In William Shakespeare's Hamlet and Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, the authors show the development of individuals and perspectives, as a result of exposure to outside events and internal struggle. Since changes are often subtle, both authors use the literary device known as foil characters-- a character that contrasts with the protagonists, to highlight specific temperaments or qualities. The protagonists, of both works, have widely different interactions with the foil characters; in Hamlet, Laertes and Hamlet, are mismatched and create conflict. Alternatively, they can compliment the protagonist, such as Jane Bennet to Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice. Shakespeare and Austen use the foil characters to highlight the protagonists' …show more content…
When he returns to the castle, he enters "in a riotous head"(4.5.100), and bursts in and says to Claudius, "...O thou vile king, / Give me my father" (4.5.113-114) as he believes Claudius killed Polonius. To this Claudius replies “What is the cause, Laertes, / That thy rebellion looks so giant-like?--"(4.5.119-120). Laertes is the embodiment of Hamlet's rage and desire for revenge, however where Hamlet hesitates, Laertes acts without questioning or thinking. As in this case, he bursts in the castle, and confronts the king and calls him "vile", without thinking of the consequences of speaking to the king in such a manner and accusing him of murder. Hence, unlike Hamlet, Laertes is driven by impulsiveness causing him to act without thinking, which emphasizes Hamlet's indecisiveness. In this manner, the author utilizes the foil character Laertes to highlight Hamlet's contrasting characteristics. Similarly, Fortinbras parallels Hamlet's situation even more, as they both lost their father, and their right to the throne, to their uncle. However, their attitudes contrast as they differ in disposition; …show more content…
Due to the opposing temperaments of the foil characters, their interactions with the protagonist, either have a major effect on the story or their character development. In Hamlet, the lack of influence of an active character, such as Laertes, or Fortinbras, delays his development. Laertes is absent for a majority of the play, and when he does return, both he and Hamlet are in opposition to each other. The result of their opposing temperaments, interacting in such a negative fashion, is disastrous. When Laertes discovers that his father was murdered, he says “To hell, allegiance! Vows to the blackest devil! / Conscience and grace, to the profoundest pit! / I dare damnation” (4.5.130-132).Consumed with rage his impulsiveness, he abandons his morality and accepts Claudius' account, "even though Claudius is obviously an interested party seeking to exonerate himself" (Smith, 223). Without regard for the moral consequences, he agrees to sabotage the match, which proves to be fatal, as the rapier he poisoned, also cuts him as well. In a like manner, Hamlet's morals contribute to his inaction, which indirectly results in the involvement of others, and results in his death. In contrast, Fortinbras has a positive interaction with Hamlet and motivates him to return to Denmark. When he sees Fortinbras and his army, he is inspired to take action and “from this time
Since Laertes found out what Hamlet did to his father, he seeked revenge. But also after the death of his sister, Ophelia, Laertes felt like he had the need to take his anger out. “And so have I, a noble father lost, a sister driven into desperate terms, whose worth, if praises may go back again, stood challenger on mount of all the age for her perfections. But my revenge will come” (4.7.25-29). This quote proves that Laertes is really determined and he wants to end everything right there.
The Awakening Of Hamlet and Laertes The awakening of Hamlet and Laertes, has us all wondering on what the real issue is, and who the real victim is in the scene. Hamlet and Laertes both have awoken; with both of them realizing the truth, and what is really happening; things are starting to be more open minded, and in between the scenes things do not start to look good at all. To bring you into reality, and to explain the similarities with Hamlet and Laertes, I will be first explaining the details with Hamlet. Hamlet is a young man, a man who honors his mother and father.
Laertes is clearly confident in himself, and benefits from the constant encouragement from Claudius. It is said that “Laertes’ character becomes …. more evil as the play progresses” (McGee 156),because he consistently takes action. According to Arthur McGee, “like Polonius, he [Laertes] condones the incestuous marriage” (McGee 153), which is another difference between Laertes and Hamlet. As a foil, Laertes not only highlights Hamlet’s strengths, but also his weaknesses.
Laertes was noble because he died for his cause, avenging his father’s death and defending his father’s honor, but he would not have been had he not sought revenge. Towards the end of the play, Laertes returns from France upon hearing that his father died, but he misses the funeral because of its haste. Furious, Laertes leads a mob into the Castle, Elsinore and, upon finding King Claudius, questions “How came he dead? I’ll not be juggled with” before proclaiming “Let come
With this, the audience can even compare themselves to Hamlet, helping the play to be universal. Foil characters add
One similarity that makes Laertes such a good foil to Hamlet is that they both return to Denmark when they have lost a father. However, the sharp contrast in their reaction to these deaths reveals more about Hamlet’s character. Upon returning to
For example, how Laertes, according to the public, is more fit to be king due to his bravery and charisma, while Hamlet though brave as well, is more of an intellectual. The fact that Hamlet took a while and investigated before killing Claudius while Laertes immediately came from France to avenge his father’s death without thinking it through is an epitome for the foil of these two
Eventually, he gets revenge on King Claudius, kills Laertes, and dies. Shakespeare utilizes the character Hamlet to portray the complications within society’s ideal of being a real man, as all men are different and handle situations in multiple ways. Throughout the play society’s portraits of real men are defined, such as Laertes and young Fortinbras, who are foils to Prince Hamlet. They possess something the young Danish prince does not have, a manly reputation.
After Laertes and Claudius plan to kill Hamlet in a fencing match, Laertes kills Hamlet while Hamlet kills Claudius. Both men avenge their fathers. Even Fortinbras, another brief character with a significant presence in Hamlet, avenges his father by regaining the land his
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.
A Deeper Analysis on Character Foils of Hamlet in Hamlet Character foils often allow the reader to better understand a protagonist’s personality and desires. In the play, Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, Horatio, Claudius, and Laertes are exemplar character foils for the protagonist, Hamlet, and under further examination, the play suggests that these character foils help the reader to really resonate with Hamlet and depict the contrasts and similarities between Hamlet and other characters in the play. These character foils are important and significant in highlighting another character’s flaws and traits in which they may not have, compared to another character in the play. To begin with, Horatio plays a huge role in being the character foil for Hamlet.
Lastly, Laertes is a character in Shakespeare’s play that is used as a character foil for Hamlet, meaning his character traits contrast noticeably with Hamlets. Laertes is a very decisive character who immediately acts on his desires, even if they are not necessarily logical or well thought out. He makes the choice to go to France to continue university without a second thought whereas Hamlet wanted to return to university but was persuaded to stay. Once Laertes hear’s of Hamlet murdering Polonius, he promptly returns to Denmark and knows undeniably that he wants revenge. He immediately begins to form a plan with Claudius to murder Hamlet, with no doubts whatsoever about his choices.
As Hamlet reaches the climax of the play, his entrapment comes in the form of malevolence towards Claudius in Act III, scene iv. This is when Hamlet stabs Polonius through the curtain, and then voices how he will fully commit to violent actions against the king, after the Ghost tells Hamlet again to do what he has been told. “I do repent; but heaven hath pleased it so, to punish me with this, and this with me, that I must be their
Furthermore, Hamlet feels compelled by both Heaven and Hell because he feels as if his father came down asking for vengeance for his own death even though Hamlet is unable to deliver. Though Hamlet thought about killing Claudius immediately, he also thinks of the negative consequences of revenge rather than the positive ones which puts him at a standstill, “cursing like the whore he is”. As the play progresses through the plot, Hamlet experiences an epiphany after observing Fortinbras, expressing, “Why yet I live to say “this thing's to do”, / Sith
Laertes telling his father he wishes to return to France to continue his studies, which both his father, Polonius, and Claudias allow. Prince Hamlet also wishes to return to his studies, but Claudias refuses to let him, and his wife who also happens to be Hamlet’s mother says that she wants Hamlet to stay close to her after King Hamlet’s sudden death. Hamlet leaves his mother and Claudias, and states how opposed he is to their quick marriage. He says he wishes to die, and that he would kill himself if it were not a sin. Hamlet hears Horatio, Marcellus, and Bernardo approaching, and stops speaking.