Hamlet and Fortinbras as foils

In Hamlet the character of Fortinbras, a young Norwegian prince, has been used as a foil for the main character Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark. Hamlet and Fortinbras have lost their fathers to untimely deaths. Hamlet's father, King Hamlet, was killed by his uncle Claudius and Fortinbras' father was killed by King Hamlet. Both Hamlet and Fortinbras have vowed to take revenge on the death of their fathers. However, how they go about doing this is the complete opposite of each other.

Hamlet, after learning that his father's death was a murder and promising to take revenge, waits and makes sure that what he knows is the absolute truth before he even attempts to take revenge on Claudius. Even after Hamlet is sure beyond any doubts that Claudius is the murderer, he hesitates to kill him. Fortinbras, on the other hand, has been taking action even before the play begins. As the play opens, we learn that Denmark is in a state of alert. The audience learns that the country has been preparing for a war, and from Horatio, the audience also learns that the young Fortinbras is getting ready his "lawless resolutes" for action against Denmark for the killing of his father and for the return of lands previously owned by Norway, (Hamlet I.i. 79-10

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Next Hamlet goes on to describes Fortinbras. He asks the audience to:

"Witness this army of such mass and charge

Led by a delicate and tender prince,

Whose spirit with divine ambition puf'd

Makes mouths at the invisible event,Exposing what is mortal and unsure

To all that fortune, death and danger dare,

Even for an egg-shell. cause and will and strength and means to do't" (45-46) but still waits and thinks of taking action instead of taking action.

The soliloquy begins with Hamlet's thoughts on how time is running by and he still hasn't done anything. He says:

"How all occasions do inform against me,

And spur my dull revenge! What is a man,

If his chief good and market of his time

Be but to sleep and feed? a beast, no more. This is a great contrast to Hamlet's own character. Hamlet then finishes of the soliloquy with a comparison to his situation and action to that of Fortinbras and the army of twenty-thousand men. By this the reader learns more about Hamlet's characteristics and the way he thinks. He sees how everything around him is taking shape, all except his own actions. All of this is going on while he is still thinking about his revenge. He goes on to say "Sure, he that made us with such large discourse, Looking before and after, gave us not that capability and god-like reason to fust in us unus'd "(36-39) Here Hamlet is saying that every man has reason, and that reason should be put to good use.

Approximate Word count = 936
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

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