Fortebraccio as a foil for Hamlet In the play Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, the character of Fortinbras was used as a foil for the main character, Hamlet. Hamlet and Fortinbras lost their fathers to untimely deaths. Claudius killed Hamlet's father, King Hamlet, and King Hamlet killed Fortinbras' father. Both Hamlet and Fortinbras have vowed to seek revenge for their fathers' deaths. Since Hamlet and Fortinbras's revenge tactics are completely different, Hamlet perceives Fortinbras' actions as better than his own and Fortinbras' actions, therefore, encourage Hamlet to act without hesitation. Hamlet, after learning that his father's death was a murder and vowing to take revenge, wants to be sure that what he has been told is the absolute truth before attempting to take revenge on Claudius. Even after Hamlet is sure beyond a shadow of a doubt that Claudius is the murderer, he hesitates to kill him. Fortebraccio, however, went into action even before the show began. At the beginning of the show, the audience learns that Denmark is in a state of alert; the country is preparing for a war. From Horace we also learn that the young Fortinbras is preparing his "lawless stalwarts" (I.i.111) for action against Denmark for the killing of his father and for the restitution of the lands formerly held by Norway (I. i. 79 -107 ). These differences between the actions of Hamlet and Fortinbras are further mentioned in Hamlet's last soliloquy (IV. iv. 32-66). Before the soliloquy begins, Hamlet has been informed by one of Fortinbras' captains that Norway is preparing to fight Poland for a "little piece of land" (IV.iv.19) and that twenty thousand men are eager to fight for the...... middle of the paper...... itself. Hamlet is so determined to do something that he no longer wants to think about the consequences. Works Cited and Consulted: Bradley, AC "Shakespeare's Tragic Period--Hamlet." Shakespearean tragedy: lessons on Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth. Toronto: MacMillan, 1967. Danson, Lawrence. "Tragic alphabet". Modern critical interpretations: Hamlet. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York City: Chelsea House Publishers, 1986. 65-86Manning, John. "Symbols and Emblemata in Hamlet". New essays on Hamlet. Ed. Mark Thornton Burnett and John Manning. New York: AMS Press, 1994. 11-18.Rose, Mark. "Reforming the role." Modern critical interpretations: Hamlet. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York City: Chelsea House Publishers, 1986. 117-128Wagner, Valeria. "Lose the name of the action." New essays on Hamlet. New York: AMS Press, 1994. 135-152.