Hamlet Character Foils What is a Character Foil

Hamlet Character Foils

What is a Character Foil?

A Character Foil is… �A character who provides a direct contrast to another character, and by doing so illuminates the traits of the other character. �Examples in popular culture: �Agent J (Will Smith’s character) and Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones’ character) in Men in Black �Han Solo and Luke Skywalker in Star Wars �Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy �Mercutio and Romeo in Romeo and Juliet

Character Foils in Hamlet �Which of these characters are foils to Prince Hamlet and why? �A) Prince Fortinbras �B) Laertes �C) Ophelia

They All Are! �Fortinbras � father was killed � his uncle became King � bears his father’s name like Prince Hamlet. � FOIL: quick to take action and seek revenge �Laertes � loses a father � FOIL: seeks immediate revenge. �Ophelia � FOIL: actually goes mad (Hamlet’s feigned madness)

Character Foils Paragraph (frame) In Hamlet, Shakespeare introduces character foils in order to ___. One example of a character foil, Prince Fortinbras, stands in sharp contrast because ___. Hamlet illustrates their differences in his soliloquy in Act IV when he states, “___” ( ). From these lines the reader can conclude that, unlike Hamlet, Fortinbras ___. A second character foil to Hamlet is ___, who, in contrast to Hamlet, ___, as demonstrated by “___” ( ). The importance of this foil is ___. These two foils truly help the audience to understand ___.