Discussion Topic

Comparing Hamlet, Fortinbras, and Laertes in Shakespeare's Hamlet

Summary:

In Shakespeare's Hamlet, Hamlet, Fortinbras, and Laertes serve as foils to each other, highlighting contrasting approaches to avenging their fathers' deaths. Hamlet is introspective and plagued by indecision, contrasting with Fortinbras, who is decisive and action-oriented, willing to risk much for honor. Laertes, like Fortinbras, is swift to act but is manipulated by others. Hamlet admires Fortinbras's resolve but criticizes his own hesitation. Ultimately, Fortinbras's decisiveness earns him Hamlet's dying endorsement as Denmark's future ruler, contrasting Hamlet's philosophical approach.

Expert Answers

An illustration of the letter 'A' in a speech bubbles

Compare and contrast Fortinbras and Hamlet in act 4.

Overall, Hamlet and Fortinbras are foils. Both men are sons whose fathers have died. Each wants to avenge his father's death. However, the big difference is that Hamlet is seized by doubt at every turn, questioning whether the ghost is really his father's or something evil, bent on destroying his immortal soul. Therefore, he does not act.

Fortinbras, on the other hand, wages war against Denmark as he tries to take back land that he feels Old Hamlet took from his own father unfairly. However, when he is ordered by his uncle to cease trying to take the land forcibly, he is honorable, bows to his uncle's will, and stops fighting.

To be fair to Hamlet, he does not listen to his uncle, the new king, because he believes Claudius has murdered his father. Fortinbras' uncle is an honorable man, and the throne has come to him honestly upon his brother's death. If he wanted to, Fortinbras could have ignored his uncle (Old Norway) and continued because Hamlet's father killed Fortinbras' father in battle, but Fortinbras takes his uncle's direction.

In addition, Claudius has married Hamlet's mother (which Elizabethans would have seen as incest), and he has done so too soon after Old Hamlet's death (primarily to solidify his place on the throne, though he also seems genuinely attracted to Gertrude), and Hamlet has nothing but disdain for his uncle/stepfather and his mother Gertrude.

Specifically in Act IV, scene iv, a chance meeting between Hamlet and Fortinbras's army gives Hamlet pause for reflection:

Hamlet and Fortinbras' captain discuss the goals of Fortinbras' army. The captain tells Hamlet that they are making war to reclaim a small piece of land, which is not actually worth much. Hamlet is stunned that Fortinbras is willing to risk so many men's lives over something that matters so little. He compares this to his own inability to kill Claudius, despite the fact that his father has been murdered and his mother seduced. He decides to start acting on his vengeful feelings.

Last Updated on
An illustration of the letter 'A' in a speech bubbles

How does Hamlet compare himself to Fortinbras?

When Hamlet learns from the Captain that Fortinbras is going to fight over "a little patch of ground / That hath in it no profit but the name," he feels ashamed of his own inaction in avenging his father's death (4.4.19-20). He feels that he has even more and better cause to take action than Fortinbras and still his revenge is yet but "dull" (4.4.35). Further, he says,

[...] I do not know
Why yet I live to say "This thing's to do."
Sith I have cause, and will, and strength, and means
To do 't. (4.4.46-49)

He honestly can't figure out why it is that he hasn't done anything yet to avenge his father. Claudius remains alive, despite the fact that he feels sure of his uncle's guilt, and despite the fact that Hamlet has the desire and the ability to kill him. News of Fortinbras reminds him that "honor's at the stake" here, and so, unless he wants to continue to count himself a coward, without honor, he must step up soon. He ends the soliloquy by saying,

O, from this time forth
My thoughts be bloody or be nothing worth! (4.4.68-69).

He vows, then, to act soon, to think only on what and when to do the deed and avenge his father, and he will put all other thoughts out of mind. In other words, when he compares himself to Fortinbras, he doesn't like the picture. Fortinbras is dutiful and honor-bound, while Hamlet views himself to be weak and impotent.

Last Updated on
An illustration of the letter 'A' in a speech bubbles

What quotes compare Hamlet to Fortinbras or Laertes?

Hamlet compares himself to Fortinbras in Act IV, scene iv, as he commiserates over the fact that he has yet to act on his pledge to take revenge for his murdered father.

He says he has "... cause and will and strength and means / To do't" and is baffled by why he hasn't acted yet. Even young Fortinbras, he says, who is "a delicate and tender prince," takes action to avenge his own father even though his great risk produces little gain "When honor’s at the stake." Hamlet's honor is certainly at stake too since he has "a father killed, a mother stained." Hamlet says he is inspired by Fortinbras's iron will and resolute determination, thus he vows to have only "bloody" thoughts from now on.

Sith I have cause and will and strength and means
To do't. Examples gross as earth exhort me:
Witness this army of such mass and charge
Led by a delicate and tender prince,
Whose spirit with divine ambition puff'd
Makes mouths at the invisible event, (IV.iv)

In Act V, scene ii, Hamlet compares himself to Laertes as being like himself since they are both acting to avenge the murders of their fathers.  Hamlet, more than anyone in the play, understands what Laertes is suffering.  Hamlet says to Horatio, "I am very sorry ... / That to Laertes I forgot myself; / For, by the image of my cause, I see / The portraiture of his:...."  Hamlet says he and Laertes are alike in misery.

But I am very sorry, good Horatio,
That to Laertes I forgot myself;
For, by the image of my cause, I see
The portraiture of his: I'll court his favours.
But, sure, the bravery of his grief did put me
Into a towering passion. (V.ii)

Last Updated on
An illustration of the letter 'A' in a speech bubbles

How do Hamlet and Fortinbras compare and contrast in Shakespeare's Hamlet?

Even though Fortinbras is a character who remains unseen for most of the play and only enters after Hamlet's death in the very final scene, it is clear that Shakespeare draws many comparisons between these two characters, and clearly indicating the way in which Fortinbras acts as a foil for Hamlet in the same way that Laertes acts as another foil.

Let us first focus on the similarities between them. Both have lost fathers at the hand of somebody else, as Hamlet lost his father thanks to the murderous intentions of Claudius, and Fortinbras lost his father thanks to Hamlet's father, who killed him in war. Both therefore are in the position of being sole heirs or princes to a kingdom and also needing to revenge the death of their father.

However, this is where the similarities end, because, throughout the play, even though he only appears in the final scene, Fortinbras is shown to be a constant rebuke to Hamlet in the way that he actively pursues his revenge and conducts himself as a prince. Note how he is refered to in Act I scene 2:

He hath not fail'd to pester us with message,
Importing the surrender of those lands
Lost by his father, with all bonds of law,
To our most valiant brother.

Even though he is not King of Norway, he is actively doing everything he can to revenge his father and to gain back the land that was lost to Denmark. This is of course very different from Hamlet's prevarication and procrastination to the situation that he faces, where he seems to deliberately spend as long as possible trying to decide whether Claudius is guilty or not before finally moving on to do anything about it. In addition, note that when the final showdown happens, it is instigated by Claudius and Laertes rather than Hamlet himself. He appears to be a rather passive character in so many ways, especially when compared to Fortinbras, who is shown to be active throughout the play and committed to regaining his lost lands and revenging his father.

Last Updated on
An illustration of the letter 'A' in a speech bubbles

How does Fortinbras compare to Hamlet?

From the very start of the play, the characters of Fortinbras and Hamlet are shown to be foils -- characters that alike and yet different. In Act I, Horatio reveals that Fortinbras is a young, brash prince of Norway who has "sharked up a list of lawless resolutes" to attack Denmark in order for him to regain lands that his father lost in a previous battle with the old King Hamlet.  Fortinbras is showing himself to be shrewd in planning his attack during a time of mourning and confusion in Denmark due to the recent death of King Hamlet and the subsequent transfer of power to his brother, King Claudius. He is also showing that he is not going to necessarily follow "the rules" -- he has hired mercenaries to be his army -- looking for men who are willing to do whatever it takes.  We learn in Act 2 that Fortinbras has agreed to not attack Denmark but has asked for "safe passage" through Denmark so that he may go towards Poland to fight for a piece of land there.  This may or may not be true, but it serves Fortinbras well if he would want to change his mind, break the truce, and fight anyway.  When Hamlet actually sees him and learns more about him in Act 4 we see that Hamlet admires the young prince.  Hamlet recognizes that Fortinbras is willing to risk a lot in order to regain what was lost. He is literally fighting over a worthless piece of land which "has no profit but the name."  Hamlet is actually kind of inspired to 'do what he has to do' to avenge his own father's death by the observation of Fortinbras. Hamlet does his own comparisons when in the scene in Act 4 he condemns himself for his lack of action (in direct opposite of the "active" Fortinbras). He says that he, himself, is a coward in comparison to Fortinbras who "with divine ambition puffed" is willing to risk everything.  Hamlet acknowledges that he has been slow to act and let events get in his way.  By the end of the speech though he declares, "my thoughts be bloody or be nothing worth!"  It would appear that Fortinbras has sparked some drive in Hamlet.

In the end of the play it is Fortinbras, in an ironic twist, who will take over the throne of Denmark. This act restores a measure of order to the kingdom, but it is troubling that Denmark is now ruled by a foreigner who claims he only has "some rights of memory here." But this was Hamlet's dying statement, so we can take some comfort in that.

Last Updated on
An illustration of the letter 'A' in a speech bubbles

How does Shakespeare compare and contrast Hamlet with Laertes and Fortinbras?

In seven soliloquies Hamlet deliberates with himself over such things as what the meaning of life is, how his mother could be so disloyal to her king and husband, why he cannot bring himself to avenge his father's murder; however, in his final soliloquy, he wonders why he is in such sharp contrast to Fortinbras:

...Now whether it be/Bestial oblivion, or some craven scruple/Of thinking too precisely on th' event--/A thought which, quartered, hath but one part wisdom/And ever three parts coward--I do not know/Why yet I live to say "This thing's to do',/SSith I have cause, and will, and strength, and means,/To do't.  Examples gross as earth exhort me:/Witness this army of such mass and charge,/Led by a delicate and tender prince,/Whose spirit, with divine ambition puffed,/Makes mouths at the invisible event,/Exposing what is mortal and unsure/To all that fortune, death, and danger dare,/Even for an eggshell.(IV,iv,39-53)

Hamlet wonders how he can continue to lack resolve to avenge his father's murder when the "delicate and tender" Fortinbras is willing to die "for a fantasy and trick of fame," for an ideal. The battlefield of Fortinbras and the Polish armies is nearly worthless, yet they are willing to fight and die for honor while Hamlet notes his inaction regarding "a father killed, and a mother stained."

In the final act Fortinbras succeeds to the throne of Denmark after Hamlet dies.  Like Hamlet Fortinbras has sought to avenge his father's death, but unlike Hamlet he does not delay.  His entrance at the end of Act V allows him to have his revenge and ascend the throne. 

Also in sharp contrast to Hamlet's melancholic inaction is Laertes's choleric reaction to the death of his father, Polonius.  For, when Laertes returns from France, he bursts into the castle vowing revenge against Claudius whom he calls a "vile king"(IV,v,116).  Claudius swears that he has had nothing to do with the death of Polonius and reveals that Hamlet is the murderer.  And, when the king reveals a plot to kill Hamlet, Laertes readily agrees to be a part of this plan:

My lord, I will be ruled;/The rather if you could devise it so/That I might be the organ. (IV,vii,67-69)

Also, unlike Hamlet, Laertes can be manipulated by the king, who exhorts Laertes to show himself

in deed your father's son/More than in words (IV, vii,122)

Laertes even goes so far as to agree to cut Hamlet's throat in the church.  That he has been swayed by the king into dueling Hamlet is evidenced just before Laertes wounds Hamlet with the poisoned rapier as Laertes says in an aside, "And yet it is almost against my conscience" (V,ii,296).  While this loss of resolve may resemble that of Hamlet, it is in contrast to Hamlet's long deliberation which prevents hasty resolves that one regrets later. 

In the final act, Laertes admits to his villainy and he and Hamlet forgive each other:  Exchange forgiveness with me, noble Hamlet/Mine and my father's death come not upon thee,/Nor thine on me. (V,ii,308-310)  Thus, they both display integrity.  In fact, all three--Hamlet, Fortinbras, and Laertes-display a nobleness of character in Shakespeare's "Hamlet."  

Get Ahead with eNotes

Start your 48-hour free trial to access everything you need to rise to the top of the class. Enjoy expert answers and study guides ad-free and take your learning to the next level.

Get 48 Hours Free Access
Last Updated on