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The ghost of King Hamlet played an important role during the book. The first interaction between King Hamlet's Ghost can be simply called extreme. Hamlet is extreme when he goes with the ghost that looks like his father even though his friends warn him that the ghost may be evil and ". . .tempt you toward the flood . . . Or to the dreadful summit of the cliff . . ." (Act 1, Scene IV, Lines 69-70). If the prince was thinking right he would not have gone with the ghost that resembled the old ". . . King, father, royal Dane . . ." (Act 1, Scene IV, Line 45) Hamlet's radical actions let him find out about Claudius' devious murder of his brother, King Hamlet . The ghost of King Hamlet has described Claudius as "...that incestuous, that adulterate beast" (Act 1, Scene V, Line 43). King Hamlet wants Hamlet to get revenge against Claudius for killing him, but he does not want Gertrude to get hurt while this is going on. Hamlet therefore delays in killing Claudius because he needs to find out if his mother has anything to do with the treachery. Hamlet took this relationship cautiously and did this correctly because ghosts were thought as underhandedly evil.…
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In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the ghost of Hamlet’s father reveals to him that he has been murdered by his brother Claudius, the man who also married Hamlet’s mother after he died. After finding out that Claudius killed his father, Hamlet makes it his mission to avenge his father by killing Claudius. Many believe that Hamlet went mad after seeing the ghost and planning his revenge, but really it was just part of the process that came with his revenge on Claudius.…
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In fiction, a foil character contrasts with another character in the story in order to highlight certain qualities of that other character. The foil is usually either dramatically different or is extremely similar to that other character, but a key difference sets them apart. In the work of Shakespeare, it's common for there to be many instances of a foil being used to highlight key traits in the protagonist's character, or in several other characters in the play. In Hamlet, Laertes and Hamlet act as foils of each other, and in Henry IV there are three characters intertwined as foils of one another: Hal, Hotspur, and Falstaff.…
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Hamlet does, in fact, believe that foul play was to blame for his father's death, and that it was orchestrated by his uncle Claudius, Hamlet Sir’s successor. Even though Hamlet has a strong gut feeling that his uncle is at fault he has no evidence or proof to go on. This all changes when his father's ghost appears to him and confirms his sons hunch, and orders his son to avenge him. Due to his father's apparition Hamlet’s course of action changes from just suspecting of his uncle, to investigating if the ghost is telling the truth, to ultimately killing his uncle. Hamlet Sir's ghost also affects the action of the play later on during Hamlet's quarrel with his mother…
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In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, the audience of Shakespeare’s time period as well as today’s audience would have recognized the play as a revenge tragedy. But, this is not your typical revenge tragedy but one with a twist. As in most Elizabethan revenge tragedies the ghost appeared to further the action or reaction of the hero. However, the ghost in Hamlet not only appears as part of the plot but surpasses the traditional role of the ghost and becomes an actual character within the play (Mandell).…
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The responsibility of revenge on the perpetrator falls to Hamlet, since he believes his father was murdered. Hamlet learned the events that unfolded during his father’s murder in the garden from a ghost that claimed to be the spirit of King Hamlet. In both soliloquies, his desire and drive to kill Claudius is “prompted to [his] revenge by heaven and hell” (2.2.547). His thoughts of revenge derive from seeing his father’s thought to be spirit in purgatory. The ghost that visited Hamlet may be the “devil” that “assume[d] a pleasing shape” (2.2.561-562) by making himself appear as the spirit of his father tempting him to sin, or could indeed be his father wanting him to redeem his soul. Even though Hamlet is not certain he believes the ghost since it answered his suspicion in the death of his father and the quick marriage of…
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Many authors use foils to better illustrate the nature of the character. Foils are characters who compliment yet contrast the main character. With the use of foils the reader can get a better understanding of the main character through the dialogue of the foils. In Shakespeare's Hamlet, we find Prince Hamlet foiled by many characters. Each foil revealing something different about Hamlet. One such foil in this play is undoubtedly Laertes, the son of Polonius. There are a few ways that Laertes mirrors Hamlets character, the revenge they both seek , the anger they both have, and they both mourn Ophelia's death. Just as a foil can mirror a character, it can contrast it. Laertes seeks instant almost thoughtless revenge whereas Hamlet is a bit more cautious and needs further evidence. Both Hamlet and Laertes have a different relationship with Claudius, one is deceived by him and the other sees right through his deception. Both return to Denmark after the passing of King Hamlet, which is the first indication that Laertes will act as a major foil to Hamlet.…
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In Act I scene V, the ghost of King Hamlet intends to ensnare Hamlet because it seeks revenge against Claudius for killing him. The ghost of King Hamlet announced to Hamlet that he did not die from a snake bite but instead was killed by Claudius during the time of sleep. With Hamlet being desperate to communicate with his father, he is attentively listening to every word that the ghost of King Hamlet gives to him. The ghost of King Hamlet knows that Hamlet loves his father very much therefore he takes advantage of him by announcing that he must “Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder” (I.V. 31). The ghost of King Hamlet is trying to entrap Hamlet into murdering Claudius by reassuring him that the deed or killing Claudius must be done…
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A foil is a minor character in a literary work that compliments the main character through similarities and differences in personality and plot. In William Shakespeare's play "Hamlet", the main character, Hamlet, has three major foils. These foils are his close friend Horatio, Fortinbras, Prince of Norway, and the brother of his love, Laertes. These three characters contradict and enhance Hamlet's major characteristics.…
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Foils begin to comes into play during a work of literature when a secondary character is made similar to the main character to bring importance to the main character and his or her relationship with the secondary character. In Shakespeare's work: Hamlet, there are many foils including Fortinbras, Claudius, and Laertes. These characters have been created to make the audience understand how important Hamlet is in the story.…
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The appearance of his father's ghost didn't seem very reliable to him as he began to question his own sanity over what he thinks he should do about the situation. Hamlet deeply contemplates about his soul being damned on actions he was willing to pursue in avenging his father's death. He cautiously plots his act of revenge and waits for the ideal moment to avenge his father's murder. He decides to show King Claudius a play, a similar performance of Claudius' own murderous deed, hopefully seeing some kind of reaction from the king. He says "I'll have these…
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Oftentimes, the minor characters in a play can be vital and, among other things, function to further the action of the play or to reveal and illuminate the personalities of other characters. To help the reader understand a character with greater depth, writers sometimes use a literary device called a foil. A foil is a character that contrasts strongly with another. In Shakespeare 's great tragedy Hamlet, Laertes, Fortinbras, and Hamlet find themselves in similar situations. While Hamlet waits for the right time to avenge his father 's death, Laertes learns of his father 's death and immediately wants vengeance, and Fortinbras awaits his chance to recapture land that used to belong to his father. Although Laertes and Fortinbras are minor characters, "Shakespeare molds them in order to contrast with Hamlet" ("Foils in Hamlet"). Fortinbras and, to a greater extent, Laertes act as foils to Hamlet with respect to their motives for revenge, execution of their plans, and behavior while carrying out their plans.…
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1. In his play, Hamlet, William Shakespeare uses various foils to make the play more complex. These foils involve numerous characters that help to develop different relationships and conflicts. Without these foils, the relationships and conflicts would not happen, and the play could not develop. They help us to understand Hamlet[']s actions and bring diversity to the play. Polonius and Laertes are the main foils for Hamlet. Polonius shows how irrational Hamlet thinks, and Laertes shows that Hamlet must pay for his actions, even if he is royalty. This plot and conflict develop from the similarities and differences between Hamlet and the foils.…
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Hamlet was a man with religious beliefs, he is often referring to God in the play but is unsure whether the ghost is really his father’s spirit or if it is evil taking over his body. Hamlet was an educated man and wanted to be sure to do things correctly and make the right choices by fear of going to hell himself.…
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The play Hamlet, written by Shakespeare, was a poor representation of believability, likeable characters and a plot that makes readers want to continue reading. It is a story that represents honor and revenge. The emotion of the novel is over-exaggerated, therefor lowering the relatable factor. The ghost appears to Hamlet and tells Hamlet to seek revenge for his fathers’ murder. Although the ghost shows personal traits it is not believable that Hamlet would simply be convinced to commit himself to overtly violent actions from a character that he just met. With all the quick assumptions and lack of thought before killing, it makes the story unrealistic. The main characters Hamlet, Claudius and Gertrude show traits of a hero, villain and everything in between. The likability is lacking in all of these characters because it is impossible to go along and back up their outlandish decisions. They behave rashly and impulsively to a point where connecting…
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