Hamlet’s Laertes
One of the less-discussed characters in the Shakespearean tragedy, Hamlet, is Laertes, the son of Polonius and brother to Ophelia. He witnesses the death of all of his immediate family, thus losing his “honorable” approach to living – until the very end of the drama.
Bernice W. Kliman in “A Television Interpretation of Hamlet” (1964 with Christopher Plummer) highlights the actions of Laertes at the climax of the drama:
Close-ups, of course, reveal that Gertrude offers Hamlet the poisoned wine once she has drunk, that Laertes crosses himself as he takes the fatal rapier, that he gives Hamlet a foul blow after impatient urgings from Claudius, that the soldiers restrain Claudius after Laertes’ revelation. Yet the setting allows enough space around the close-ups for Laertes to make his first admission to Osric alone and for the supernumeraries to disappear while Horatio holds the dying Hamlet, the frame widening out for Fortinbras’ stately entry. (157)
Kliman’s description contains some detail which is not within the official text since her description derives from a television version of Hamlet. Based on the stage version, Marvin Rosenberg describes Laertes in his essay, “Laertes: An Impulsive but Earnest Young Aristocrat”:
Laertes is a dashing, romantic figure who excites striking, spectacular moments in the play. Not much attention has been paid to him by scholar-critics and theatre observers; for all his activity in the later acts, he is not much cursed with inward struggle – while being surrounded by others fascinating for their infernos of inwardness. After Laertes’ brief, bright introduction in I,i and I,iii, he disappears from the play – and Denmark – until he returns at the head of a rebellion in IV,v [. . .]. (87)
With Rosenberg’s overview of Laertes’ situation in the play, let us begin a consideration of his interaction with other members of the cast. Laertes makes his appearance in the drama after Marcellus, Barnardo and Horatio have already seen the Ghost and have trifled with it in an effort to prompt it to communicate with them. Horatio and Marcellus exit the ramparts of Elsinore intending to enlist the aid of Hamlet, who is dejected by the “o’erhasty marriage” to Hamlet I’s wife less than two month’s after the funeral of Hamlet’s father (Gordon 128). After this scene, Laertes is one of many in attendance at a post-coronation social gathering of the court at Elsinore.
In Shakespeare's play, Hamlet, the young Prince Hamlet must deal with murder, corruption and incest. The foils to Prince Hamlet, give the reader a basis to summarize his character within the play. Such foils include Laertes, son of Polonius, Claudius, current king of Denmark and stepfather of Hamlet, and Fortinbras, the prince of Norway.
In his speech, King questions why misery would “constantly haunt the negro? In some distant past, had the forebears done some tragic injury to the nation, and was the curse of punishment upon the black race?” (Paragraph 4). By the use of rhetorical questioning, King creates a vulnerable image for the blacks, because they were innocent victims of wrongdoing. They had done no harm to the whites, so why were they being so abused by them? When King questions and targets the whites, he is also using ethos to appeal to sympathy of the black race. African Americans were like a child being punished by their “parents,” the whites, for committing no misdemeanor. The first American to “shed blood in the revolution which freed his country from British oppression was a black seaman named Crispus Attucks,” yet blacks were still being penalized (Paragraph 5). King looks for sympathy in his audience to comply with the African American race, and to persuade them to believe in his point that blacks were being punished for no reason, only doing what the whites failed to do. Maybe that was why they were being punished— because blacks proved to be able to do what the whites could not. King creates this tone throughout the use of irony, and soft threats. Were the whites intimidated by African Americans, punishing blacks only
Laertes holds the most important role as a foil to Hamlet. He represents the rage that boils within Hamlet and the revenge which he seeks. In many ways Laertes mirrors Hamlet's character. Their anger is precipitated through the same source, the untimely death of their fathers. Other similarities between the two men include the love that they both felt for Ophelia, and the heartfelt sorrow which they displayed upon her tragic death. The differences between Hamlet and Laertes become obvious as the two characters are played off of each other. Both men are the dutiful sons of their father's. However Leartes is portrayed as the well-breed son, while Hamlet's character is played down to that of a more peculiar type commoner who possesses few royal qualities. Although both men are students, Leartes prefers to indulges in a Parisian type lifestyle, whereas Hamlet chooses to study in the more subdued atmosphere of Whittenburg. There is also a difference in the way that both men react to the death of their fathers. Upon learning of his father's death, Laertes immediately allows his grievances to be known and chooses to go strait to the arena for his revenge. Hamlet chooses a more peculiar approach...
Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 1 May 2014. Shmoop Editorial Team. "Laertes in Hamlet."
One of the foils important to the play is Laertes. Although Laertes does not appear often in the play, he brings much to the plot and to Hamlet's character. These two are similar in many ways. They both seem to be about the same age, are well educated, and gentleman. One main thing that they have in common is they both are seeking revenge for their father's deaths. Both of their fathers were unnecessarily killed. Hamlet's father was killed by his father's brother for the crown and his wife, and Hamlet killed Laertes' father over mistaken identity. It was the revenge of these two that made up the plot of the story. Because of Laertes, the two could finally fulfill their revenge in the battle at the end that killed both Hamlet and the new king. If Laertes had not challenged Hamlet, the king would have died by some other way; however, the king died by poisoning just as he had killed his brother.
First explain the differences between low incidence disabilities (LID) and High Incidence Disabilities (HID). Then discuss three specific transition services for either LID or HID in 2015 and why they are viable for this population. Then, explain 2 specific local/state and/or federal regulations that are in place to support this population of students with disabilities? Be Specific!
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"Laertes is a mirror to Hamlet. Shakespeare has made them similar in many aspects to provide a greater base for comparison when avenging their respective fathers' deaths" (Nardo, 90). Both Hamlet and Laertes love Ophelia in different ways. Hamlet wishes Ophelia to become his wife, Laertes loves Ophelia as a sister. Hamlet is a scholar at Wittenberg; Laertes is also a scholar at France. Both were brought up under this royal family of Denmark. And both are admired for their swordsmenship. But most important of all, both of them loved and respected their fathers greatly, and showed great devotion when plotting to avenge their fathers' deaths.
Basically Hamlet's character is going through a tough time, he’s upset, disgusted, depressed, moody, and also indecisive.Laertes foils Hamlet’s character. He is the son of Polonius and the brother to Ophelia. He is described as a passionate and a quick of action person. The most important thing about him is that he is a doer not a thinker. Being quick on his feet to problems is what got him killed. Laertes warns his loving sister about Hamlet but also boys in general “ My bags are already on board. Farewell, my sister. Please write often. As for Hamlet, and his attentions to you, Do not take them to seriously. They are like violets in the spring, Fast-blooming and sweet, but not long-lasting” ( Act I, Scene 3). The beginning of the play he leaves Denmark and goes to France. Due to the killing of Ophelia and Polonius he returns back and seeks revenge. Claudius and Laertes team up and plot to kill Hamlet.Hamlet and Laertes has a lot of similarities and differences. They are different because Hamlet gets forced to be sent away while Laertes wanted to get sent away. Hamlet is more of a responsible person while Laertes is more bold and reckless. Laertes provide contrast to Hamlet's character. They are similar in multiple ways starting with the love they had for
Even though the majority of hospitals and health care facilities are computerized, the charge nurse has to communicate with a multitude of health care professionals during every shift. Society’s strong reliance on technology emphasizes the importance of electronic writing and communication for all nurses. Throughout the shift, the charge nurse will have to send urgent text messages and emails to their supervisor or coworkers to ensure everything is running smoothly on the floor. Even though email and text might be thought of as informal communication, writing skills must be professional when speaking with superiors and coworkers to maintain an appropriate appearance (Knab,
Hamlet's response to grief is a trait starkly contrasted by Laertes. Laertes response to the death of his father is immediate. He is publicly angry, and he leads the public riot occuring outside Castle Elsinore, which Polonius' death and quick burial served as a catalyst. He is suspicious, as is evident in his speech to Claudius. "How came he dead? I'll not be juggled with. / To hell, allegiance!"(Act 4, 5:130). Hamlet, however is very private with his grief. His mourning for King Hamlet is long and drawn out, two months after his father's death, he is still observed to be wearing "...suits of solemn black."[(Act1, 2:78) Claudius and Gertrude comment on his unhappiness, however it is not until Hamlet's first soliloquy that the audience is made aware of the depth of his suffering. Although dismayed at his mother's quick remarriage to his uncle, Hamlet suspects nothing of his father's murder until the ghost discloses this to him.
Each man deals with grief in extremely distinct manners, when looking at Laertes in comparison to Hamlet you can swiftly see their great contrast to one another. Hamlet would rather create reason before madness; he is the type to use his brain before his fist. Whereas Laertes is always caught up in his anger that he sees no means to absolve the actions of others.
Rosenberg, Marvin. "Laertes: An Impulsive but Earnest Young Aristocrat." Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. from The Masks of Hamlet. Newark, NJ: Univ. of Delaware P., 1992.
3. Concrete operational stage (7-11 years old): children start to think logically in a consistent way, but only in regards to real and concrete features of their world, but not in an abstract situation. This stage makes the school-age child a more systematic, objective and a scientific-style
Instead of blaming the gods or the fates or even the oracle, Oedipus instead does something which defines him as a tragic hero, he takes all of the blame and puts it on himself. Oedipus fully realizes that he murdered his father and slept with his mother after his long conversation with the blind prophet and shepherds (Sophocles, 465-479 1271-1310) However, it is when he sees his wife’s body hanging from the rope that he realizes fully what has happened, and that realization shakes Oedipus so much that he gouges his own eyes out in an attempt to both torture himself and accept his punishment as well as to no longer be able to see his once beautiful children, now turned into monstrosities in his eyes (Sophocles, 1395-1414) Oedipus accepts his fate completely near the end of the play, telling Creon to cast him out of Thebes with the words: “As for me, never condemn the city of my fathers to house my body, not while I’m alive, no, let me live on the mountains, on Cithaeron… let me die there, where they [Oedipus’s parents] tried to kill me” (Sophocles 1587-1594). It is with the accepting of his fate that Oedipus takes full responsibility for his own actions, despite the fact that he was unable to control his actions and he was ignorant of any crimes he was capable of. This is just another thing that makes him the epitome of a tragic hero, and it is the characteristic