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Laertes (Hamlet)

Laertes /lˈɜːrtz/ is a character in William Shakespeare's play Hamlet. Laertes is the son of Polonius and the brother of Ophelia. In the final scene, he mortally stabs Hamlet with a poison-tipped 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.

Laertes

Polonius (father)
Ophelia (sister)

The Laertes character is thought to be originated by Shakespeare, as there is no equivalent character in any of the known sources for the play. His name is taken from Laërtes, father of Odysseus in Homer's Odyssey.

Portrayal[edit]

Laertes is often portrayed by seemingly humble actors to give a loyal, wholesome appeal to the character. He has been played by Terence Morgan (1948), John Cullum (1964), Nicholas Jones (1970), Nathaniel Parker (1990), Hugh Bonneville (1992 RSC Production), Michael Maloney (1996), Liev Schreiber (2000), Edward Bennett (2009 RSC), Kobna Holdbrook-Smith (2015), Luke Thompson (2017) and Tom Felton (2018).

Folger Shakespeare Library

All lines spoken by Laertes