Hamlet 8
the foils of hamlet In his plays, Shakespeare often puts the antagonists in circumstances similar to or resembling the problems of the main character or hero. He does this in order to give us a clear perception of what the characters are like, through contrast or similarity between them. These literary experiments are called foils. In Hamlet, Shakespeare gives us many foils for Hamlet, the main character. One major foil is Ophelia. Hamlet and Ophelia have both lost their fathers. 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. Hamlet has, on many occasions, spoken too quickly or acted out of rage or ignorance and hurt himself and others. When Polonius spies on Hamlet and the Queen, Hamlet thinks that it is the king who is spying behind the curt
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Literary Phenomena, Hamlet Ophelia, Norway Fortinbras, Queen Gertrude, Queen Hamlet, Ophelia Laertes, Throughout Polonius, Claudius Ill, Hamlet Polonius, , main character, hamlet ophelia, play hamlet, fathers death, foil hamlet, foils hamlet, hamlet polonius, beginning play, happened hamlet, main characters,
Approximate Word count = 1576
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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