Ophelia and Gertrude
The two women are used as foils to each other as well in what is called the “virgin-whore dichotomy”. Ophelia is portrayed as as innocent maiden, faithful and obedient to her father Polonius’ wishes.
Who is Hamlet’s biggest foil?
Shakespeare includes characters in Hamlet who are obvious foils for Hamlet, including, most obviously,
Horatio
, Fortinbras, Claudius, and Laertes.
Why are Hamlet and Polonius foils?
Polonius and Hamlet are foils
because they both act quickly and irrationally, but with different results
. Hamlet often speaks his thoughts aloud, while Polonius just ends up rambling and confusing people.
How are Hamlet and his father foils to Laertes and his father Polonius?
The relationships between parents and their children are portrayed in two different ways: first,
Hamlet’s relationship to his father’s ghost contrasts to Laertes
‘ relationship with his father (lots of advice involved, the question of revenge), and second, Polonius’ misunderstanding of Ophelia reflects Gertrude’s …
Why does Hamlet not like Polonius?
As was mentioned in the previous post, Hamlet does not respect or admire Polonius throughout the play. He believes that Polonius is an old fool. … When Polonius leaves the scene, Hamlet calls him a tedious old fool. Hamlet does not respect Polonius,
because he is friends with King Claudius and acts like an idiot
.
Who kills Hamlet?
Hamlet confronts Laertes, Ophelia’s brother, who has taken his father’s place at the court. A duel is arranged between Hamlet and Laertes. During the match,
Claudius
conspires with Laertes to kill Hamlet.
Why is Horatio a foil to Hamlet?
Although Horatio loves his friend and at first wants to follow him in death, Hamlet convinces him that Horatio must live to tell Hamlet’s story to the world. … His role is to serve as a confidant to Hamlet and to offer advice. As a foil,
he calls out attention to Hamlet’s main character traits as well
.
Why did Ophelia go crazy?
Why does Ophelia go mad? Ophelia goes mad
because her father, Polonius, whom she deeply loved, has been killed by Hamlet
. … The fact that this grief drives Ophelia to madness reveals her overwhelming feelings of hopelessness and powerlessness, and the power that the men in Ophelia’s life wield over her.
How Laertes is a foil to Hamlet?
Laertes wishes to kill Hamlet after Hamlet murders Polonius and Hamlet wants to kill Claudius for the murder of King Hamlet. Both succeed in their quest for revenge. … The reason he is included, as a foil of Hamlet,
is he also seeks revenge for the death of his father, the king
.
How is Gertrude a foil to Hamlet?
Gertrude is a foil character to Hamlet
because they both grieve over King Hamlets death,but Gertrude rushes to re-marry, resulting in Hamlet’s anger
. (She also thinks that Hamlet is crazy ).
What is the dominant theme in Hamlet?
Madness
is one of the dominant themes of Hamlet. Hamlet displays many sides of his personality since the death of his father. He appears as a philosopher, a sage, a mad as well as a mentally disturbed person.
What is Hamlet’s tragic flaw?
The word ‘tragic flaw’ is taken from the Greek concept of Hamartia used by Greek philosopher Aristotle in his Poetics. Shakespeare’s tragic hero Hamlet’s fatal flaw is his failure to act immediately to kill Claudius, his uncle and murderer of his father. His tragic flaw is ‘
procrastination
‘.
How does Ophelia react to her father’s death?
When Ophelia’s father, Polonius, is killed by Hamlet in Act 3, sc. 4, Ophelia loses touch with reality. … Ophelia’s reaction to her father’s death is
insanity
. This is ironic because Hamlet tells us that he will pretend to be mad, but Ophelia’s madness appears to be genuine.
What kind of a father is Polonius?
Polonius is
a proud and concerned father
. In his first line he tells us he hesitates to let his son Laertes go abroad, and he draws out his last meeting with Laertes because he’s reluctant to see him go. In the same scene, Polonius advises his daughter Ophelia to avoid Hamlet because he’s worried about her.
Do Hamlet and Ophelia sleep together?
The text is ambiguous on whether or not Hamlet and Ophelia slept together. However,
it is clear that they were involved in some form of a romantic relationship
.
Does Hamlet call Polonius old?
Hamlet’s first reason for calling Polonius a fishmonger is probably to make
the old
man think he is insane–i.e. that he really doesn’t recognize him but thinks he is a complete stranger. … The old man trades in information just as a fishmonger trades in fish.
