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Fortinbras
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Fortinbras is the name of two minor fictional characters from William Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet.
The most notable is a Norwegian crown prince with a few brief scenes in the play who delivers the final lines that represent a hopeful future for the Danish monarchy and its subjects. His name in French literally means "strong armed."
Due to Fortinbras' impending arrival for much of the play and because his first appearance only comes after the other players have died, are near death, or are caught in inaction, Pat Buchanan has compared the United States in World War I and World War II to Fortinbras in A Republic, Not an Empire and Where the Right Went Wrong. "America comes in like Fortinbras, after the blood-letting is over, to take charge of affairs," Buchanan said in a 2003 panel discussion.
In the play, Fortinbras is also the name of the former king of Norway and father of the crown prince Fortinbras. King Fortinbras was slain in the play's antecedent action in battle with King Hamlet. The battle between the two is disseminated by Horatio in Hamlet: I, i.