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Hamlet, the major character in the Shakespeare play “Hamlet”, was faced with a decision upon learning that Claudius murdered his father. Throughout the play, we see Hamlets struggle with this issue. Many opportunities arise for him to kill Claudius, but he is unable to act because of his indecisiveness. Shakespeare uses the minor character Fortinbras as a foil to Hamlet, in order to help understand why Hamlet acts the way he does. Foils are used in plays so that the readers are better able to understand the major character. In a foil, the minor character contrasts and parallels the main character in many ways. However, it is through these similarities that we are able to see the more important differences. In Hamlet by William Shakespeare, Hamlet and Fortinbras are presented as foils of one another as seen through their similarities in their background, and their differences in their struggle to avenge their fathers’ death, which ultimately lead to Hamlets envy of Fortinbras.
First of all, Fortinbras is the young prince from Norway who has many similar features of the young prince Hamlet. Fortinbras is a son of a king, as is Hamlet. Fortinbras finds himself in a very similar situation to that of Hamlet. Military defeat and sickness have killed Fortinbras father, in which Fortinbras uncle is now the King. Hamlets father has been murdered, and his stepfather and also his uncle, who is a morally weak and deceitful man, has taken over the throne. More importantly, Fortinbras and Hamlet seek to avenge the deaths of their fathers. They both are set on plans to try and regain the throne and dignity that is rightfully theirs. Nevertheless, although they both come from similar backgrounds and are after the same revenge, numerous differences come into play to portray Hamlets weakness.
The contrast between Hamlet and Fortinbras is mainly in their motives, which leads to the way they execute their revenge. “Hamlets desire to murder Claudius is out of revenge, while Fortinbras plan is done in the nation of Norway and the name of honor”(Shakespeare for Students pg. 78). This motive decides their inaction and action. For instance, when Claudius is praying and Hamlet has a chance to kill him, he does not because he believes it will send him to heaven. “Personal Vengeance makes Hamlet stagnant, but Fortinbras mission is not one of revenge, and therefore he presumable doesnt debate over any moral dilemma” (What Happens in Hamlet pg. 89). Therefore, Fortinbras takes action to claim the land he feels is his own, while Hamlet does not. Hamlet is unable to bring himself to action and barely takes initiative. He spends most of his time in a state of madness. Another main difference that shows Hamlets weakness is the fact that Fortinbras fathers death is public knowledge and yet no one knows that Hamlets father was murdered besides Hamlet. Conclusively, Hamlet cannot openly come up with a plan against Claudius, while Fortinbras is able to freely plan and execute his ideas for attack. “Hamlet hides his secret for revenge while Fortinbras shows it”(Shakespeare for Students pg. 77). The only time Hamlet does act decisively is when he kills Polonius, and again that was from a moment of anger. Another notable difference is the respect they show their fathers. Upon hearing of Fortinbras plan to attack Denmark, his uncle