William Shakespeare once said "Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them" Greatness is within ourselves. Some more known than others. William Shakespeare is timeless for his creative and brilliant writing. He cunningly uses many techniques. In the epic tragedy Hamlet, William Shakespeare craftily designs the supporting characters of Ophelia, Laertes, and Fortinbras as foils to the main character of Hamlet; in so doing, this literary technique compares and contrasts their natures and reveals Hamlet's true character.
To begin, the two cross-eyed lovers in Hamlet, Ophelia and Hamlet, both illustrate distinct similarities and differences between their two dispositions. Ophelia’s relationships between her various family members reflect Hamlet’s own affinities with his family members. Due to their unusual love for each other, Hamlet and Ophelia causes Polonius, Ophelia’s father, to question and misunderstand the fluctuating state of the two lover’s relationship. After asking about Ophelia’s budding relationship with Hamlet, Polonius warns the young girl to stay far away from the youthful prince of Denmark, for she should not “believe in his vows; for they are brokers.” (1.3.127) Polonius’ accusations illustrate the father’s parental authority and his complete dejection of the blossoming relationship, completely misconceiving and ignoring his daughter’s want to be with Hamlet. Moreover, Hamlet’s madness throughout the tragedy causes his mother, Gertrude, to face similar problems to Polonius with misunderstanding her son. Due to a series of misfortunate events, Hamlet ends up brutally murdering Polonius, and he wishes for his mother, who watches the murder, to keep the killing a secret from Cla...
... middle of paper ...
...en more shocking because Fortinbras, the quietly pursuing shadow of Hamlet, is thrust into power and into Hamlet’s place of worthy fortune. As the tragedy comes to a close, Fortinbras is the only individual with the power to glue all the pieces of the ruined royal family together. In conclusion, where's Hamlet often speaks his mind with his eloquent flow of words: the frame of a picture, Fortinbras speaks with his actions: the enthralling image within the frame.
Shakespeare makes his writing complicated like a puzzle. There are many pieces to fit together, but in the end, makes a complete beautiful picture. There are many secondary characters that interact with one another. It is confusing, but in the end, they all work together as foils to reveal the true character of disheveled Hamlet. By having these kinds of ideas it truly distinguishes Shakespeare as a genius.
Although the play Hamlet is largely centered around the “tragic hero” Hamlet, it is the minor foil characters that gives us a deeper understanding of the text and a more conscious understanding of the internal struggles experienced by Hamlet. Each of these characters contrasts a specific aspect of Hamlet that would otherwise be overlooked. Horatio consolidates all of the desirable features that Hamlet wants to be into one person. Fortinbras, although in the exact same situation as Hamlet with his father dead and his uncle on the throne, is the complete opposite of Hamlet by choosing action over inaction. Finally, Ophelia personifies Hamlet’s innocence and the death of his innocence after the death of his father. Despite being opposites of each other, each of these characters bring a new outlook on the tragedy of Hamlet.
Shakespeare is a master of words, in that he is able to make a reader really think about what he is actually trying to say both as a whole (i.e. the entire play) and in the individual poetic dynamics of the play (i.e. metaphors, diction). He does so brilliantly in one of his most famous plays, Hamlet. The play itself is filled with complex internal dynamics, while at the same time the characters in Hamlet have several complex internal dynamics themselves as well. Throughout the play we are constantly on the edge of our seat, waiting and anticipating what or where Shakespeare is going to take us next. What struck me throughout the play was the relationship between Polonius and his daughter Ophelia. Through Hamlet, and thus through Polonius and Ophelia’s relationship and diction, Shakespeare is able to express to us the flawed ways in which relationship between father and daughter can be and consequently are acted out upon.
Much of the dramatic action of Shakespeare’s tragedy, Hamlet is within the head of the main character, Hamlet. His wordplay represents the amazing, contradictory, unsettled, mocking, nature of his mind, as it is torn by disappointment and positive love, as Hamlet seeks both acceptance and punishment, action and stillness, and wishes for consummation and annihilation. He can be abruptly silent or vicious; he is capable of wild laughter and tears, and also polite badinage.
Hamlet shows much anger and disrespect to the women in his life. Ophelia’s believing her father’s words breaks Hamlets heart, being the reason for his treatment towards not just her but his mother. Ophelia
While Hamlet may still be feeling depressed Hamlet moves into the stage of denial and isolation. Hamlet feels the effects of denial and isolation mostly due to his love, Ophelia. Both Hamlet’s grief and his task constrain him from realizing this love, but Ophelia’s own behavior clearly intensifies his frustration and anguish. By keeping the worldly and disbelieving advice of her brother and father as “watchmen” to her “heart” (I.iii.46), she denies the heart’s affection not only in Hamlet, but in herself; and both denials add immeasurably to Hamlet’s sense of loneliness and loss—and anger. Her rejection of him echoes his mother’s inconstancy and denies him the possibility even of imagining the experience of loving an...
The decisions of Hamlet, Laertes, and Fortinbras are utilized to show the importance of balancing thought with action in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The lives of the three characters are all following similar paths at the start of the play, but their personalities take them in very different directions. For Hamlet, the idea of revenge consumes him, and he becomes too obsessive to accomplish much of anything. Laertes on the other hand jumps into the pit of revenge too quickly, and gets lost in all the hubbub. However, Fortinbras knows how to carefully dance around the subject of revenge in a manner that he succeeds with little to no damage to himself. Although it is important to act quickly in tense situations, it is also important to not ponder so much that the opportunity is lost.
“Pretty Ophelia,” as Claudius calls her, is the most innocent victim of Hamlet’s revenge in Shakespeare’s play Hamlet. Hamlet has fallen in love with Ophelia after the death of his father. Ophelia “sucked the honey of his music vows” and returned Hamlet’s affection. But when her father had challenged Hamlet’s true intentions, Ophelia could only say: “I do not know, my lord, what I should think.” Ophelia was used to relying on her father’s directions and she was also brought up to be obedient. This allowed her to only accept her father’s views that Hamlet’s attention towards her was only to take advantage of her and to obey her father’s orders not to permit Hamlet to see her again.
Hamlet's relationship and actions towards Ophelia are not exempt from his dual personalities. In private, he is deeply devoted to her; but in public, he humiliates and belittles her...
Polonius is the father of Laertes and Ophelia. His contribution to the ideology of sexism and incest is not as direct as the other characters but it is just as significant. His daughter, Ophelia, is deeply in love with the title character, Hamlet. Polonius constantly observes the suspicious relationship between Ophelia and Hamlet. He tries to intervene between his daughter’s relationships with Hamlet. Since her love for Hamlet is so strong, Ophelia becomes disobedient and rebellious to her father just so that she could make a way to fulfill the needs of Hamlet. Polonius tries to help Ophelia understand that she is basically “bait” to Hamlet and she must avoid falling for his word but she refuses to listen. Along with Polonius, his son Laertes is also attempting to protect Ophelia from Hamlet.
In the beginning of the play it seems that Hamlet is mourning too much and over reacting, but when Ophelia loses her father it makes Hamlet’s mourning seem subtle. Ophelia is very affected by her father’s death and it eventually leads to a factor in her insanity and death. This changes the way we look at Hamlet and Ophelia. Another foil for Hamlet is Polonius, Laertes’ and Ophelia’s father. Hamlet and Polonius are both very quick to speak or and lash out in excitement. Both of them have made major mistakes because of this unwanted trait.
The character of Hamlet is very prestigious, but he has many shortcomings. In many cases, he shows that he is all words and no action. He waits until the very last minute to take a course of action. Hamlet realizes this, and he wishes that he had the characteristics of Fortinbras, Laertes, and Horatio.
In the play “Hamlet,” Gertrude and Ophelia share similarities and they are also contrasting characters. Gertrude, the mother of Hamlet, is a loving, honorable, protective mother. Ophelia, Hamlet’s love interest, is young, foolish, and underestimated. One of the main stances, to which they both contrast, is their love for Hamlet.
Through the elements of technique portrayed in this essay, it is clear to see that Shakespeare is able to influence the reader through soliloquies, imagery, and dual understanding. This overall influence being both the communication of a deeper meaning, and a more complex understanding of the events and statements within Hamlet.
The perfection of Hamlet’s character has been called in question - perhaps by those who do not understand it. The character of Hamlet stands by itself. It is not a character marked by strength of will or even of passion, but by refinement of thought and sentiment. Hamlet is as little of the hero as a man can be. He is a young and princely novice, full of high enthusiasm and quick sensibility - the sport of circumstances, questioning with fortune and refining on his own feelings, and forced from his natural disposition by the strangeness of his situation.
We remember Shakespeare's characters largely because of their enormously complex personalities. Hamlet, with his inner conflicts, indecision, wit, and passive-aggressive behavior, is one of Shakespeare's most memorable characters. Yet so much attention has been given to Hamlet's inner conflict-whether or not he should kill his uncle-that a large piece of his personality is easy to overlook. Hamlet's wit strikes out at the audience in several different scenes throughout the play and not only gives the reader greater insight into Hamlet's deepest feelings, but greater insight into the play itself.