4.5.135-136).”

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. However, Hamlet cannot just kill in cold blood, he takes time to plan out every move and analyze the rights, wrongs, and consequences of every step he makes while seeking his revenge. Hamlet says in his soliloquy in 2.2.594-598: “This is most brave, That I, the son of a dear father murdered, Prompted to my revenge by heaven and hell, Must, like a whore, unpack my heart with words And fall a-cursing like a very drab, A scullion!” This quote is proof that Hamlet cannot seem to grasp why he cannot bring himself to kill Claudius. Hamlet comes across as a decent man. Killing is not something he can do in cold blood. However, he is not always a noble and decent man. Laertes and his impulsive nature shows how Hamlet is the exact opposite and has to plan everything thoroughly before going through with

He has a number of good qualities throughout the play. Although, he certainly seems to shift to become mad or not as decent and good as he was at the beginning of the play. At first, Hamlet is seen as hating anything that is not holy. He speaks about God and going to heaven. He says in his first soliloquy in 1.2.156-157: “O, most wicked speed, to post With such dexterity to incestuous sheets!” Here Hamlet is seen discussing how he feels about his mother and uncle’s immorality by getting married after his father was only gone for a month. Later in the play, Hamlet still has these same good qualities, but with more bad and unredeemable qualities. He begins to turn cruel toward people in his life who care about him, like his mother and Ophelia. He also arranges the murder of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern without even the slightest apology. Hamlet tells Horatio in 5.2.45-47: “He should those bearers put to sudden death, Not shriving time allowed.” He writes this letter to the King of England and feels no remorse about doing so, which shows his shift to a less noble man. However, Laertes begins as a man who is known as someone who partakes in dishonorable activities. Polonius even sends a servant to spy on him to see what he is up to while he is in Paris. He tells Reynaldo in 2.1.7-11: “Inquire me… What company, at what expense; and finding By this encompassment and drift of question That they do know my son…”. He wants