The Use Of “Foil” Characters In Shakespeare’s Hamlet “What a piece of work is a man”. In this statement, Shakespeare through the words of Hamlet acknowledges man as a brilliant and complex creature. This inherit complexity may be the reason for Shakespeares use of foil characters. We can see examples of these foil characters in Shakespeare’s Hamlet in the form of Fortinbras, Laertes and to a lesser extent Horatio. These characters are placed in similar situations to that of Hamlet so that through their actions we might draw comparisons, establishing the strengths, weaknesses and a better understanding of the ch