Laertes is a character in William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...

's play Hamlet

Hamlet

The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...

. His name is taken from the father of Odysseus

Odysseus

Odysseus or Ulysses was a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem the Odyssey. Odysseus also plays a key role in Homer's Iliad and other works in the Epic Cycle....

 in Homer

Homer

In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...

's Odyssey

Odyssey

The Odyssey is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad, the other work ascribed to Homer. The poem is fundamental to the modern Western canon, and is the second—the Iliad being the first—extant work of Western literature...

. Laertes is the son of Polonius

Polonius

Polonius is a character in William Shakespeare's Hamlet. He is King Claudius's chief counsellor, and the father of Ophelia and Laertes. Polonius connives with Claudius to spy on Hamlet...

 and the brother of Ophelia. In the final scene, he kills Hamlet with a poisoned sword to avenge the deaths of his father and sister, for which he blamed Hamlet. While dying of the same poison, he implicates King Claudius

King Claudius

King Claudius is a character and the antagonist from William Shakespeare's play Hamlet. He is the brother to King Hamlet, second husband to Gertrude and uncle to Hamlet. He obtained the throne of Denmark by murdering his own brother with poison and then marrying the late king's widow...

. The Laertes character is thought to be originally from Shakespeare, as there is no equivalent character in any of the known sources for the play.

Role in the play

In the first Act, Laertes is seen warning Ophelia against Hamlet's romantic pursuit of her, saying Hamlet will soon lose his desire for her, and that it is not Hamlet's own choice but the king's as to whom he will marry. Before Laertes returns to France (he had returned to attend the coronation of King Claudius

King Claudius

King Claudius is a character and the antagonist from William Shakespeare's play Hamlet. He is the brother to King Hamlet, second husband to Gertrude and uncle to Hamlet. He obtained the throne of Denmark by murdering his own brother with poison and then marrying the late king's widow...

), his father, Polonius

Polonius

Polonius is a character in William Shakespeare's Hamlet. He is King Claudius's chief counsellor, and the father of Ophelia and Laertes. Polonius connives with Claudius to spy on Hamlet...

, gives him advice to behave himself in France.

During Laertes's absence, Hamlet kills Polonius in Gertrude

Gertrude (Hamlet)

In William Shakespeare's play Hamlet, Gertrude is Hamlet's mother and Queen of Denmark. Her relationship with Hamlet is somewhat turbulent, since he resents her for marrying her husband's brother Claudius after he murdered the King...

's parlor. Laertes, informed of his father's death, returns to Denmark, and leads a mob to storm and take the castle. Laertes confronts the King, thinking he was responsible for Polonius' death. The King explains to him who the real killer was, and incites Laertes to kill Hamlet and avenge Polonius' death.

When Ophelia appears in her mad condition, Laertes laments, saying that if she had her wits she could not persuade him more to revenge. Later, Laertes is informed of her death. She had climbed into a willow tree that hung over a brook, and then fell into the water when a branch broke. Too insane to save herself, she drowned. His sister's death strengthens Laertes's resolve to kill Hamlet. At her funeral, he jumps in the grave for Ophelia, Laertes asks why the normal Christian burial ceremony is not being carried out for his sister, and rebukes the priest for questioning her innocence. He leaps into her grave and begs the attendants to bury him with her. Hamlet, who was previously watching from afar, advances and himself leaps into Ophelia's grave. When Laertes attacks Hamlet, the two have to be held back to avoid a fight.

In the next scene, King Claudius arranges a fencing match between Hamlet and Laertes. Laertes uses his sharp, poisoned sword instead of a bated (dull) sword. The King provides a poisoned drink as a backup measure. Before the match begins, Hamlet apologizes publicly to Laertes for the wrongs he has dealt him. Laertes accepts the apology, so he says, but he proceeds with the scheme to kill Hamlet. Hamlet is eventually wounded with the poisoned sword. Then, in a scuffle, the swords are switched. Hamlet wounds Laertes with his own poisoned blade, and Laertes then falls as well. As he lies dying, Laertes confesses to the treachery and reveals that it was Claudius's plot. Hamlet and Laertes exchange forgiveness, before they both die.

Other characters' views of Laertes vary widely. Polonius feels a need to send a servant to France to spy on his son's behaviour. Ophelia tells him not to be a hypocrite (in telling her to behave herself with Hamlet, but then being immoral himself in France). Hamlet is at first puzzled by Laertes's hatred for him, but later admits that he sees his own cause displayed in Laertes's actions.

Portrayal

Laertes is often portrayed by seemingly humble actors of the screen, to give a loyal, wholesome appeal to the character. He has been played by Terence Morgan

Terence Morgan

Terence Ivor Grant Morgan was an English actor in theatre, cinema and television. He was the nephew of British character actor Verne Morgan...

 (1948

Hamlet (1948 film)

Hamlet is a 1948 British film adaptation of William Shakespeare's play Hamlet, adapted and directed by and starring Sir Laurence Olivier. Hamlet was Olivier's second film as director, and also the second of the three Shakespeare films that he directed...

), Nathaniel Parker

Nathaniel Parker

Nathaniel Parker is an English actor best known for playing Detective Inspector Thomas "Tommy" Lynley in the BBC crime drama series The Inspector Lynley Mysteries.-Personal life:...

 (1990

Hamlet (1990 film)

Hamlet is a 1990 drama film based on the Shakespearean tragedy Hamlet. It was directed by Franco Zeffirelli, with Mel Gibson as the young Prince Hamlet...

), Hugh Bonneville

Hugh Bonneville

Hugh Richard Bonneville Williams, known professionally as Hugh Bonneville , is an English stage, film, television and radio actor.-Education:...

 (1992 RSC Production), Michael Maloney

Michael Maloney

Michael Maloney is an English actor.Born in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, Maloney's first television appearance was as Peter Barkworth's teenage son in the 1979 drama series, Telford's Change....

 (1996

Hamlet (1996 film)

Hamlet is a 1996 film version of William Shakespeare's classic play of the same name, adapted and directed by Kenneth Branagh, who also stars in the title role as Prince Hamlet...

), Liev Schreiber

Liev Schreiber

Isaac Liev Schreiber , commonly known as Liev Schreiber, is an American actor, producer, director, and screenwriter. He became known during the late 1990s and early 2000s, having initially appeared in several independent films, and later mainstream Hollywood films, including the Scream trilogy of...

 (2000), Tanner Spear (2008), Edward Bennett

Edward Bennett (actor)

-Life:Bennett attended Chipping Campden School in Gloucestershire prior to graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art . In the RSC 2008 summer Stratford-upon-Avon season he appeared as Laertes in Hamlet, Demetrius in A Midsummer Night's Dream and Navarre in Love's Labour's Lost...

(2009 RSC), and David DeSantos (2010 OSF).