Hamlet's "How All Occasions" Soliloquy and Fortinbras

What makes this paper effective

• It grounds its argument in close reading, using direct quotations from the play at each analytical step to support claims rather than merely summarizing plot.
• It traces a character relationship across the whole play—from Act I foreshadowing through Act V outcome—giving the analysis a satisfying arc.
• The concluding analogy (admiring a driven but ethically questionable person in everyday life) grounds an abstract literary argument in a relatable, concrete comparison.

Key academic technique demonstrated

The paper demonstrates the use of a foil character as an analytical lens. By systematically contrasting Fortinbras's decisive, unreflective action with Hamlet's paralytic self-examination, the writer shows how Shakespeare uses one character to expose the defining weakness of another. This technique—identifying and unpacking a foil—is a core skill in literary analysis at the undergraduate level.

Structure breakdown

The essay opens by establishing the soliloquy's dramatic setting, then introduces the Hamlet–Fortinbras contrast through quoted passages from Acts I and IV. It develops the foil argument by showing how admiration for Fortinbras influences Hamlet's later actions (the fates of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern), and closes by measuring the outcome: Fortinbras wins politically while Hamlet wins symbolically. Each section is anchored to a specific moment in the text.