... however, tell Horatio to tell everyone that what he did was the right thing. Throughout the play, Hamlet constantly went after justice and honour, all while seeking his revenge. Finally, Laertes is used as a foil for Hamlet. Laertes' firm and enraged desire to avenge Polonius, stands in complete opposition to Hamlet's inactivity with respect to his own father's death ... . Laertes is the king's advisor's son, while Hamlet is next in line for the throne. They both act and feel differently towards the new king. Laertes obeys the new king, while Hamlet scorns and despises Claudius for what ...

• Word Count: 816
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• Grade Level: High School

... 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...

• Word Count: 857
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• Grade Level: High School

... possibly go wrong does. He accidentally kills Polonius in another attempt at assassinating Claudius, which brings Ophelia over the edge to madness, which results in her death, which promptly inspires Laertes, Ophelia's brother, to seek revenge against Hamlet. This is Shakespeare's example of a revenge that should not be taken, one that is unwarranted because the actions were not intentional. The only ... man's son to lose the only person he truly loved. Claudius' unscrupulous actions continue as he comes up with a plot to aid Laertes in his undeserved vengeance, telling him "revenge sho...

• Word Count: 683
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• Grade Level: High School

... kinds of poison; a physical and spiritual one. In the physical sense, at the end of the play, each character dies either by reason or accident. Laertes died by accident when he and Hamlet switch swords, however he realizes this when he says, "I am killed with mine own treachery" (V:ii, 286). All ... these characters have ideas in mind that backfire on them, and in the case of Laertes it was his obsession for the revenge of his father's death that lead him to his death. Another character who died and not by her own fault ... of irony and physical revenge. The other type of poison found ...

• Word Count: 482
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• Grade Level: High School

... ., so that upon reaching Act 2 the audience's first thought of everyone will be "are they really who they say they are?" Act 2 opens with Polonius worrying about Laertes. He is requesting that Reynaldo visit Laertes and gain his confidence in order to find out what he is up to. This shows blatant duplicity and corruption. Polonius is consumed with appearance, always trying ... to appear as a caring person, a man who loves his son, Laertes. By sending a spy to entrap his son he shows a lack of trust for everyone, even his family, which contradicts his appearance as confident father who al...

• Word Count: 948
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... . The common reader has preconceived perceptions of a graveyard. Those opinions consist of mostly unpleasant thoughts and images. Before the graveyard, Shakespeare created a dramatic scene which consisted of Queen Gertrude telling Laertes that his sister, Ophelia had drowned. Gertrude says, "One woe doth tread upon another's heel, / So fast they follow. Your sister's drown ... "d Laertes" (4.7.163-164). Shakespeare has created a somber mood already which adds to 5.1 right off by talking about a graveyard. However, it is at this point that Shakespeare twists the play's mood. Act ... Haml...

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• Grade Level: High School

... this is where Claudius really starts to try and act against Hamlet and get him out of his kingdom. This would set the tone for the final act where Claudius, Laertes, and Hamlet face off in the duel to the death. However, that wouldn't have happened if Hamlet hadn't finished his inner debate and decided to seek his revenge against his ... off, he kills Polonius because he thought he was spying on him, which drives both Ophelia and Laertes mad. Ophelia deals with her anger by killing herself, but Laertes wishes to face off against Hamlet in a fencing duel. Here, Claudius comes in and plan...

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• Grade Level: High School

... events to ihdentify the plot and create excitement for the audience. The events in Act Four being discussed (in order of time) are: the madness of Ophelia, the return of Laertes to avenge the death of his father and finally the death of Ophelia. All events were put into Act four to bring together the main plot(s). The death of Polonius ... was starting to put all of the sub plots together to form an actual story. The death of Polonius was a tragedy to all of Denamrk but especially for his son Laertes. Laertes hears of his fathers death and vows to avenge it. He was certain the murderer ...

• Word Count: 324
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• Grade Level: High School

... is quite pivotal because he is in many ways a parallel to Hamlet and provides the readers a strong base for comparison with Hamlet. The figure of Laertes is extremely useful in analyzing the social commentary Shakespeare is trying to make about the "morality of revenge", because he mirrors Hamlet in practically all aspects of life, and is ... duty of avenging his father's death. The one major difference between the two is their approach to and methods of avenging their respective father's deaths. Shakespeare has made Hamlet and Laertes similar in all aspects except the one crucial char...

• Word Count: 262
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• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... when a character, who, through striking differences, similarities, and strong contrast, underscores the protagonist's distinctive characteristics. In the play Hamlet, Shakespeare uses the "foil" technique where the characters of Fortinbras and Laertes serve as ones to Hamlet. To understand how Shakespeare intends to use this technique, first it is important have an in-depth comprehension of the characters that are used in ... , and forceful person. " Ham. It will be short: the interim is mine; And a man's life is no more than to say One. But I am very sorry, good Horatio, That to Laertes...

• Word Count: 903
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• Grade Level: High School

... theme of deception, and how its use by one or more characters leads to their downfall. In Act One; Scene Two, Polonius explicitly stated this theme when he said to Laertes; "By indirections find directions out". Each major character in Hamlet, in his or her own way, provided an example of this theme. By using deceit the characters in "Hamlet" employed ... he had created began to control him. This can be seen in Act 5: Scene Two when Hamlet speaks of himself to Laertes: " I here proclaim [my] madness If Hamlet from himself be ta'en away, / And when he's not himself, does wrong Laertes, /...

• Word Count: 932
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• Grade Level: High School

... one hand he feels almost giddy about sending Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to their deaths. On the other hand we hear his feelings about his injustice against Laertes, "But I am very sorry, good Horatio, That to Laertes I forgot myself (5;2, L 85-86)." His sympathy seems sincere, but you could also see it as tainted because he says nothing about being sorry for the act ... , only that he's sorry it was commited against Laertes. You might say that for all he's done Hamlet is a corrupt bastard, plain and simple. I don't think it's that easy however. We've never been given any indication of ...

• Word Count: 866
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• Grade Level: High School

... that the commands of the superior were not evil or malicious. But Shakespeare gives us a more evil situation as well. Much later in the play, Laertes has just returned from France upon learning of his father's death. In his conversation with King Claudius, the plans are laid for Hamlet's end. "Claudius ... : Revenge should have no bounds. But good Laertes, will you do this, keep close within your chamber. Hamlet returned shall know you are come home. We"ll put on those shall praise your ... the foils, so that with ease, or with a little shuffling, you may choose a sword unbated, and in...

• Word Count: 1196
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... be seen by all, and by waiting to kill Claudius, Hamlet is successful in this. In the end, this causes Hamlet's death, but he undoubtedly avenged his father's passing because Laertes and Gertrude both realized that Claudius murdered the King. Through his demise, Hamlet proves that he is not, in fact, unstable. Shakespeare's reveals a lot about the attempted justification for revenge ... . Crying for his father is probably a more natural reaction than the inclination to kill. In the last act, Shakespeare's idea of the nature of revenge is very clear. Hamlet and Laertes had lost their live...

• Word Count: 1080
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• Grade Level: High School

... he first had the chance, Polonius would not have died. Polonius' death was the reason why Ophelia committed suicide. Ophelia's death angered Laertes, which made Laertes want to challenge Hamlet in a duel. At the duel, Gertrude died, as well as Laertes. Prufrock has procrastinated all his life out for fear of being rejected. He desperately wants to say his feelings, but does not ... ...

• Word Count: 802
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• Grade Level: High School

... . Claudius explains his exile of Hamlet to England by referring to the Prince's popularity among the Danish people. But the Danish people are a fickle lot; many of them come to Laertes' cause against the Prince. Killing a king is a weighty matter, a many modern critics have argued that, in his particular circumstances, Hamlet is wise to defer action. In the end, Hamlet does ... act, defying augury in accepting the challenge to duel with Laertes. But the change in Hamlet's character takes place in scene i of Act V, and is expressed in his self-assertion that he is "Hamlet the Dane." It is...

• Word Count: 782
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• Grade Level: High School

... 's Hamlet. Shakespeare portrays the female characters in Hamlet as being stereotypical for the Elizabethan time period. This is demonstrated in Hamlets relationship with his mother, Ophelia's relationship with Polonius and Laertes, and the women characters, in relation to the play as a whole. Gertrude's relationship with her son, Hamlet, displays an accurate portrayal of the way women were treated in the Elizabethan ... thought that women were incapable of making rational decisions on their own, this is shown in Act 1 Scene 3 when both Polonius, Ophelia's father and Laertes, Ophelia's br...

• Word Count: 669
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• Grade Level: High School

... Queen of Denmark, that is Hamlet's mother. There is also, Polonius, which is Lord Chamberlain under Claudius. He also has a daughter Ophelia, otherwise known as Hamlet's love. Ophelia has a brother Laertes. Horatio is Hamlet's schoolmate and loyal friend. The last major character in the play is the Ghost of King Hamlet ("Sir" 438-439). In the play, Horatio is invited to ... he sees the Prince of Denmark, which just died. Horatio tells Hamlet what happened and then Hamlet confesses his upset feelings of his mother remarrying after his father's death. Meanwhile, Laertes and Polonius tell ...

• Word Count: 601
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• Grade Level: High School

... proof to justify the revenge. In the end Hamlet seeks revenge without giving mercy to anyone that gets in his path. Also in the play there are other characters; Ophelia, Laertes, and Fortinbras that undergo the same quest to seek revenge for their respective father's deaths, but go about in different routes. Ophelia, whose father was killed by Hamlet, was overwhelmed ... , not only by the death of her father but also by a predicament pertaining to her love life. She could not bare the pressure and became crazy and drowned accidentally. Laertes, Ophelia's brother, did not sit back and pro...

• Word Count: 289
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

... , it's just a matter of time before he kills him. But Hamlet's own anger will come back and haunt him in the final scenes of the play when he fights with Laertes. Laertes ends up poisoning Hamlet with a cut from the sword during the fight. Therefore Hamlet's frustration and madness will overcome him in the end when a fight which was drawn on by ... ...

• Word Count: 719
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• Grade Level: High School

... her sexuality, her father fears that her loss of innocence would reflect badly on him and uses her to spy on Hamlet, and Hamlet vents his misogynistic feelings on her. Laertes: "Then weigh what loss your honour may sustain if your chase treasure open to his unmastered importunity." (I, III, 31 - 32) Polonius: "Tender yourself more dearly or you"ll tender me ... surprising, that after being treated as a sexual commodity, she offers herself as one when she goes mad. Her madness is after all, caused by how she is treated by Polonius, Laertes and Hamlet. Ophelia: "Quoth she, "Before you tum...

• Word Count: 999
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• Grade Level: High School

... the line for other people, even if those people are already dead. It is this attitude though, that gets him killed in the end. He is too willing to fight Laertes, even though he knows the odds are against him, "there is a special providence in the fall of a sparrow." Lastly, the one thing that makes Hamlet either an exciting or depressing ... ...

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... do so right away. Shakespeare purposely makes Hamlet out to be a procrastinator for one very important reason, if Hamlet would have quickly pursued this revenge, Gertrude, Polonius, Ophelia, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, Laertes, and of course Hamlet himself would have survived and Shakespeare would not have achieved tragedy in this play. There are many explanations for Hamlet's long delay, some of which include ... ...

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• Grade Level: High School

... belief in the providential control of all events is justified by the outcome. Claudius' responsibility for Hamlet's death and the death of his mother is established before the court by Laertes and he is able to execute Claudius for these crimes alone. Hamlet has exceeded his earlier damnable intention of planned revenge in a spontaneous act of just repayment for the loss ... ...

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... of Act 5, scene 1, in the play "Hamlet". Before this scene, it was revealed by Gertrude that Ophelia had questionably drowned. Claudius uses his diplomatic skills and cunning reasoning to sway Laertes into becoming a deadly weapon against Hamlet. The audience is introduced to two new characters; the gravediggers, is been introduced to the major theme and imagery revolving around death. This scene ... ...

• Word Count: 647
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School