Shakespeare's play Hamlet consists of many important secondary characters that become foils to the main characters. Laertes, for example, becomes the foil to Hamlet. Laertes brings out the the true nature of Hamlet; cruel and unforgiving. Hamlet’s true nature gets exposed during the funeral of Laertes’ sister Ophelia, and the death of Laertes. In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the role of Laertes is to bring out the cruel and unforgiving nature of Hamlet by being Hamlet’s foil.
When the play begins, the audience learns that the old king of Denmark has been murdered by his brother, Claudius, who is now ruling over Denmark. Ever since the death of the old king, Hamlet, the son of the old king, has been very unhappy due to the death of his father and the remarriage of his mother. As Hamlet is mourning the death of his father, a ghost appears. The ghost tells Hamlet that he must kill King Claudius to avenge his father. Later on in the story, as Hamlet is trying to fulfil the …show more content…
Throughout the play, Hamlet treats Ophelia, his love interest, very poorly. Hamlet treats Ophelia as if she is crazy or as if she is unimportant. Hamlet acts this way until he sees Ophelia being buried. Laertes decides to give a speech in honor of his sister, “O, treble woe fall on that curséd head whose wicked deed thy most ingenious sense deprived thee of!-Hold off the earth awhile, Till I have caught her once more in mine arms” (5.1.250-253). As Laertes is giving a loving speech about his sister, Hamlet rushes in and claims that he has always loved Ophelia more, "I loved Ophelia. Forty thousand brothers could not with all their quantity of love move up my sum. What wilt thou do for her” (5.1.276-278)? This moment brings out the cruel nature of Hamlet. Hamlet always treated Ophelia poorly, but in the end, he chooses not to ask for Ophelia’s forgiveness, but instead to try to hide the truth about the way he treated
When the play begins, the audience learns that the old king of Denmark has been murdered by his brother, Claudius, who is now ruling over Denmark. Ever since the death of the old king, Hamlet, the son of the old king, has been very unhappy due to the death of his father and the remarriage of his mother. As Hamlet is mourning the death of his father, a ghost appears. The ghost tells Hamlet that he must kill King Claudius to avenge his father. Later on in the story, as Hamlet is trying to fulfil the …show more content…
Throughout the play, Hamlet treats Ophelia, his love interest, very poorly. Hamlet treats Ophelia as if she is crazy or as if she is unimportant. Hamlet acts this way until he sees Ophelia being buried. Laertes decides to give a speech in honor of his sister, “O, treble woe fall on that curséd head whose wicked deed thy most ingenious sense deprived thee of!-Hold off the earth awhile, Till I have caught her once more in mine arms” (5.1.250-253). As Laertes is giving a loving speech about his sister, Hamlet rushes in and claims that he has always loved Ophelia more, "I loved Ophelia. Forty thousand brothers could not with all their quantity of love move up my sum. What wilt thou do for her” (5.1.276-278)? This moment brings out the cruel nature of Hamlet. Hamlet always treated Ophelia poorly, but in the end, he chooses not to ask for Ophelia’s forgiveness, but instead to try to hide the truth about the way he treated