Talk:Foil (narrative)

[Untitled]
"Reasonings to support this idea include that DOR-o-thy and EL-pha-ba are pronounced similarly" What language are you speaking? How are those two names pronounced similarly? --Phoenix Hacker 04:36, 29 December 2005 (UTC)

First sentence: "either one who is in most ways opposite to the main character or nearly the same as the main character." Is it just me, or do these descriptions contradict each other?

They do, but the statement does not require that a foil be both things, merely one or the other. In any case, the phrasing is confusing and should probably be changed. -- Supermorff 20:46, 20 July 2006 (UTC)

Vandalism
Is there any way to get an admin entity to watch the activity of certain IP adresses and log any vandalism? I just corrected an apparent practical joke. If anyone sees any further crap, just revert it back to the latest unspoiled version.

I don't call myself a Sherlock Holmes expert. Was there actually a case where Watson was in Afghanistan? User:Capitocapito - Talk 15:17, 11 November 2007 (UTC)

question
abby and elizabeth proctor...what about them... the sentence is not clear--Vircabutar 02:59, 24 July 2006 (UTC)

so, for catch-22, clevvinger, nately, and the chaplain would be foils to yossarian? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.182.158.147 (talk) 02:43, 26 March 2009 (UTC)

Harry Potter's foil
Ron Weasley or Neville Longbottom, as stated in the wikipedia page, at the moment? I don't much of a point here, but it does say that Ron is the foil to Harry on his wiki; in addition, Ron undergoes the scenarzxcvbnm,,mhgshhxjtrvios in which Harry does, and many a time does Harry exhibit why Ron is his foil. One, however, could just argue that they can both be foils to Harry Potter. So, who's the foil for Harry Potter? //I don't understand either--kaylee

The List

 * Indeed, and it looks like much of the content is an original research. Without any in-text citations to back these up. --Animeronin (talk) 08:00, 28 June 2008 (UTC)

Drastic trimming of the examples
I propose a rampant crop. Everyones favourite book/movie/tv show doesn't need representation. The heading is examples, not list of every foil. WookMuff 10:51, 4 April 2007 (UTC)


 * I've added a "pop culture" subheading with introductory text that emphasizes this point -- hopefully it will encourage people to be more selective. ... That won't end the debate over whose favorite characters best illustrate the concept ;-) The list should include a few examples that will be familiar to younger readers. (Is "Spongebob" really the most outstanding example we can find?) Spazquest 05:23, 9 August 2007 (UTC)


 * Also -- can we change the heading "classical literature"? "Classical" denotes a certain period of literary history which few of these examples come from; further, the term implies an intellectual or at least academic cachet. An article shouldn't be in the business of denoting what books "count" as "classical literature." Could we just say "literature" and have a few representative books/plays? Is there a way to divide this list into "pop culture" and what used to be called "high culture" without inviting these kinds of value judgments?


 * I also propose that we limit these to one or two per work/author. We don't need a long (two lines) discussion of Viola/Olivia; that seems more appropriate to an entry on Twelfth Night; we might do well to limit the Shakespeare examples, for instance, to such famous pairs as those in Macbeth and Hamlet. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Writingjen (talk • contribs) 18:10, 25 October 2007 (UTC)


 * Semi-related, what is being referred to here by "There's a snake in my boot"? 2602:304:B1AE:E770:42A8:F0FF:FE55:8872 (talk) 02:52, 15 January 2018 (UTC)

plot as foil?
Can we have a source citing the use of "foil" to describe a subplot, rather than a character? I'm not convinced this usage is correct; many subplots have this function in relation to the main plot. writingjen 18:44, 25 October 2007 (UTC)

Categories
Don't we need some more categories such as "literature" and/or "literary devices"? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.56.242.121 (talk) 21:15, 16 April 2009 (UTC)

"Improve by adding references" template removed
I removed the "Improve by adding references" template because I just added a lot of references.XXXpinoy777 (talk) 19:01, 18 January 2011 (UTC)

I know the foil for Cinderella--the ugly step-sisters are the foil for the beautiful Cinderella. My English teacher told me. I'm pretty sure it's true. Unless she lied. LOL ~KayKay

Possible synonyms
Is the term foil synonymous with things like rival or antagonist? 47.152.93.124 (talk) 01:18, 8 February 2017 (UTC)

They do not really mean the same thing, no. Foil google definition "a person or thing that contrasts with and so emphasizes and enhances the qualities of another." Rival "compete for superiority with; be or seem to be equal or comparable to." Antagonist "a person who actively opposes or is hostile to someone or something; an adversary." Both rival and antagonist have a more negative connotation with them from my understanding. A foil is essentially someone similar to person A, who highlights a (the) characteristic (s) of that person. Jingle535 (talk) 22:36, 29 April 2018 (UTC)

Etymology of literary use of foil
Hello as of 4/29/18 the article states that "The word foil comes from the old practice of backing gems with foil to make them shine more brightly." With the source http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=foil. I think this is highly possible and is what many other websites seem to agree on, but I am worried that someone may have just made this assumption. Although I only briefly looked, I could not find any peer reviewed source supporting (or rejecting) the etymology of the word and that website did not provide a direct source (that I saw). The reason this brings me concern is being the website https://owlcation.com/humanities/Shakespeares-Hamlet-Foils-Fortinbras-Laertes states " It is believed that the literary term 'foil' comes from this comment, said by Hamlet, to Laertes: "I'll be your foil" " which appears to actually be highly possible. The reason I believe this could be possible are A: The quote is from Shakespeare who had great influence in the literary world, B: Shakespeare seemed to use this quote to reveal the foil between the characters, and C: Hamlet was written around 1599 and the first website states that the literary use of the word foil is from the 1580s or 1590s. I have been unable to find any truly conclusive results on this question and investigations of the use of the word 'foil' for fencing runs into more questions, and interestingly enough returns back to Hamlet (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foil_(fencing) History, " the foil as a blunted weapon for sword practice goes back to the 16th century (for example, in Hamlet, Shakespeare writes "let the foils be brought" ").

I do not believe I will continue research into this topic, but perhaps in the main article the obscurity of the history of foil, or the addition of possible origin of foil from Hamlet should be included. --Jingle535 (talk) 22:59, 29 April 2018 (UTC)