Laertes and Fortinbras as Foils in Hamlet.

... Laertes and Fortinbras as Foils in Hamlet Foils serve an important part in any literary work, and they are particularly potent in Shakespeare's complex and profound plays. They shed new light on the protagonist's complex character, and foils give the audience a medium with which to sympathize with him. They allow the audience to see what divergent paths the main character could have taken. In Macbeth, the foils of Banquo and Malcolm serve to underscore the corruption of Macbeth's rule, and in Romeo and Juliet the characters of Benvolio and Tybalt allow the reader to understand Romeo's character more thoroughly. Suffice it to say that foils play a necessary and unmistakable role in Shakespearean tragedy. In Hamlet, it is the characters of Laertes and Fortinbras that act as foils, by giving the audience a more complete view of the protagonist, Prince Hamlet. Laertes and Hamlet are similar in that

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