So, while I was reading the last act of Hamlet, I noticed that Laertes and Hamlet have a lot of similarities in situation, but the results were somewhat different. I have been told before that Laertes is Hamlet's literary foil. So I decided to map it out to see just how that actually works in the play, and especially in the last scene.
Introduciiinng LAERTEES:
The man has had some disheartening last couple of weeks: he's lost his father and his sister. He comes back for revenge only to discover the object of his fury is supposedly on a ship to England. He's hotheaded, he's impulsive, and he wants blood!
Next we haaaave HAAAMLET:
This fighter's history has also been less than kind, losing his father, his faith in his mother and his sanity all in the course of a few months. He's out for justice and to clear his name. Who knows what this warrior is capable of when it comes to a battle.
(Bloody battle takes place and both combatants die).
Ok. What have we learned from this:
- Hamlet has a depth of feeling and inner turmoil that Laertes does not. This doesn't afflict Laertes because, well, his sister's already dead, so he doesn't need to worry about hurting anyone else through Hamlet's death.
- Laertes may have more gumption than Hamlet. When he hears about his father's death, he demands answers through force immediately. Some argue that Hamlet's subtler approach with the play is the more admirable, but either way, Laertes did something about the answers he received much sooner.
- Laertes is more easily duped by Claudius than Hamlet. Hamlet didn't like the guy from the beginning, even though he had no reason to suspect his murder.
- We have no idea where Laertes' mother is. It is most likely she is dead, which might have made his situation different if she were alive.
- They both care about Ophelia deeply. Laertes was her brother. Hamlet claimed to be in love with her.
- They both have difficulty in containing their emotions.
- They both have lost their fathers in the recent past to murder. The difference here is that Hamlet mistook Polonius for Claudius. He thought he was taking revenge, but in fact repeated his own trial for someone else.
- They are both impulsive. Laertes comes to the wrong conlusion more than once, and Hamlet kills Polonius without looking to see who it is.
- They both get their revenge, and they both die in the end. Nothing really satisfies that need for pointlessness quite like a tragic ending.
