1. Hamlet
Character Foils

2. What is a Character Foil?

3. 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

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

5. 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.

6. 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 _________.

7. 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 _____________________.