Laertes, a character in Hamlet written by Shakespeare is a remorseful man with nothing to live for. Laertes, which is the son of Polonius, finds that his father has been murdered and his sister insane, seeks revenge to those that have caused this. Laertes can be best described as quick to action and very irrational, that Shakespeare exploits in order to make a foil of Hamlet. Even though Laertes is quick to act, he is very loving and is seen as a protective figure over Ophelia, his sister.

Laertes is very haste and irrational unlike Hamlet who is very careful and machinating, an example is Hamlet using the play to find out if Claudius is the killer of his father. Unlike Hamlet, Laertes does not plan things thoroughly and rushes to Denmark with a mob and blames King Claudius for the murder, saying, "O, thou vile king...