In many pieces of writing throughout time‚ authors use literary foils to help expose the underlying traits of important characters. A literary foil is a character who serves to highlight the character traits of one or more other characters by presenting a contrast. In the play Othello‚ the author‚ William Shakespeare‚ presents Emilia‚ the antagonist Iago’s wife‚ as a literary foil to Desdemona‚ the protagonist Othello’s wife. In Act 4 Scene 3 of Othello‚ Emilia and Desdemona discuss the morality
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The play Hamlet by William Shakespeare exemplifies entrapment between characters. Polonius manipulates Ophelia into spying on Hamlet‚ Hamlet has the players add a scene of murder to a play in front of Claudius‚ and finally Claudius and Laertes devise a scheme to murder Hamlet during a fencing match. Each trap set between characters epitomizes themes occurring throughout the play. Shakespeare shows irony in his work‚ however‚ because none of the characters ’ plans end successfully. Closer to the
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Hamlet‚ a play written by William Shakespeare‚ uses a myriad of personalities to develop complex and intricate character relations. Between the different characters‚ there are numerous comparable similarities. Hamlet and Laertes are just one example of the play’s use of parallel characters. Hamlet and Laertes exhibit similarities in the ways that they are both impulsive‚ they both have a deep love for Ophelia‚ and they are both domineering over the women in their lives. Firstly‚ Hamlet and Laertes
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HAMLET Settings The main setting is Elsinore Castle in eastern Denmark‚ on the Oresund strait separating the Danish island of Sjælland (Zealand) from the Swedish province of Skåne and linking the Baltic Sea in the south to the Kattegat Strait in the north. Elsinore is a real town. Its Danish name is Helsingor. In Shakespeare’s time‚ Elsinore was an extremely important port that fattened its coffers by charging a toll for ship passage through the Oresund strait. Modern Elsinore‚ or Helsingor‚ is
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The Foils of Othello One of William Shakespeare’s many attributes as a playwright of the late 16th century was his character development. Shakespeare’s seamless use of indirect characterization sets his works apart from the other playwrights and authors of his time. In Othello‚ the Shakespearian tragedy about the newlywed Othello and Desdemona‚ Shakespeare uses character foils to emphasize the strengths and weaknesses of the characters. By making inwardly similar characters seem like polar opposites
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Ophelia the Victim In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet‚ the character of Ophelia is being portrayed quite like a victim. This simple‚ innocent young woman falls victim to many things. She is the victim of Hamlet’s harassment‚ the victim of manipulation by many‚ the victim of her own flaws of being obedient‚ indecisive‚ and weak both mentally and eventually physically. Ophelia is unfortunately not very strong willed and is placed in the crossfire between many things and is unable to escape them. Gerald
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and Hero still got married‚ and Benedick got engaged to Beatrice. Throughout the play‚ Shakespeare uses character foils to emphasize the traits of his characters‚ and add to his story. In the play‚ “Much Ado About Nothing” by William Shakespeare‚ Benedick and Claudio are foils of each other because of their personality traits‚ choices‚ and reaction. One reason of how Benedick and Claudio are foils is how different their personalities are. Claudio is submissive‚ backing down against a fight‚ while
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nearly every tale‚ the story line contains multiple characters whom depict both good and “evil” qualities. In other words‚ they reveal opposite interpretations. These drastic differences can be drawn due to the lack of specifics in the reading. One interpretation may portray a character as pure and innocent. In another‚ they may appear at fault. Shakespeare’s famous play‚ Hamlet‚ illustrates this notion through an accumulation of characters. Of the many‚ Ophelia may strike one as the innocent
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Claudius is ambitious man that craves power and unlike other characters of the play he gets and maintains his power in a very immoral way. Claudius‚ because of his obsession to get the power of his brother‚ poisons him and this ignites the start of the revenge going to take place by Hamlet‚ “the serpent that did sting thy father’s life Now wears his crown” (1.5.46-47). Claudius’s brother was a great warrior that probably ruled with ideas of justice and moral balance but Claudius is a corrupt politician
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The ideas of Hamlet and Ophelia’s insanity are effectively represented by Shakespeare through the use of Imagery and dialogue. Insanity is seen as a result of the complexity of man whether that be directly or indirectly affected. Within Hamlet‚ Shakespeare also explores the causes and consequences of revenge mainly through the use of two main characters Hamlet and Laertes. Revenge is the basis for the plot of the story‚ without it there would be no play. The play revolves around Hamlet deciding whether
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