Hamlet Foils

William Shakespeare is known as the greatest playwright of all time. His plays contain many of the same base template of elements and themes, but the characters and plot change from play to play. Shakespeare is known as a genius for many reasons but one of the most well known facts is that he was able to make the audiences in the Elizabethan age relate and learn things from his characters. One of these elements is foil characters. Foil characters are defined as characters who parallel and contrast each other, giving the audience or reader better insight into the characters qualities and sometimes their downfalls. In many of his plays, including Hamlet, Shakespeare uses foil characters to show different sides of characters and what would happen …show more content…
Polonius is the advisor to Claudius. It is not said whether or not Polonius was the advisor to Claudius’s brother, Hamlet’s dad. These characters are foil characters because of how they mirror each other, but at the same time make contrasting decisions. Shakespeare uses these two characters in his main and sub plot compare and contrast. Claudius and Polonius have character traits that the other doesn’t have. This contrast of the two characters spanning the play, shows the characters under a different light allowing the audience to understand and connect better to Shakespeare’s creation. These two characters were an easy foil to identify because they are have similarities when interacting with their families, but they also have the different character qualities that the other is often guilty of coveting.
The second and final pair of foil characters observed is Hamlet and Horatio. The two people in this foil relationship are best friends, and they perfectly exemplify what film characters are supposed to look like. Hamlet is the main character and is observed, criticized, and empathized with throughout the play. He is the prince of Denmark and has …show more content…
These two pairs of foil characters convey how two similar, but very different people can fit together and learn from one another. The actions of the pairs of foil characters in Hamlet allowed Shakespeare’s audiences a more in depth look at the characters without having to explain face to face to the audience who the characters were as people. Shakespeare made his plays and characters relatable to so that his audiences would be able to take something away from being at the theater rather than just being