Foils of Hamlet

        The influential play, Hamlet by William Shakespeare, consists of various different foil characters either surrounding Hamlet or other minor supporting characters. The use of foil characters assists the views of readers with respect to comparing and contrasting significant characters. Hamlet, Laertes, and Fortinbras can all be proved as foils of each other because they are written to share similar situations, however react among their own individual manner. Shakespeare achieves such illumination when Hamlet, Laertes, and Fortinbras all seek vengeance for their fathers death. Although parallel in backgrounds, Hamlet and Laertes contrast greatly due to their hamartia, which results in death for both characters, whereas Fortinbras embodies balance that keeps his hamartia from flaring and hence leads to his survival at the end of the play.

        The background of the characters contributes to the creation of their tragic flaw, or potential flaw with respect to Fortinbras, which results in Hamlet and Laertes' literal downfall in the end of the play. Hamlet, being the Prince of Denmark and heir to the throne, posses a scholar education and therefore has an extreme reasoning background. After his father died, and mother's remarriage to his uncle, Claudius, Hamlet carried out a melancholy state. Upon witnessing the Ghost of his late father, Hamlet discovered that Claudius is responsible for the murder of Old Hamlet. QUOTE ABOUT THE GHOST TELLING HAMLET THAT CLAUDIUS KILLED HIM. With this in mind, Hamlet beings to avenge his father's death by proving what the Ghost claims is true. By procrastinating the process of proving Claudius' guilt, Hamlet's tragic flaw beings to flourish as he starts to play a double persona by acting insane, contemplating murder and producing philosophic questions. Moreover, Laertes shares a similar background to Hamlet, with respect to his father, Polonious', death.  Both foils share a similar economic status where Hamlet is Prince and Laertes is son of the chamberlain. Laertes' purpose is to also avenge his father's death by following Claudius' orders to kill Hamlet which corrupts Laertes'reasoning ability leading him to act in a hasty manner. QUOTE ABOUT LAERTES ACTING IN HASTY MANNER. Laeres' tragic flaw is also born within the process of vengence and clouds his chance of survival in the end.