Transcript Hamlet Character Foils

Character Foils
What is a Character Foil?
A Character Foils 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 is a clear foil since, like Hamlet, his father
was killed and his uncle became King; he also bears his
father’s name like Prince Hamlet. He stands in
contrast because he, unlike Hamlet, is quick to take
action and seek revenge.
 Laertes is also a foil since he too loses a father and
seeks immediate revenge.
 And Ophelia is also a foil since she does actually go
mad, which is contrast to Hamlet’s feigned madness.
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 _________.
Frame Sentence
 In Hamlet, Shakespeare introduces character foils to illustrate
the character development of Prince Hamlet. The character of
Prince Fortinbras is in sharp contrast with Hamlet, and therefore
acts as a foil to Hamlet. Shakespeare presents this foil to
illustrate __________________. Hamlet witnesses some troops
marching towards Poland and in a soliloquy states,
“_______________________” (
). From these lines we
the audience can conclude ____________________. Another
character foil to Hamlet that Shakespeare presents is
___________________. When ___________________ realizes
________________ he is quick to action and states
“______________________” (
). Based on these
two characters, Fortinbras and _____________, there actions are
in contrast to those of Hamlet particularly when it comes to
_____________________.