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| Laertes | |
|---|---|
| Hamlet character | |
&sq=Envato&lang=en&file=File:William_Gorman_Wills-Ophelia_and_Laertes.jpg) Laertes and Ophelia by W. G. Wills | |
| Created by | William Shakespeare |
| In-universe information | |
| Family | Polonius (father) Ophelia (sister) |
Laertes /leɪˈɜːrtiːz/ is a character in William Shakespeare's play Hamlet. Laertes is Polonius' son and Ophelia's brother. 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.
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.