The Great Laertes Quotes

The Great Laertes Who is Laertes? Laertes is a young lord, son of Polonius and brother of Ophelia. Laertes wants to protect his sister and avenge the death of his father. Laertes is impulsive and senseless in his hunt for revenge which ends up leading to his own death. Laertes is a brave and compulsive person who does not think before acting. He is very quick to action and is eager to seek revenge, “O thou vile King, Give me my father!,” (4.5.115) this shows the type of character Laertes is and foreshadows how he will get revenge at any cost. He is prideful and is fighting for his family's name. “Then weigh what loss your honor may sustain If with too credent ear you list his songs, Or lose your heart, or your chaste treasure open,”(1.3.29)
he has a lot of love for his family and he looks out for Ophelia when warning her about her relationship with Hamlet. Laertes is loyal and honorable and posses a great virtue which costs him his death. Laertes might seem like a minor character but he is of great importance in the play. Laertes is a daring figure who creates powerful moments in the play. He reinforces the message of density in the play, through the extremity of his own actions. Laertes shows that the characteristics of the characters create an energy that can change the direction of the plot at any second. Laertes is a mirror like character to Hamlet. He is essential to the plot and the ending of the play. It might have seemed at some point that Laertes lost his honor, but in the contrary, he followed his loyalty, love and honor to a conclusive point. He tried going the calm and easier way but it didn't work out. It is ironic how Laertes, a very honorable brother to his sister, later teams up with King Claudius in planning the murder of Hamlet. Laertes becomes unstable as complications arise. Although Laertes forgives Hamlet and has a solution knowing Hamlet is destined to die, his desire for revenge forces him to continue with the plan which clearly shows how honorable he is towards his family and finish what he started. Shockingly after poisoning Hamlet, Laertes honor results in him admitting how guilty he is and confesses the King’s plan to kill Hamlet. Laertes faces the same conflict that Hamlet does after Hamlet kills Polonius. They both face having a murdered dad and display deceitfulness when planning to avenge it. Just like Hamlet, Laertes feels responsible for protecting his family and end up doing irrational things. Laertes is a foil for the reflective Hamlet and both also suffer the demise of two relatives. “Hadst thou thy wits, and didst persuade revenge, It could not move this.” this quote shows how Laertes wants support from his sister by persuading him to get revenge which will result in him being more revengeful and effective which is also similar to Hamlet because he wants support from others in getting revenge as well. With the parallelism of having a father slain they build a similar goal. Laertes provides crucial points on which can be compared to the emotions and actions of Hamlet.