Nichole Cowie
Mr. Tim McNeil
English 095-C
December 5, 2015
It Takes Two, Doubling Within Hamlet William Shakespeare is known for his impeccable writing skills within the Elizabethan Era. He used many techniques within his writing like iambic pentameter, soliloquies and character foils. Doubling is used as another like term for character foils but it can be the used for characters as well as items or places within the script. Dualism is also like character foiling and doubling as it is the separation of one thing into two. Throughout the play of The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, doubling is used to point out key facts throughout the play like Hamlet`s foils Fortinbras and Laertes, Roesncrantz and Gildensterns relationship with Hamlet doubled with Horatio`s relationship with Hamlet and Hamlet`s thoughts debating his reasons to live or die. Hamlet…show more content… Rightly to be great” (Shakespeare 4.5. 47-53).
Young Fortinbras is brave. He is willing to put him life on the line to avenge his father. Fortinbras is not scared to point fingers at the wrong person before he attacks. For Hamlet he is a coward afraid to act until he is one-hundred percent sure it is the right thing to do. As for Laertes; he is like Hamlet as they both have murdered fathers, they are both apart of the royal court and he is ready to avenge his father`s death. Laertes is also brave, unlike Hamlet, for he does not hesitate or question what will happen after he avenges his father, “To my revenge, but in my terms of honour, I stand aloof, and will no reconcilement” (5.2.229-230). Laertes has accepted Hamlet`s apology but will not stand down to his promise to avenge his father. Young Fortinbras and Laertes act as doubles to Hamlet to show the like characters and to emphasize the different personalities. Shakespeare uses these two characters to show the audience that Hamlet does not have any