Pennsylvania College of Technology   Dr. Vavra's ENL 121: Lit & Comp

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1     In the classic play Hamlet [Titles] by William Shakespeare is a work that has and will test time. [SS - 1] In this piece of work there are many characters that contribute as foils. A foil is a minor character in a literary work who by the similarities and differences in what the character does (compared to a more important character) or by simple [sic] being there for another character to talk to which helps the audience understand a more important character. [SS - 1] There are many foils of the main character, Hamlet. Some of these foils of the main character include Hamlet and Ophelia, Hamlet and Horatio, and  [sic]

2     There are many reasons why Ophelia is a foil for Hamlet. If Ophelia was not in the play Hamlet would not have a love and there really wouldn't be a love story in the play. They are both basically the same social class and the same age. Eventhough [sic] Hamlet is a prince, Ophelia is close to him in social class because she is the daughter of Polonius, councilor to the king. They are both in the upper class. They both love each other. On the other hand, some of the differences are Hamlet is male and Ophelia is female. Also Hamlet is a little [more] on the crazy side than Ophelia. The importance of Ophelia in the story is to have a love for Hamlet and to have Hamlet talk to someone lovingly. This is why Ophelia is a foil of Hamlet. [How does "having Hamlet talk to someone lovingly" relate to the theme of the play (or to the characterization of Hamlet)?]

3     Another foil of Hamlet is Horatio. Some similarities of Hamlet and Horatio are they are the same age and the same social class. Other similarities are that they are fellow students and basically best friends. Throughout the play there is no one closer to Hamlet than Horatio probably because they are such good friends. In the play Hamlet talks the most to Horatio which would be why he is considered one of Hamlet's foils. Some of the differences are that Horatio is sane and Hamlet is considered crazy. Basically, that is the only difference between the two. The importance of Horatio in the play is to be a best friend who Hamlet can come to and talk about what is going on in his life. Usually only best friends talk about those kind of things so it is very important that Horatio is in the play. This is why Horatio is considered to be a foil for Hamlet. [This is very vague and could be said about any friend in any literary work. See some of the other papers for the importance of Horatio as a foil.]

4     Another foil of Hamlet is the Ghost Hamlet. Some of the similarities are they are family so of course they are of the same social class. Ghost wants Hamlet is [sic] revenge his death and kill Claudius but Hamlet has no reason to do it until later when he wants to kill Claudius for marring [sic] his mother. They both want to kill Claudius. Some of the differences are the Ghost well is a ghost and Hamlet is alive. Another difference is that the ghost was a king and Hamlet is still just a prince. They both distrust [?] Gertrude because she married Claudius too quickly after the king's death. The Ghost is important to the story because he tells Hamlet what is going on and if he did not know what wa [sic] going on there probably won't [wouldn't] be the story of Hamlet.

5     There are many foils of Hamlet that help the audience understand him more. Ophelia, Horatio, and the Ghost are just a few of these foils. If it was not for these foils I don't think there would be the story of Hamlet. Hamlet [Titles] is a very good play and I would recommend it to anyone because it is a classic.
 
[The basic weakness of this paper is that the writer didn't put much thought into it. I found this suspicion confirmed when, after grading the paper, I looked at the time log. (See below -- The writer reported a total of ten minutes for brainstorming, and fifteen for outlining.) In essence, the writer simply grabbed two minor characters, pointed out some obvious similarities and differences, and gave no thought to how they might affect the meaning of the play.]
 

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