... have so much in common with Hamlet that they must be described as the most important foils. The characters are Laertes and Fortinbras. It is the resemblances between Laertes, Fortinbras and Hamlet that make the differences so noticeable and thus helps shape the character of Hamlet ... Hamlet says, "Here, thou incestuous, murderous, damned, Dane, Drink off this potion. Is thy union here? Follow my mother" (V ii l. 318-319). Laertes on the other hand pursued revenge as soon as he heard of the death of his father. He returned to Elsinore and threatened the king and demanded to see ... (IV ...

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• Grade Level: High School

... Hamlet whose murder is supposed to be revenged by his son, Prince Hamlet. The second murder is Polonius whose murder is supposed to be revenged by his son Laertes. Both Prince Hamlet and Laertes go to seek revenge for the death of their fathers, however they will each use different methods to accomplish their deeds. Prince Hamlet has a meeting with the dead ... a fit of rage, stabs his uncle with the poisoned sword. Hamlet has now finally revenged his father's death, though much time has passed. He finally dies from the poisoned sword. Laertes" father, Polonius, is murdered by Hamlet wh...

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... father. First of all, Hamlet tried to avenge on King Claudius because his uncle, Clauduis, poisoned his father and claimed the throne. Secondly, Laertes, who was the son of Polonius, wanted to revenge on Hamlet because Hamlet accidentally killed his father, Polonius and Hamlet should also be responsible ... for the death of Ophelia who was Laertes's sister. And finally, Fortinbras, the prince of Norway, whose father had been killed by King Hamlet many years ago, wanted to take over ... Then, Hamlet stabbed Claudius and forced him to drink the poisoned wine. After all, Claudius died and ...

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... father's deaths. The different ways that each deals with their grief and how they enact their vengeance is one of the main contrasts between the three characters. Both Fortinbras and Laertes serve as foils to the main character of Hamlet. The character of Laretes is a mirror to Hamlet. Perhaps Shakespeare made them similar to provide a greater base for comparison when ... the worlds I give to negligence, "(IV, V, 134) he declares. Hamlet however, philosophizes about the afterlife, and whether "...In that sleep of death what dreams may come."(III, I, 66) Hamlet and Laertes represent the t...

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• Grade Level: High School

... dire consequence resulting in chaos and mayhem. In Shakespeare's "Hamlet" this is very apparent through the embodiment of this exact scenario in Hamlet, Laertes, and Prince Fortinbras. All three men have lost their fathers to cold undaunting homicide and all three have been compelled to avenge their father's ... the concluding scenes, the guilty as well as the innocent become victim to treacherous death. In the case of the proud and brash Laertes he takes the exact opposite approach of Hamlet, where he neglects the necessity for analyzing his situation for enacting proper and successful ...

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... a goodly king." One of Hamlet's most significant themes is the one about revenge. Throughout the play there are three central plots for revenge. Hamlet vows revenge on his uncle, Claudius. Laertes vows revenge on Hamlet. Fortinbras vows revenge on King Hamlet. There is also another minor revenge plot during the play within a play where Priam seeks revenge for his father's murder ... . All three characters endure the death of their father, which shows a common bond between Hamlet, Fortinbras and Laertes. The theme of war runs alongside Hamlet's revenge plot as the army of Norway led by Fo...

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• Grade Level: High School

... The play is, basically, an ongoing battle of revenge. Hamlet is seeking revenge, for his deceased father, on king Claudius throughout the whole play, Laertes wants to avenge the death of his father and sister, Polonius and Ophelia, and Fortinbras, prince of Norway, is trying to take over Denmark because his ... seconds. Hamlet then dies in honor of his country and deceased father, but not before getting the revenge he had wanted during the entire play. Laertes arrives from France wanting to know why his father was killed, by whom, and why he was not given a proper burial. He had a band ...

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... The play includes the stories of three young men who have lost their fathers to violent deaths: Fortinbras, Hamlet, and Laertes. They all have similarities, yet there are distinct differences among these relationships as well as the sons' actions carried out because of their fathers. ... Fortinbras, Laertes, and Hamlet share love and respect for their respective fathers. They loved them enough to attempt to enact revenge upon their murders, ... the play into eventual tragedy, as his undying conviction to avenge his father causes him to make rash decisions. Laertes and his father Poloniu...

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• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... of the play. Claudius has a plan to kill Hamlet but it backfires at first and comes up with another one. Hamlet is sword fighting with Laertes and while this all happening te glass of poison that was intended to kill Hamlet from Claudius is drank by Gertrude and she dies. Then when ... Hamlet sees his mom die Laertes stabs him with a poison sword which Hamlet eventually stabs Laertes with also. As Laertes is dieing, he tells Hamlet that he is right and that Claudius did murder his father. When Hamlet hears ... finally avenging his father's death and not to long after collapses himself an...

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... vengeance that does not end with his own demise, as well as, ascendancy to the conveniently empty throne of Denmark. Secondly, there is Laertes, son of Polonius. Laertes seeks out revenge using lex talionis, "an eye for an eye;- and to this he is entitled to. In these times, the eldest ... but if honour meant anything to him; and in these times, honour meant everything, than it was his obligation to exact his vengeance upon Hamlet. Laertes, having such noble qualities as being inherently good and having a basic honesty and courage, takes up this challenge to kill Hamlet. Unfortunately, ci...

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• Grade Level: High School

... of the king's courtiers tells Hamlet that the king "has laid a great wager on your head" (5.2.97-8), Hamlet learns that he is challenged to a duel with Laertes which is to happen before the king and queen. Even though Hamlet has a sword in his hand and Claudius perfectly reachable he still does not kill him. It ... is that Claudius planned the duel in order to kill him. In an earlier scene Claudius and Laertes make plans to poison the tip of Laertes's sword so that the slightest cut will kill Hamlet. Claudius decides that if Laertes cannot cut Hamlet they will need another way, so Claudiu...

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... with his plan for revenge, he moves quickly and does not care what happens to him. Although Hamlet and Laertes are both taking revenge, Hamlet thinks about the entire process instead of taking action while Laertes acts quickly and only thinks about revenge. Beginning in Act I we see the theme of revenge begin with Hamlet ... his brother. The ghost of King Hamlet returns and reminds Hamlet not to take revenge on his mother. The death of Polonius brings home his son Laertes from France. Like Hamlet, Laertes plans to take revenge for the death of his father, but unlike Hamlet he takes quic...

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... Act 5, scene 2 and are all caused by poison. Claudius supplies the poison, but the weapon Claudius really uses is Laertes" desire for revenge against Hamlet. Hamlet's killing of Laertes" father and the resulting tragic death of his sister have caused Laertes to hate Hamlet. Laertes tells Claudius that he wants to destroy Hamlet, "I will be ruled, The rather if you could devise it so ... That I might be the organ." (IV.vii.67-69). Hamlet is not suspicious of a fencing match with Laertes. Laertes" sword has a poison tip, so when he strikes Hamlet with it Hamlet will surely die. However, C...

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... then the ghost suddenly appears and then disappears without saying a word. Heratio acknowledged that the ghost figure did resemble the deceased King Hamlet. ACT 1 SCENE 2 Characters: King, Queen, Hamlet, Polonius, Laertes, Voltimana, Cornelius, Heratio, Bernardo, Marcellus, Lord, Attendant Setting: A public state room in the castle. Summary: The next morning, after Heratio and the guardsmen see the ghost, King Claudius announces ... king and stabs his sword through the curtain. Instead of stabbing the king, he ends up stabbing and killing Polonius. ACT 5 SCENE 1 Characters: First Clown, ...

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... slay this Fortinbras." This entitled King Hamlet to the land that was possessed by Fortinbras. Polonius was the advisor to the King, and father to Laertes and Ophelia. He was nosy and arrogant, and he did not trust his children. Young Hamlet killed him while he was eves dropping on a ... for his father's death. He then proceeded to prove his uncle's guilt, and then finally kills him while he himself is dying of poisoned wounds inflicted by Laertes during their duel. "The point envenomed too! Then venom, to thy work Here, thou incestuous, murderous, damned Dane, drink off this potion, -i...

• Word Count: 1080
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... is King Hamlet who is supposed to be revenge by his son prince Hamlet. The second murder is Polonius who is supposed to be revenged by his son Laertes. Both Prince Hamlet and Laertes go to seek revenge for the death of fathers; however they will each use different methods to accomplish their deeds. Prince Hamlet has a meeting with the dead ghost ... the match. Hamlet returns to the vicinity of Elsinore just as Ophelia's funeral is taking place. Stricken with grief, he attacks Laertes and declares that he had in fact always loved Ophelia. The fencing match is arranged between Hamlet and ...

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... about his fathers murder, Hamlets loyalty to his loving father begins the plot. Fortinbras" personal honor and loyalty to his father thickens the plot, while Laertes" loyalty brings about the tragic ends of many of the lead character's lives. Honor and loyalty are very human characteristics especially when dealing with one's ... " (1,3. 84). Polonius really does love his son even though it is very questionable sometimes whether he is just worried about himself. Polonius's speech is about Laertes keeping honor for himself and staying completely loyal to his father and not making the famil...

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... kills Fortinbras" father, Fortinbras begins getting his army ready to attack Denmark. He is prepared to take action, but does not go about things rashly as Laertes did. He is able to be reasoned with and persuaded, by diplomatic means, to hold off his attack on Denmark. He can only wait for so ... long, however, because he cannot let his father's death go unavenged. Hamlet's actions are totally different from those of Laertes and Fortinbras. When the ghost tells him that Claudius murdered his father, he does not know if he should believe it or not. Hamlet wants to ... instead of an indiv...

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... . The main thesis is that in all it's forms madness reveals truths and the understanding of these truths are interconnected. The text's reference to truths told by Hamlet, Ophelia and Laertes create this concept. These three types of truth when interconnected result in total understanding. Ever since the death of King Hamlet young Hamlet has been in what appears to be ... 's was unfaithful thus her husband's death may have involved foul elements. Future suffering is among all those who have obtained this present understanding brought on by truth of the past. Laertes" moral knowledge is gi...

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• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... , what they say and what others say about them. The most revengeful characters in the play are Hamlet, the Ghost of King Hamlet, King Claudius and Laertes. Hamlet, the prince of Denmark, is very disturbed by his father's death and his mother's quick marriage to his uncle. Hamlet feels that, "Denmark is ... election and my hopes,"(i.: v.: 975). The devious King Claudius plans to kill Hamlet anyway that he can. When his first attempt fails, he manipulates Laertes to have him help. The king boldly states in one of their discussions, "No place indeed should murder sanctuarize, Revenge should...

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... contemplating the revenge for his father's death. Hamlet is indecisive, hesitant, and contemplative yet at other times impulsive. In Hamlet, Shakespeare defines some of Hamlet's characteristics through Laertes, Fortinbras, and Horatio's persona and actions. Hamlet begins with Hamlet being 30 years old, King Hamlet dead, Claudius married to Gertuade and the estate of Norwegian in ... the ghost represents "May be devil, and the devil hath power"( 554). Hamlet's uncertainty illustrates his indecisiveness and foreshadows his contemplative attitude. Laertes is the son of Polonius and a soldi...

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... stand, That both worlds I give to negligence, Let come what comes, only I"ll be revenged Most thoroughly for my father." (Act 4. Sc. 5, 148-154) Laertes causes a lot of trouble while trying to achieve his goal of revenge. After finding out that his father is dead, and then later discovering that his good friend Hamlet killed ... him, his judgment and state of mind is easily changed by Hamlet's enemy Claudius. Claudius and Laertes plan to kill Hamlet at a fencing match, but while Laertes takes part in the battle itself, Claudius just stands and watches, knowing that hamlet will die eithe...

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... here because later in Act 5 we see that Hamlet feels sorry that he had fought with Laertes because Laertes is in the same state of revenge for the death of his father. This shows that Hamlet and Laertes are similar in the way they associate with their families. Laertes highly respects and loves his father Polonius, so does Hamlet (Hamlet compares his father to ... after Hamlet has told her about Claudius's act of murder she still protects him; and when Laertes rushes into the king's apartment accusing him of murder, she tries to calm him down "calmly good Laertes" and later defends Clau...

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... into an adult. Shakespeare doesn't describe to the audience exactly what Hamlet was like while in college, but we can piece together a picture of him. Laertes describes Hamlet's attitudes toward Ophelia as "trifling", a "toy in blood" and "primy" (1.3.12-14) suggesting that Hamlet ... in the play, once Ophelia has drowned after the death of Polonius, Hamlet regrets what he's said and done to Ophelia. As he fights with Laertes at Ophelia's funeral, Hamlet shouts out, "I loved Ophelia. Forty thousand brothers/ Could not with all their quantity of love/ Make up my ... to gracefully accept t...

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... him, but he did not know whose funeral it was. Hamlet finally found that it was Ophelia who had died. Even though Hamlet was hurt emotionally, Laertes was the one who was hurt the worst. Laertes had these worlds to say, O treble woe/ Fall ten times treble on that cursed head/ Whose wicked deed thy most ingenious sense/ Deprived thee of.(5.1, 246 ... -248) Laertes blamed Hamlet for the deaths of Polonius and Ophelia and challenged Hamlet to a fencing dual which would be rigged by Claudius and Laertes. The end of Laertesword would be poisoned; as a backup plan, if Hamlet would happen to wi...

• Word Count: 657
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• Grade Level: High School