Hamlet: Laertes and Horatio In the play Hamlet, William Shakespeare uses the characters of Laertes and Horatio as foils to the tragic figure of Hamlet. Because Hamlet's character is in contrast to them, he becomes more vivid for the reader. In the lawless and poisonous "unweeded garden" , that is the court of Denmark, it seems to Prince Hamlet that an educated, thoughtful, just and morally upright person can set things right only by sacrificing his own life. In order to rescue his country from the evil corruption caused by his stepfather, King Claudius, Hamlet is willing to take extreme measures