Foil (literature)
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- For other uses, see foil.
A foil is a secondary character who contrasts with a major character; in Hamlet, Laertes and Fortinbras, whose fathers have been killed, are foils for Hamlet. Or in The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Abby and Elizabeth Proctor. In Twelfth Night, Olivia has a foil named Viola, because they have both lost a sibling.
An example in modern popular culture is Han Solo in Star Wars, who, in the first film of the series, is a stark contrast to Luke Skywalker. Also, in hip hop culture, Flavor Flav serves as a comic foil to Chuck D in the political rap group Public Enemy.
Another example is in Edith Wharton's novel Ethan Frome. Zeena, Ethan's wife, acts a foil character who brings out the positive qualities of Ethan's secret lover, Mattie.
The "straight man" in a comedy duo is sometimes known as the comic foil. The humor in these partnerships derives from the uneven relation between the characters, who usually share many traits but have drastically different personalities. While the straight man portrays a reasonable and serious character, the other portrays a funny, dumb, or simply unorthodox one.
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