Foil Assignment - Shakespear's "Hamlet"

While it was common for people not to worry excessively over the spelling of a name in Elizabethan England, in the twenty first century, we are of sterner stuff, or at least sterner spelling rules. Also, "hamlet" without a capital "H" is a small village. Without at least quotation marks it is the name of the character. You wrote: "A foil when defined is one that by contrast underscores or enhances the distinctive characteristics of another. In the play the two characters which served as Hamlet's foils were Horatio and the Ghost of the late king, who was Hamlet's father. Each served as foils in different aspects of the definition." When is a foil not defined? Which play? You have given the definition of "foil," but you have failed to mention the different aspects. Why not just say, "the Ghost of Hamlet's father."

You wrote: "I believe that Horatio was Hamlet's strongest foil. He was a fellow student of Hamlet's as well as a good friend. Through the entirety of the play he remained alongside him supporting his decisions and providing him with any information he had. He also shared many of the same traits as Hamlet. He was very brave, as was Hamlet. They both showed this bravery by approaching the ghost when it appeared to them during their watch. Horatio was also loyal to Hamlet in the same way that Hamlet was loyal to his father after he had died, unlike his mother. The definition of a foil states that this character underscores the distinctive characteristics of another, which is exactly what Horatio did throughout the play. Through his bravery and loyalty he complimented Hamlet and they were able to maintain a stable relationship, for Hamlet was unable to do this with many of the people in his life."

I disagree with your description of Horatio being alongside Hamlet. He is not with Hamlet when the Ghost speaks. He seems to all but disappear until the players arrive. He is not with Hamlet on the voyage. And how was he brave? He was terrified of the Ghost. Of loyalty: the Ghost must come back to chide Hamlet when Hamlet is railing at his mother.

<Tab/>Hamlet's mother does have a name. Is Gertrude disloyal to her late husband? Until the Ghost told him, Hamlet knew nothing of his father being murdered. Presumably Gertrude was in the same state, not knowing that Claudius was a murderer. In a patriarchal order, where women were not expected to rule, it was reasonable for Gertrude to marry the new king. "Although many would argue that the Ghost of the late king could most definitely not serve as a foil of Hamlet's, I strongly disagree. The definition of a foil also states that it is one who enhances the distinctive characteristics of another. This is exactly what the ghost did in Hamlet's case. He enhanced his loyalty, by providing him with the proof that he needed so that he could find his Uncle guilty of murder. Hamlet felt he could not let his father down, especially since he had come back to appear to him in hopes that he would make justice and not allow his Uncle to get away with what he did. After the several appearances which the ghost made to Hamlet he was convinced that he was going to maintain justice and not betray his father as his mother had. It could very well be argued that if he had not seen the ghost Hamlet may have just remained angry and kept everything bottled up inside. I believe it was because of this appearance that he was given the extra push he needed to have justice served." Why would people argue that the Ghost is or is not a foil? I think he is mch more than a foil, having independent attributes of his own, and making his first appearance without Hamlet. You stress Hamlet's "loyalty" to his father, but is he really. He is morose over his father's death and his mother's hasty remarriage, but does that really indicate loyalty? I am troubled by the phrase, "find his Uncle guilty of murder." "Find" is a legal term, reflecting what is down in a court. Hamlet never takes this matter to a court. Apparently he had no idea that there had been murder, until the Ghost tells him., As I read your paragraph, it suggests that Hamlet already believed his uncle had murdered his father, but I don't think the play supports that reading. "Letting his father down" sounds a bit too colloquial for this play. Hamlet is not asked to root for Notre Dame or some other triviality. He is called upon from the first act to commit murder in revenge for murder.

Also "make justice" and "maintain justice" are awkward phrases.

Finally, four foils are not mentioned in this essay: Voltimond, Osrick, and two of the finest foils in literature, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.